Lifespan of an 11 speed bike chain

[dbnm]

How many miles are you getting from your bike chain?

My bike has an Ultegra 8000 cassette and Dura Ace 9000 crankset. After 1300 miles (no rain or dirt riding), I apparently need to replace my KMC 11SL chain because I wore it out.

So I am curious, how many miles do you get from your chain?

[Pinned]

I've always been told that 11sp chains last longer than 10sp, which I'm finding to be true right now. My 10sp chains required replacement in under 2000 miles. I had a KMC briefly, which shifted poorly and made a lot of noise from the start, otherwise always used 105 and Ultegra chains.

New bike - Ultegra cassette, Cannondale cranks with SpideRings, and the Ultegra chain on there has 2200 miles with little to no measurable wear. I wipe it down every 100 miles or so and use Squirt lube. Kind of surprised how long it's lasting, I'm keeping an eye on it and will replace as soon as it stretches.

[Cicli]

How many miles are you getting from your bike chain?

My bike has an Ultegra 8000 cassette and Dura Ace 9000 crankset. After 1300 miles (no rain or dirt riding), I apparently need to replace my KMC 11SL chain because I wore it out.

So I am curious, how many miles do you get from your chain?

You ought to lube it.
What says its work? Someone with a chain for sale?

[oldpotatoe]

How many miles are you getting from your bike chain?

My bike has an Ultegra 8000 cassette and Dura Ace 9000 crankset. After 1300 miles (no rain or dirt riding), I apparently need to replace my KMC 11SL chain because I wore it out.

So I am curious, how many miles do you get from your chain?

How do you know you wore it out? Measure it...12 inches per 12 links..more than 1/16 inch, change it.

[dbnm]

The chain is lubed about every 100 miles.

[cgolvin]

I just replaced my first chain after switching to 11 speed (Chorus) — it had more than 3100 miles on it. None of my 10 speed chains ever came close to that, neither Campy nor KMC. I too clean and lube roughly every ~120 miles.

[dddd]

Chain life is one of those things that seems to vary wildly depending on conditions of rider size and loading, cleanliness and other variables including chain quality.
I expect at least 3k miles from Shimano Ultegra 11s chain, and it's very hilly here. I ride mostly in clean, dry conditions and am under 150lbs.
BTW I measure the chain stretch by accurate means, not relying on chain-measuring devices that push two rollers in opposite directions (which pessimistically adds roller freeplay and diameter reduction to the wear figure).

I consider worn out as 1/2 of 1% stretch, or 1/16" per foot.

[Gummee]

How do you know you wore it out? Measure it...12 inches per 12 links..more than 1/16 inch, change it.

Thought it was 1/8" and it was done.

Dunno

Chains are cheap. Cassettes are spendy. I've been able to change out multiple chains on my wheels and keep running em

YMMV

M

edited to add: maybe I'm mis-remembering? Maybe it's chain AND cassette are both hosed at 1/8"? Someone jog my memory

[jtbadge]

Just for another data point, I'm at almost 2k miles on my 6800 chain, and haven't reached that 1/16" point yet. I'm a big dude, but probably don't throw down tons of watts.

[buddybikes]

...or ride slower and stay off hills...

[R3awak3n]

I think mine last about 2k miles or maybe a bit more, it depends really. Always use KMCs. Lube every 300-400 miles with NFS unless I notice too much grit from a rainy/dirty ride then I clean and relube.

Get yourself a chain checker to be sure

[oldpotatoe]

Thought it was 1/8" and it was done.

Dunno

Chains are cheap. Cassettes are spendy. I've been able to change out multiple chains on my wheels and keep running em

YMMV

M

edited to add: maybe I'm mis-remembering? Maybe it's chain AND cassette are both hosed at 1/8"? Someone jog my memory

I think the idea is 1/16nch and the cassette isn't toasted along with the chain..kinda like the .75% side of the Rohloff tool vs 1%...

[crankles]

ballpark..

I get about 2k miles from shimano/wipperman chains, 4k miles for Cassettes and small chainrings. Big Chain rings last me the life of the bike...it's hilly here ;-)

[kramnnim]

Threads like this confuse me because I have 100,000+ recorded on Strava, mostly with 11sp Campy chains, and haven't discarded more than 10 chains in that time...

