How often do you replace a chain?

I know that is a bit of an open question. I've been riding about 16 miles a day, 5 days a week (+ some weekend riding) for a year and i'm a bit concerned that my chain might need replacing.

Within the last month or two as soon as it gets wet, or slightly more mucky than usual it starts making a loud click every other(ish) crank rotation. at first I thought this might be a BB problem, but after giving the drive chain a clean it stops, until the next time it gets wet or muck builds up. the frequnecy of this seems to have increased. How do you know if your chain has stretched?

Anyway, is a year about right for a chain when riding fixed? I've been pretty slack on the cleaning side, which i'm sure hasn't helped.

I'm running a miche ring and an EAI cog, any chain recommendations?

Cheers.

Funny, I was wondering the same last night. I think the standard way is to measure 12 links and you should be bang on 12" - comparing it against my 12" measuring stick confirmed this to be the case. If it's much over, it's time for a change. In any case, it's only a tenner, so why not go crazy and treat yourself?

it's might just be a stiff link. give it a good waggle

give it a good degreasing and rewax it, and see how you get on first.

upto about 1/8" is ok. Once hits 1/8" change.

get a chain stretch indicator or ask your LBS to check it for you.

When it snaps

when i can pull away from the front chainring

I probably do a similar distance to you over the year and go through about 3 chains a year.

I probably do a similar distance to you over the year and go through about 3 years a chain.

I probably do a similar distance to you over the year and go through about chain years a 3.

when i can pull away from the front chainring
you can do this with fresh chains, try it next time

i change my chain the same time i change my tires, bartape and pads. which is normally about every 3-4 months or so when they start to get old and tatty. not for any particular reason other than i might as well do all the jobs at once if im already getting new tires and going to my LBS anyway.

during the bad months of the year i find it almost impossible to keep my chain from rusting.

The image is entitled, "Pissing Money Away"

bah. its hardly that expensive and new chains run much smoother than my old fucked ones.

until recently (yesterday) i have been using really cheap taya chains (£6 each) and changing them monthly. i've just bought my first decent chain & will see how it lasts. how often you change it will depend on many things, for example the strength of the rider, weather & road conditions, how often you clean it, what cleaner/lube you use, whether you accelerate/decelerate hard or maintain a more constant cadence and the quality of the chain itself. even gear ratio can affect drivetrain life. on my geared bike i run it til it snaps then replace chain & cassette together so it doesnt skip.

I recently bought a DID racing pro and don't intend on changing it for at least a year.

If a chain is skipping or jumping because of a stiff link then it is worth taking it off and soaking in white spirit, dry it off check the stiff link strip it reasemble and spray with teflon finish lube.

Funny, I was wondering the same last night. I think the standard way is to measure 12 links and you should be bang on 12" - comparing it against my 12" measuring stick confirmed this to be the case. If it's much over, it's time for a change. In any case, it's only a tenner, so why not go crazy and treat yourself?

Yes, but this does not measure roller wear, which is what eats your sprockets. It is measuring "stretch" between pins.

As mentioned you can get a good idea by pulling the chain away from the chainring, or looking for "sharks teeth"

My ATB does no more that 1500 miles before the chain is fooked, it's now running a campy C9, which seems much more durable that Shimano, Sram, Wipperman etc.

Thread dredge -

10 miles every weekday commuting.
Chain lasted less than 6 months, so approx 1k.

I am pretty sure I have gone much longer with other chains but then again I may have just ridden them too long.

Suspect the grit/sand from track alongside the horse ride in Hyde Park is the major reason why.

Time to change the chain on my Day One.

Currently fitted with a kmc (I think) 8 speed chain but every other bike I have runs a kmc 510 (1/8" singlespeed chain).

Do I switch to a 510 on the Day One so it's the same as all other bikes or stick to an 8 speed chain.

Chainring and sprocket on the Day One are obv 3/32" so I know some of you will say a 3/32" chain will run better but most of my other bikes have a 3/32" cog at at least one end and I don't have any complaints of how they run.

TLDR: 1/8" or 3/32" chain for singlespeed?

I can't see any advantage in having the same chain on all your bikes.

A standard roller (bushed) chain would be preferable to a bushingless chain though.

However there aren't many bushed chains made nowadays. There's the Connex 7R8 (3/32", 1R8 is 1/8") and KMC B1 (1/8"). I'm sure if you roused Tstr from hibernation he could tell you others.

Having said that, apparently you're still living so I suppose it's fair to say that while one is technically better than the other, it's not critical. Personally, I'd choose a bushed chain, over matching the width to the sprockets (the 7R8 is "nice but pricey", the B1 is very reasonable).

TLDR: whatevs.

Only advantage in having 510s on all my bikes would be that I currently carry 2x 8 speed split links, 2x 1/8"split links and a couple spare links of each chain in my tool roll.

Also I have cdo so it'd be nice to have everything on the same chain.

I had a Genesis Day One, running 44/16 fixed. Changed everything to 1 1/8 as parts were much cheaper and more easily available. Not as quiet but much stronger. This was a few years ago now.

Would recommend 1 1/8. I bought quite a few of the KMC chains then switched to the Izumi track chain. The KMC ones stretched out much quicker.