Chain & Sprocket wear

Beginner's questin, & rather than start a new thread I thought I'd ask on this old one on the topic. On a motorcycle a chain is probably worn if you can move it move it more than a fraction side to side. Not sure if this is also a good test on a bicycle chain?

Never heard this one before. I'd just borrow a chain wear tool if you can, or use a ruler.

I have been trying to get a bit more life from my chains by cleaning them as highlighted previously . And although not perfect , it does seem to improve the situation somewhat .
The winter weather does seem to do serious damage to the drivetrain .

To JWB's question, side to side motion is not relevant on a bike chain (or on a motorbike either).

As others have said, measure length increase and replace earlier rather than later. Clean clean clean and lubricatee (though that's another whole story in itself)

To JWB's question, side to side motion is not relevant on a bike chain (or on a motorbike either).

As others have said, measure length increase and replace earlier rather than later. Clean clean clean and lubricatee (though that's another whole story in itself)

regular cleaning tends to get shot of annoying crunchiness in a chain - while removing and soaking in surgical spirits is a neccessary pain in the arse every so often, a quick wipe of the chain and chainring with some household citrus wipes tends to do the trick nicely in the short term. s'long as you dont have any misgivings about creating landfill.

Looks like the right thread to ask this question.

On my SS bike is about a year old and the chain is now stretched according to my chain measurer.
Just wondered if I should repIace it as I would with my geared bikes?

Only asking this as I may have been (wrongly) told that you can leave your chain much longer on a SS than on geared bikes. Also keen not to have to replace my chainring.

If you don't change it now, you will wear your chainring and rear sprocket down faster.

So, I am shocked to discover this wear pattern.

Each tooth seems to wear quite differently.
The sprocket is an EAI steel sprocket, 3/32 17t, while the chain is a Wippermann BMX 1R8 Single Speed 1/8. The chainring is a Blackspire 45T 3/32".
The whole drive chain is just a bit over a year old @ ~30mile per week. To be fair it feels sluggish all along. But isnt it still wearing a bit too fast?

A chain wears a lot less quick on a single speed your original question is actually not far from the truth look at the plates on the outside and inner plates if there is a lot of play when moving the chain side to side then it is slightly worn. if you leave your worn chain for along time then replace a new chain can be very noisy on a old worn cog or ring but it rally slips on a singlspeed compared to a geared bike just makes a awful racket.

HHHH, maybe your rear axle is slightly bent, or your cog isn't running round for any other reason? I doubt it has anything to do with BB or chainring as your ratio would spread the uneven chaintension/wear across the cog.

...I doubt it has anything to do with BB or chainring as your ratio would spread the uneven chaintension/wear across the cog.

How does that work?

My beater/commuter has quite uneven chain tension. The frame is straight, the wheel is in the frame straight. The chainring is of good quality (it's a TA ring).

I put it down to perhaps the very cheap (£35 new) cranks and the spider being a bit off.

Would having the chain too tight cause this wear?

Having a chain too tight will cause more wear, yes.

Thanks for all the input. The chain tension seems about right if not a bit loose.
Let me take off the chain to see if the cog spins true to tell if the axle is straight.

HHHH to my eyes your sprocket just looks like a classic case of worn cog from an old worn chain. There's a fair bit of 'sharks tooth' going on.

HHHH to my eyes your sprocket just looks like a classic case of worn cog from an old worn chain. There's a fair bit of 'sharks tooth' going on.

Probably, as the difference in wear between teeth is quite minimal. It's just that the uneven wear may mean the rear cog isn't spinning round properly, so it's worth checking the axle if your at it already. I've been running a Tomicog which isn't centered amongst the bolts evenly, the wear is definitely uneven. If the chainring weren't round, the point the chain is under tension varies across the cog depending on the ratio, much like skidpatches, so the wear isn't focused on one point with the ratio he's running. Wear would only be focused on a single point on the chainring, although this is slightly less of an issue. I'd still check it all though ;)

I see.

Some Sheldon advice on chainring centring here

why have a 3/32 cog and chainring and a 1/8 chain?

At what point does chain stretch reach a point that the chain needs to be changed please - fixed 1/8"?

I have a stretch tool that measures 0.75% and 1.00%.

Wait for 1%?

Grateful for thoughts.

Zippie.

Sometimes I think my shortsightedness has been cured, but then I realize I'm wearing my glasses.

I also think squirrels are rats wearing tails they've made, and they use this disguise to carry out reconnaissance further into human territory than they'd otherwise be able to, and this is all part of their plan to ultimately usurp the dominant bipod species.

Do you have the Park Tool chaiin wear indicator?

Imo chain wear matters less in non deralieur bikes.

Nice thoughts bmmf!

I think what BMMF is hinting at is that the tool will (probably) tell you at what point you should replace.

We have a CC2 in the workshop at work which states replace before you get to 1%.

I find that the closer a chain is to .5% when it's replaced, the better the new one meshes with the cassette and chainring etc.

If the old chain is at 1% then you're looking at a whole drivetrain replacement to get it running nicely.

Chains don't stretch. According to Tester.