[Dave]

Back when I was riding 5,000 miles per year, I did a lot of chain wear research. Campy chains don't wear like other brands. I've ridden both 10 and 11 speed models for 3,000 miles and could measure no significant stretch with a precison 12" machinist's rule. I've even used 10 speed chains for 6,000 miles that showed little elongation. That didn't mean the chain wasn't shot. By that time, the rollers were severely worn, so the rollers were about .006 inch smaller in diameter and the side clearance between the inner and out plates was twice that of a new chain. If you used only one chain with the cassette, it would most certainly have chain skip, with a new chain. What I now use as a check for a worn out Campy chain is a plug gage that I made from a 6mm hex wrench, ground down to a thickness of .070 inch, so it will drop between the rollers. When that happens, I trash the chain, even if the elongation is acceptable. At this point, a feeler gage will also show excessive side clearance.

If you really want to maximize cassette and chain life, buy at least three chains and regularly change between them. You'll never get chain skip and the cassette will last through the life of all of the chains. If you're using a brand that is prone to elongate, I'd buy 4 or 5.

A cassette that has been used to the point where one or two cogs skip with a new chain, may still be useable. Buy a new cassette and use the new chain for at least 100 miles, then reinstall the old cassette. Most likely a chain with just some break-in wear will not skip, like a new chain will.

Most chain wear gauges bear against the rollers and measure some mixture of elongation and roller wear, so they exaggerate the amount of elongation. Use a precision 12" rule to measure between the pins and you will get a more accurate measurment. Place the end of the rule at the edge of a pin. The pin at the other end will be covered by the rule, when that chain is new. When that overed pin is half exposed, that chain is shot.

[bikinchris]

Shimano 11 speed chains are a LOT better and more durable than their 10 speed or 9 speed chains.

[dddd]

Shimano 11 speed chains are a LOT better and more durable than their 10 speed or 9 speed chains.

I can't say that I've noticed a difference in chain life going from 9-10 or 10-11, though a lot of mechanics and riders used to replace the 10s chain "early" because of shift-quality issues having to do with the smaller cable movements (particularly when using the 11-28t cassette that required the B-tension screw to be screwed in). I would sometimes use a bottom pulley (with no float) in the top position with the 11-28t 10sp cassettes, especially when the rider had any non-Shimano chain on the 10s bike.

I did know one racer (who was not that big) who broke a couple of 105-level 9s chains on his road bike, but I have to wonder if something like insufficient chain length might have been causing that to happen.

Nine-speed Shimano chain has always been super-durable for me (even on the mtb), and easily exceeds 3k miles of road riding here in the foothills before reaching the stretch limit of 0.5%.

In general, I can't say enough about modern chain having improved cycling, especially in how little friction is generated when cross-chaining compared to old-fashioned chain. That, and their need for only scant lubrication, these days keeps the bikes in the paceline quiet.

One chain in particular, the Shimano "HG Narrow", which was developed in tandem with the then-new Uniglide 7s freewheel and cassette, really stands out as THE first modern chain. Later (and to this day) sold in reinforced (for HG) versions such as the HG70 and HG91, I think of this chain as the big-time successor to the first bushingless derailer chain (the original Sedisport narrow chain).

Shimano's research into derailer chain and sprockets was (and continues to be) a great achievement for cyclists, allowing the transfer of considerable pedaling effort/torque during the shifting event.

[Seramount]

Threads like this confuse me because I have 100,000+ recorded on Strava, mostly with 11sp Campy chains, and haven't discarded more than 10 chains in that time...

your numbers are similar to mine. fwiw, I ride in clean, dry conditions and am not a big wattage type.

usually don't even start measuring chain wear until ~5,000 miles. typically get 7,500+ from KMC chains. think I got over 11K from one recently.

[biker72]

I have a co-worker that rides 5K+ miles per year. Most of those miles are in race mode. He changes the chain and cassette yearly.

I have a little over 5K miles on my 105 Diverge. I see only minimal stretch.

[Bob Ross]

I've ridden both 10 and 11 speed models for 3,000 miles and could measure no significant stretch with a precison 12" machinist's rule.
...[snip]...
Use a precision 12" rule to measure between the pins and you will get a more accurate measurment. Place the end of the rule at the edge of a pin. The pin at the other end will be covered by the rule, when that chain is new. When that overed pin is half exposed, that chain is shot.


Heh. I've never been able to measure any significant stretch with a precison 12" machinist's rule (when used as described above), regardless of whether it was 1,000 or 5,000 miles.

But I suspect this says more about my eyesight and/or patience with "precision" anything than it does about chain wear. So I change my chains whenever the shifting seems to get wonky...usually winds up being between 1,500 - 2,500 miles.