How many miles/kilometres do you get out of a chain?

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:07:07 AM UTC+1, James wrote on another thread:

I use a Campag Veloce chain ....

I've been running 2 chains on the one cassette (not at the same time),
and swap chains every 2 months or so. .... So far the 3 components have lasted about 10,000km. ...
.... I think they're nearly ready to be retired.

You paid for two Campy chains and got 10k km out of the pair? That's only about 11% better than I do. I got 4506km out of my last X8 KMC chain.

There are guys on the Thorn netsite, where I hang out because of the good Rohloff info, who commute in all kinds of British weather and get 10K plus out of a chain, every time. I'm just about the hardest guy on chains there, especially considering my chain runs inside a completely enclosing case (Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open chain, a good one lasts 2200km and a cheap SRAM is lucky to see a thousand miles/1600km.

Andre Jute

On 5/14/2013 7:35 AM, Andre Jute wrote:
On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:07:07 AM UTC+1, James wrote on another thread:

I use a Campag Veloce chain ....

I've been running 2 chains on the one cassette (not at the same time),
and swap chains every 2 months or so. .... So far the 3 components have lasted about 10,000km. ...
.... I think they're nearly ready to be retired.

You paid for two Campy chains and got 10k km out of the pair? That's only about 11% better than I do. I got 4506km out of my last X8 KMC chain.

There are guys on the Thorn netsite, where I hang out because of the good Rohloff info, who commute in all kinds of British weather and get 10K plus out of a chain, every time. I'm just about the hardest guy on chains there, especially considering my chain runs inside a completely enclosing case (Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open chain, a good one lasts 2200km and a cheap SRAM is lucky to see a thousand miles/1600km.


What speed chain? I have a 10 speed and pretty much any chain that I
try, I can get around 4-5k on it if I clean it regularly and keep it
lightly lubed. My 8 speed on my Bianchi Volpe, I think it's probably 3
times that. The other difference that I see is that on the 10 speed, I
change the cassette every 3rd chain or so. The Bianchi is on its second
cassette and I bought that bike in 1994.

"Andre Jute" wrote in message
...
On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:07:07 AM UTC+1, James wrote on another thread:

I use a Campag Veloce chain ....

I've been running 2 chains on the one cassette (not at the same time),
and swap chains every 2 months or so. .... So far the 3 components have
lasted about 10,000km. ...
.... I think they're nearly ready to be retired.

You paid for two Campy chains and got 10k km out of the pair? That's only
about 11% better than I do. I got 4506km out of my last X8 KMC chain.

There are guys on the Thorn netsite, where I hang out because of the good
Rohloff info, who commute in all kinds of British weather and get 10K plus
out of a chain, every time. I'm just about the hardest guy on chains there,
especially considering my chain runs inside a completely enclosing case
(Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open chain, a good one lasts 2200km and a
cheap SRAM is lucky to see a thousand miles/1600km.

Andre Jute

MTB or road?

Per Andre Jute:
There are guys on the Thorn netsite, where I hang out because of the good Rohloff info, who commute in all kinds of British weather and get 10K plus out of a chain, every time. I'm just about the hardest guy on chains there, especially considering my chain runs inside a completely enclosing case (Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open chain, a good one lasts 2200km and a cheap SRAM is lucky to see a thousand miles/1600km.

I get about 5,000 miles/8,000k out of a chain but it differs depending
on how clean I keep it and what I'm riding in/on. I am pretty sure I
have worn out a chain in as few as 2,000 miles/3,200k.
--
Pete Cresswell

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 2:17:10 PM UTC+1, Ernie wrote:
"Andre Jute" wrote in message

...

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:07:07 AM UTC+1, James wrote on another thread:



I use a Campag Veloce chain ....



I've been running 2 chains on the one cassette (not at the same time),

and swap chains every 2 months or so. .... So far the 3 components have

lasted about 10,000km. ...

.... I think they're nearly ready to be retired.



You paid for two Campy chains and got 10k km out of the pair? That's only

about 11% better than I do. I got 4506km out of my last X8 KMC chain.



There are guys on the Thorn netsite, where I hang out because of the good

Rohloff info, who commute in all kinds of British weather and get 10K plus

out of a chain, every time. I'm just about the hardest guy on chains there,

especially considering my chain runs inside a completely enclosing case

(Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open chain, a good one lasts 2200km and a

cheap SRAM is lucky to see a thousand miles/1600km.



Andre Jute



MTB or road?

Sorry, I should have said, Ernie. Touring bikes, from fast, lightly loaded to heavily loaded camping tourers; there's one guy who goes into the desert carrying more water than a camel. The ones with the fabulous mileages on their chains are all Rohloff hub gear bikes. Maybe the permanent straight run of the chain has something to do with it.

Duane, the KMC chains I use are designed for 8sp derailleurs. KMC chain names include the number of speeds, as in X8-93 or X8-99, which are both 8sp chains differing only in exterior coating. I don't know how many speeds James runs.

Andre Jute

On Tue, 14 May 2013 04:35:44 -0700, Andre Jute wrote:

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:07:07 AM UTC+1, James wrote on another
thread:

I use a Campag Veloce chain ....

I've been running 2 chains on the one cassette (not at the same time),
and swap chains every 2 months or so. .... So far the 3 components
have lasted about 10,000km. ...
.... I think they're nearly ready to be retired.

You paid for two Campy chains and got 10k km out of the pair? That's
only about 11% better than I do. I got 4506km out of my last X8 KMC
chain.

