Answered Replace the chain?

[Welshrobinireland]

Hi all. Your thoughts on the following would be appreciated. After watching embn with doddy yesterday I went out and checked my chain for stretch. Its .5. Not great but not as bad as .75? He said that you should replace it at .5 on an 11 speed but .75 on a 10? Mines an 11. Should I do it now or leave it till after the winter? Thanks in advance. Rob.

 

[Stumpy]

Hi all. Your thoughts on the following would be appreciated. After watching embn with doddy yesterday I went out and checked my chain for stretch. Its .5. Not great but not as bad as .75? He said that you should replace it at .5 on an 11 speed but .75 on a 10? Mines an 11. Should I do it now or leave it till after the winter? Thanks in advance. Rob.

I’m no expert but changing it early has got to be better than too late, right?

 

[nicklej]

Change earlier to be safer and that'll save you money in the long run. Generally, I don't swap a chain until shifting becomes less effective. Also, If you catch a chain before it stretches too much then you'll be able to keep the same cassette but generally, most bike shops will recommend a full drive train replacement to be done simultaneously but it's not needed in most cases.

 

[Welshrobinireland]

Didn't realise how inexpensive chains are. Just ordered one. Better safe than sorry. I'm amazed how much they can stretch in a small space of time. Plus I'm always conscious of not grinding and keeping the pressure off the chain. You live and learn I suppose.

 

[atcspaul]

easy rule of thumb is if you think it might need changing change it.

 

[Jackware]

Did you buy an Ebike spec chain?

 

[Welshrobinireland]

Got the xt. Says in the description it's for ebike and it's an xt system on there at the moment. Is there specific ebike chains? Shit

 

[steve_sordy]

Most wear on the gears occurs when the chain is worn (more sliding between the chain rollers and the gears). I haven't had an emtb long enough to need a new chain yet, but on my clockwork bikes I used to change at around 0.60%-0.65%. I used to get 3 chains out of the cassette before I had to change the cassette. That was experience gained over 9, 10, and 11-speed chains and multiple bikes, both hardtails and FS. I tried a fourth chain once but the cassette was so worn that a new chain would not run on it. I had to put back the old 3rd chain until I could get a new cassette. I may have still managed 3 chains per cassette if I'd changed the chains at 0.75%, but I like clean shifting and once I start getting dodgy shifts I do something about it.

 

[nicklej]

Got the xt. Says in the description it's for ebike and it's an xt system on there at the moment. Is there specific ebike chains? Shit

Yes there are but really it seems like over-priced gear that does the same job but has a mark up on price given its "e-bike" rating.

A good thread to dig around in is this one. Lots of people sharing information and experiences with different types of chains.

 

[Paul Mac]

I have ridden about 900 miles on my new bike and I have now put on my 3rd chain.
The bike was shifting perfectly well, but the wear checker showed that the last chain had stretched to over 0.5. My bike has a 1 x 11 set up.
My question is this, as I have now spent £40 on 2 new chains, would it be more cost effective to just leave on the original chain and run it till it doesn't work properly anymore and then replace the whole drive chain?
That would cost £80 for a cassette, £20 for a chain and £20 for a chain ring, so all totaled £120.
But crucially it would taken a lot longer to get to that point.
Your thoughts?

 

[nicklej]

I mean personally, I ride the same chain until it no longers feels like its working well. That is normally when it starts to slip or skip when shifting. I have recently replaced my cassette after about 3000 miles and used about 4 chains on that (they're just £10 cheap ones so not fussed about changing often).

I commute on my Levo so run the components down till they're dead to get my moneys worth. The best advice I can give is ride the bike and only replace the chain as it wears much more quickly than the cassette or chainring. The chain is also the cheapest part of those three so when I replace the cassette and chainring, I normally just chuck on another new chain because the're just cheap consumables on an ebike.

For @Paul Mac I should add

 

[Paul Mac]

So the third chain on my Levo is slipping under load on the three smallest gears on the cassette.
I put the old chain back on and it all works fine again.
Bit dissapointed that the cassette will need changing so quickly, only had the bike 3 months.
I have cleaned and lubed the chain after every ride and used the same lube that I have used for all my bikes.
I had my 2018 Levo for 10 months and never wore out the cassette.
I will now continue to use the old chain and cassette and not change it until it starts to shift badly.
I may also swap to a 34 tooth front chain ring as I do seem to spend a lot of time in the lower gears.

 

[R120]

IME the chain and drivetrain seem to work best just before they reach the point of no return, as it seems at this point they are fully "worn in" together.

I have had issues before where I have left a chain on too long, and the rear cassette has worn in line with the chain, and then when putting a new chain on the rear cassette has not played nicely with it

 

[Stumpy]

I may also swap to a 34 tooth front chain ring as I do seem to spend a lot of time in the lower gears.

Take it out of turbo ??

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I've never used a chain checker ever. I wait until the shifting starts playing up then replace. I've normally changed the bike before the groupset. Lol. I got 18m out of my last set, I guess I must be quite sympathetic at shifting.

 

[Paul Mac]

I've never used a chain checker ever. I wait until the shifting starts playing up then replace. I've normally changed the bike before the groupset. Lol. I got 18m out of my last set, I guess I must be quite sympathetic at shifting.

I'm trying this method now, and I'll see what's most cost effective.

 

[Paul Mac]

So the third chain on my Levo is slipping under load on the three smallest gears on the cassette.
I put the old chain back on and it all works fine again.
Bit dissapointed that the cassette will need changing so quickly, only had the bike 3 months.
I have cleaned and lubed the chain after every ride and used the same lube that I have used for all my bikes.
I had my 2018 Levo for 10 months and never wore out the cassette.
I will now continue to use the old chain and cassette and not change it until it starts to shift badly.
I may also swap to a 34 tooth front chain ring as I do seem to spend a lot of time in the lower gears.

Just to resurrect this thread,
I have now just changed the chain, cassette and chain ring.
I have been riding the same chain and cassette etc, since posting this in March. So have had another 6 months of riding on the so called worn out chain!
Only reason I have just changed it now, is that it had started to grumble under load, but has been perfect up to now.
Just food for thought ?

 

[Macone]

Just to resurrect this thread,
I have now just changed the chain, cassette and chain ring.
I have been riding the same chain and cassette etc, since posting this in March. So have had another 6 months of riding on the so called worn out chain!
Only reason I have just changed it now, is that it had started to grumble under load, but has been perfect up to now.
Just food for thought ?

Sorry Paul Mac (also what I am generally known as) but 6 months doesnt mean much, what kms e.t.c.?

 

[steve_sordy]

When I was a kid, I got bought a second hand bike (with 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub gear) and rode it for years and then my three brothers rode it for years each in turn. It never got washed and it got some new oil on top of the old black gunk once per year. If there were ever any problems with shifting or chain loss, I can't recall any.
I accept that may be selective rose-tinted memory.

 

[Paul Mac]

Sorry Paul Mac (also what I am generally known as) but 6 months doesnt mean much, what kms e.t.c.?

Sorry, yes should have explained better.
I would say I've done about another 1500 miles
Solely trail riding, no roads or fire roads, I even did the coast 2 coast with it!

 

[Farmernz]

this is my 1st mountain bike and I got it in June. Today my chain snapped and the gear looks little bent, do you think i can straighten it or does it look like a new one is needed? Cheers

 

[Paul Mac]

Yes, you can straighten it, just gently knock it in with a block of wood and a hammer.

 

[Farmernz]

Yes, you can straighten it, just gently knock it in with a block of wood and a hammer.

That’s good news! Will give it a go thanks.