worn out chain symptoms?

[eddief]

i trade bikes in and out so often over the last five years that even though i ride quite a bit, don't think or know i've ever worn out a chain...and i'm a pretty good mechanic.

on my OCR-C, i can't get the the rear derailleur tuned so it does not do funny skips up and down on the two smallest of the 9 cogs.

is this one of the signs of a worn out chain?

[stevep]

sounds like a cable replacement to me.

or, make it simple and just get a new bike.

[eddief]

might be the under bb cable guide not smooth or the path of the cable from there to the chain stay guide looks a little less than a perfect straight shot.

when the rain stops i'll put it in the stand and check them out.

not sure what a new cable could do to fix it.

[AgilisMerlin]

check the cable near rear der. for corrosion, jmo

amerlin

[coylifut]

i trade bikes in and out so often over the last five years that even though i ride quite a bit, don't think or know i've ever worn out a chain...and i'm a pretty good mechanic.

on my OCR-C, i can't get the the rear derailleur tuned so it does not do funny skips up and down on the two smallest of the 9 cogs.

is this one of the signs of a worn out chain?

In my experience, usually when the chain is worn it skips in the middle of the cogset. Replace the cable and housing. If that doesn't work, go for the chain. That way you are replacing things in order of expense. Oh, and check to see that the lock ring is adequately tight.

[pdxmech13]

buy a chain checker

nothing shifts like a new chain

i replace my chain every 1000

[Larry]

i trade bikes in and out so often over the last five years that even though i ride quite a bit, don't think or know i've ever worn out a chain...and i'm a pretty good mechanic.

on my OCR-C, i can't get the the rear derailleur tuned so it does not do funny skips up and down on the two smallest of the 9 cogs.

is this one of the signs of a worn out chain?

Check the alignment and straightness of the rear derailleur hanger.
Occasionally, it can become slightly bent, but hopefully it can be gently straightened. There is a way this is checked with the rear wheel spinning slowly.

Years ago, I bent the hanger on a tree branch/twigs going up Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone N.P. There was only one shop for miles that could fix it, and I watched as he bent and turned that steel hanger back into shape. Perfect!
It road fine for the next 3,000 miles.

A GREAT STORY along the route!!

[Kevan]

until they fray and the cogs run smooth.

[Dave]

A chain can be worn out and not have any significant affect on the shifting. Armed with a few of simple tools, you can measure the three types of wear that are important - elongation, roller wear and side clearance.

None of the common chain wear measuring tools, including the Park chain checker produces an accurate measurement of chain elongation (change in pitch) because these tools add roller wear to the measurement and most measure over a very short length. The roller wear can be as large as the elongation, so the tool may report twice the actual elongation. Many riders are tossing their chains when they are only half worn.

The best way to measure elongation is with a 12" scale. Place an accurate 12” scale on the edge of a pin. The pin at the opposite end will be totally covered when the chain is new. As the chain wears, this pin will begin to “peak out” from under the scale. Change the chain before ½ of this pin is exposed. The maximum allowable wear is 1/16” (.063”) per foot. One half of a pin is slightly more (.070 inch). Ho much easier could it be?

Elongation is only half of the chain wear issue. The rollers also wear – as much as 20-30 time more than the pins and their mating bushing (which causes elongation). New rollers will measure about .205 inch in between them. When this distance increases to .235-.240, I consider the chain to be shot. It is possible to have this much roller wear and very little elongation. I've had a chain with 6000 miles of use, that had only 1/4 of the allowable elongation, but rollers were extremely worn. Some calipers can reach deep enough to measure the distance between the rollers. But I prefer a cheap home made plug gage. I took a 6mm hex wrench and ground it down to a thickness of about .070 inch to fit between the inner plates of the narrowest chain.

Lateral wear (side flex) also plays a role in shifting performance. The longest I've use a Campy 10 chain is 6000 miles, but even at this point the lateral wear was not degrading the shifting significantly. A new chain will have .004-.005 inch of clearance, while my chain with 6000 miles on it had .012-013. A feeler gage will quickly tell you the amount of clearance between the inner and outer plates.

Changing a chain long before these wear criteria is met is not likely to increase cog life. It's entirely possible to wear out at least one or two cogs over the life of a single chain. I've used a single chain for 6000 miles, and worn out one cog, even though the chain showed little elongation. The only practical way to detect a worn cog is by installing a new chain. If the chain skips on a cog, while pedaling under a heavy load, then the cog is too worn to use with a new chain. If you install a new chain and don't get skipping with any of the cogs, there is no reason to change the cassette.

The best way to maximize cog life is to alternate the use of 2-3 chains, changing every 1-2000 miles, or at least before the first chain is half worn. With this method a new chain will never be installed on worn cogs. When both chains are worn out, then most likely the cassette will be too. There might be a valid argument for including a third chain, but it all depends on the cost of the chain relative to the cost of the cassette. For example, if chains cost $40, the cassette cost $120, and chain life is 4000 miles, the cassette could be used for 8000 miles. The cost per mile is 2.5 cents. If a third chain was included in the rotation, the cassette might be useable for 12,000 miles and the cost drops to 2 cents per mile.