There are guys on the Thorn netsite, where I hang out because of the
good Rohloff info, who commute in all kinds of British weather and get
10K plus out of a chain, every time. I'm just about the hardest guy on
chains there, especially considering my chain runs inside a completely
enclosing case (Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open chain, a good one
lasts 2200km and a cheap SRAM is lucky to see a thousand miles/1600km.

I'm on kmc cheapos and seem to get 3500 - 4000km rain is not really a
factor where I live. Dust on the other hand and salt spray are a bit of a
pain. It's removed, cleaned and lubed regularly. I was dead proud I did
more miles on a bike than my dad did in his motorhome last year...

I'm still an unfit :| smoking and drinking balding bloke though.

There's just no winning.
--
davethedave

On Tue, 14 May 2013 10:47:55 -0700, Andre Jute wrote:

especially considering my chain runs inside a completely enclosing case

(Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open chain, a good one lasts 2200km
and a

cheap SRAM is lucky to see a thousand miles/1600km.

MTB or road?

Sorry, I should have said, Ernie. Touring bikes, from fast, lightly
loaded to heavily loaded camping tourers; there's one guy who goes into
the desert carrying more water than a camel. The ones with the fabulous
mileages on their chains are all Rohloff hub gear bikes. Maybe the
permanent straight run of the chain has something to do with it.

You may have something there. I'm on a Shimano Alfine 11 speed. The
completely straight chain line thing may improve chain life dramatically.
However I'd take a derailleur system on my next bike. The """maintenance
free""" Alfine is just a constant worry in terms of breakdown. It ****es
oil like there is no tomorrow. In the grand old scheme of things a few
more chains are neither here nor there in cost. Warranty is one thing but
when you have to post the drive train of your primary mode of transport
internationally for repairs and wait for a replacement for about a month
or three (customs are a bitch here) whilst paying for buses and cabs it
all gets a bit much. There is a lot to be said for simplicity and user
serviceability.


--
davethedave

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 9:59:39 PM UTC+1, davethedave wrote:

I was dead proud I did

more miles on a bike than my dad did in his motorhome last year...



I'm still an unfit :| smoking and drinking balding bloke though.



There's just no winning.

True, life's a bitch, and then you die. But you can now drink more and smoke more while contemplating hair loss, without the prospect of death being quite as imminent as before.

Andre Jute
Morbid consolations

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 10:13:53 PM UTC+1, davethedave wrote:

However I'd take a derailleur system on my next bike. The """maintenance

free""" Alfine is just a constant worry in terms of breakdown. It ****es

oil like there is no tomorrow. In the grand old scheme of things a few

more chains are neither here nor there in cost. Warranty is one thing but

when you have to post the drive train of your primary mode of transport

internationally for repairs and wait for a replacement for about a month

or three (customs are a bitch here) whilst paying for buses and cabs it

all gets a bit much. There is a lot to be said for simplicity and user

serviceability.

I've met almost no one who, having tried a Rohloff, didn't consider it the number solution to the mainenance problem. Twice a year I don't even get my hands dirty in servicing my entire bike, including the Rohloff. At the Rohloff end, twice a year I undo a thumscrew on the EXT click box, glance at the Phil grease inside, nod my head wisely, and screw it back up. The logic is at http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLINGRo...XTservice.html with photographs if you're into bike pron and green goo. Once a year I screw in a cattle-type hypodermic and change the oil inside the Rohloff. I also have old-fashioned Philips platform pedals, which I bought NOS on Ebay, which are supposed to be oiled, every month, but I didn't know that so I washed all the ancient grease out of them with a can of sewing machine oil, then forcepacked them with high quality ceramic grease, and now they appear to require no further service. I also lounge around with a small torque wrench in my hand while my wife brings me drinks, pretending to be a bike mechanic checking every nut and bolt, but of course nothing is ever loose, as my bike was built by Germans.

The handwaving aside, the Rohloff really is the key component on a truly low maintenance bike. In the extremely rare case that it breaks, Rohloff usually gets it back to you, at their expense, within the week. The Hebie Chainglider follows closely in the second spot. I don't even clean or oil my chain, I just run it inside the Chainglider on the factory lube.

Andre Jute

On 14/05/13 21:35, Andre Jute wrote:
On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:07:07 AM UTC+1, James wrote on another
thread:

I use a Campag Veloce chain ....

I've been running 2 chains on the one cassette (not at the same
time), and swap chains every 2 months or so. .... So far the 3
components have lasted about 10,000km. ... .... I think they're
nearly ready to be retired.

You paid for two Campy chains and got 10k km out of the pair? That's
only about 11% better than I do. I got 4506km out of my last X8 KMC
chain.

2 chains and 1 cassette. Had I run 1 chain only, the cassette would
have been worn out in half the time also.

$48 for the cheapest 10s Campag cassette and $33 for a chain, so $80
every 6 months, or $110 every 12 months. That's why I run 2 chains.

Mind you, I haven't measured the chain(s) yet. I'm only guessing they
must be about stuffed. I might leave them in service for a while yet,
so I don't break in a new chain during the worst of Winter.

9 deg. C here this morning, and wet and windy. Not my idea of fine
riding weather, and it's not even Winter yet.

There are guys on the Thorn netsite, where I hang out because of the
good Rohloff info, who commute in all kinds of British weather and
get 10K plus out of a chain, every time. I'm just about the hardest
guy on chains there, especially considering my chain runs inside a
completely enclosing case (Hebie Chainglider). If I use an open
chain, a good one lasts 2200km and a cheap SRAM is lucky to see a
thousand miles/1600km.

Yep, SRAM was found to be about the worst for wear in the Wippermann
tests too.

--
JS