Cassie Posted January 19, 2010 Share OK, what sort of tention are we talking about? Like on the bike vs off the bike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_mil Posted January 19, 2010 Share Like on the bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakes_1 Posted January 19, 2010 Share the problem with waiting is your chain could wear out to the point where is will snap.... it has happened to me several times... ( poor student days) rather replace the chain now.. and have a look. see if anything skips or jumps. but .5 to 1 should not affect your chain ring or cassette worse than that will...the genral rule is replace your chain every 3 months or 1000 km.. those nifty chain wear tools are easy to fine and cheap should find them at most bike shops having a look at your middle chain ring' date=' there is wear there but the only way to be sure that it wont affect your ride is to try a new chain.. you could always put the old one back.. p.s you right chains dont stretch, but they do wear out. remember a chain is really a set of hinges. and they wear out at the pivot points. from all the open and closing movement they have to endure.. so the better lubed your chain the better the wear will be the longer your chain will last.[/quote'] I am going to disagree with you on that one.If you maintain your chain, then you will be able to ride it for much longer than 3 months.If a chain only lasts a 1000km my chain would be in amillion pieces by now and I would be bankrupt from buy 2 chains a month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 19, 2010 Share Ok' date=' now that I have everyone's attention - I know a chain cannot stretch. So, I bought an inch ruler (from Builders Wahrehouse) and set about to measure my chain... This is what I got.... [/quote'] Cassie, Edman is right. The chain is worn by 1/32nd of an inch and still has half its life left in it. You did get my attention BTW. Watch it! They took out their nifty blue tool and measured the chain - 0.5 on the indicator is usually where they advice a chain replacement...and yes, my chain wear was past this mark. It is a crap tool but certain ignoramuses fails to get to grips with the concept. I think this examples proves the point beautifully. Now - the real reason for this post..... Iv'e had no real reason to replace my chain yet...1700km's from new...No skiping; no shifting issues whatsovever... The LBS advised that the middle ring will definately skip on a new chain and possiblt also my favourite gear on the rear casette...Do I ride the crap out of this set and replace the entire casette + chain + middle ring later when issues crop up or do I take a chance now and replace the chain - hoping the rest is still salvageable? What would you do in my situation? What would I do? Call his bluff. Fit a new chain right in front of him and ask him to go for a ride and make the chain skip. If he can do that' date=' I'll send you a brand new chain and middle chainring free and gratis. Alternatively, if you do it in the privacy of your home and get it to skip, I'll just send you a new 9-speed chain. Please post the results here. Must admit - the LBS said it was my choice....wear it down till no more or replace chain + middle ring now. They did not push me for the sale wich I appreciated... Well, isn't this just exactly the technique. "If it was my front teeth, I'd have replace this chain long ago." "If it was my head, I'll spend R9000 on a helmet without blinking." "If I earned that much, I'd have insured myself for R50 million." etc etc etc. You've heard it before. This is going to be the second barney of the year. 15 pages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 19, 2010 Share Like on the bike. Yes you're right. Jockey tension is more than enough to give an accurate reading and there is no reason to worry about the slight sag in the chain. However, just pulling it straight on the workbench gives the same result. Once pulled, it stays elongated, there being no force to "shrink" it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 19, 2010 Share stewie911 this rule genrally applys to roadies.. who are doing the milage and competing level.It's a pretty innacurate rule-of-thumb' date=' then. I'm sitting on around 3,500km on a Record chain and around 2,500km on a Veloce chain. Neither is showing any measurable sign of wear. I do, however, make sure I thoroughly clean and re-oil them at regular intervals and always after riding in the wet.[/quote'] I can't agree with you more. Mileage is a poor indicator of chain life. It is all about hygiene and articulation. In other words, bikes with smaller chainrings and sprockets go through chains quicker. A killer is strong guys who live in their 11 tooth. An excellent example of this is a motorbike chain. The timing chain inside the engine, running in filtered oil, can easily do 200 000 kms. The drive chain on the other hand does a couple of thousand only even though it is much more robust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 19, 2010 Share the problem with waiting is your chain could wear out to the point where is will snap.... it has happened to me several times... ( poor student days) rather replace the chain now.. and have a look. see if anything skips or jumps. but .5 to 1 should not affect your chain ring or cassette worse than that will...the genral rule is replace your chain every 3 months or 1000 km.. those nifty chain wear tools are easy to fine and cheap should find them at most bike shops having a look at your middle chain ring' date=' there is wear there but the only way to be sure that it wont affect your ride is to try a new chain.. you could always put the old one back.. p.s you right chains dont stretch, but they do wear out. remember a chain is really a set of hinges. and they wear out at the pivot points. from all the open and closing movement they have to endure.. so the better lubed your chain the better the wear will be the longer your chain will last.[/quote'] If you have ever examined a worn chain you would have seen that wear does not contribute to weakness. Wear doesn't affect the peened pins or sideplate holes at all. These are the only two components that contribute to strength. Poor shifting and poor assembly are the two primary chain breakers. On the chain stretch issue, we'll forgive you, you are obviously new around here. This is a kind of insider joke that is sure to get everybody's attention around here. Cassie admitted to the joke but I think he's just to much of a gentleman to play facetious and pretend he doesn't understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 19, 2010 Share Just a tad off-topic. But CNA has steel rulers marked in inches for less then R20. The best bike tool you can buy. Thank god for China. Steel rules used to cost the earth when they were still make in the motherland. But....are those rulers in the CNA longer than 12 inches? The ideal one is 12 and a bit inches, like the Park spoke ruler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassie Posted January 20, 2010 Share Just a tad off-topic. But CNA has steel rulers marked in inches for less then R20. The best bike tool you can buy. Thank god for China. Steel rules used to cost the earth when they were still make in the motherland. But....are those rulers in the CNA longer than 12 inches? The ideal one is 12 and a bit inches' date=' like the Park spoke ruler. [/quote'] That's why i liked the Building Whorehouse one....it measures 30 inches....only prob is that now it doesn't fit into my toolbox!! I'm considering taking the angle grinder and cut it to size fit i.e. 25 inches. also, just for kicks - I'll fit the new chain and give it a test... Me, gentleman??? {looking over shoulder...} are you refering to me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreZA Posted January 20, 2010 Share But....are those rulers in the CNA longer than 12 inches? The ideal one is 12 and a bit inches' date=' like the Park spoke ruler.[/quote'] they are longer then 12" but only marked up to 12". I just made two more marks on it myself with a scribe. I was also pretty lucky with my x-mas cracker. I had a tiny 1m tape measure in that's also marked in inches.Mampara2010-01-20 07:22:19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheese Posted January 20, 2010 Share Hi just a comment, My Campagnolo chain has at least 12 000 km on it .My casette and chainring more than 40 000 km . No skipping .Are you only cycling 53/11 or what chain do you have on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonW Posted January 20, 2010 Share My question is why are all our shops suddenly selling Chinese inch rulers? Is there a Chinese imperialist take over on the go?! JasonW2010-01-20 07:53:43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StokedAboutSpokes Posted January 20, 2010 Share I have been riding with the same chain for about 7 month with about 4 to 5 rides a week on it. It is now totally worn out but I am still riding with it and there is no jumping and skipping gears. I am about to replace the whole drive train now but im going to buy 2 chains and rotate them every week and that should last me the rest of the year i hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 20, 2010 Share Hi just a comment' date=' My Campagnolo chain has at least 12 000 km on it .My casette and chainring more than 40 000 km . No skipping .Are you only cycling 53/11 or what chain do you have on? [/quote'] Hmmmmm. And the wisdom in that lies where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 20, 2010 Share But....are those rulers in the CNA longer than 12 inches? The ideal one is 12 and a bit inches' date=' like the Park spoke ruler.[/quote'] they are longer then 12" but only marked up to 12". I just made two more marks on it myself with a scribe. I was also pretty lucky with my x-mas cracker. I had a tiny 1m tape measure in that's also marked in inches. There is something very sexy in nice homemade tools that just does it for me. When can I meet her...I mean it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted January 20, 2010 Share That's why i liked the Building Whorehouse one....it measures 30 inches....only prob is that now it doesn't fit into my toolbox!! I'm considering taking the angle grinder and cut it to size fit i.e. 25 inches. Do it. Cut it off at 13 inches and a bit and then grind it down to 13 inches. The angle grinder makes a mess of the first 5mm or so by turning the steel blue. When you grind it' date=' you can at least cool it in water every so often. also, just for kicks - I'll fit the new chain and give it a test... Do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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