Chain Wear Tool Recommendations?

[Louis]

Given the outrageous cost of cassettes these days I’ve decided to finally buy a chain wear indicator tool. (Not that chains are cheap either.)

There seem to be a couple different options out there. Have you been able to compare the various choices? What do you recommend?

Thanks
Louis

[gasman]

I like my Park CC-2, it gives me a good idea of how much wear I have left and it's very easy to use.

[ergott]

measure 12 links and they should line up to 12 inches. The width of a pin too long marks the death of the chain. You can measure to the left or right of the pin for a precise measurement.

Eric

[Too Tall]

whipperman.

[Serotta PETE]

Locally, there has been much talk about chain guages in regard to 10 speed chains. The net of the discussion is that the tools out there do not do a very good job of telling you if your chain is worn out. This seems to be especially true in regard to campy chains (although it probably holds true to others). The cogs and chain rings are getting wear long before the tool says it is time to change the chain. Additionally, I have known folks whose chains have broken (campy) before tool said they were worn.

A good rule of thumb for campy chain is 3K miles (depending on riding and how much rain, grit, etc ,,,)

Not saying when one should replace a chain, just saying that 10 speed chains do not last as long (they are thinner/lighter and this has a price in $$s and longevity.)

[Dave]

Fancy chain wear tools are most often less accurate than a good 12" scale. If anything, most tell you that a chain is worn out when it is not, because they press against a roller at each end. The roller wear included in the measurement is NOT a change in the pitch of the chain, which is what needs to be measured.

A 12 inch scale can be used on the bike or on a bench, with the chain pulled tight. Lay one end of the scale on the edge of a pin. The pin at the opposite end will be completely covered by the scale when the chain is new. As wear occurs, the covered end will begin to peak out from under the scale. The chain should be change before 1/2 of the pin diameter is exposed.

I disagree that campy 10 chains don't last very long. I'm using one with 3800 miles on it that has almost no measureable wear. I won't even think of changing it until it has at least 5,000 miles on it. The key to long life is frequent lubrication and cleaning. The technique I use cleans and lubricates the chain at the same time, so it really never needs to be removed for a separate cleaning.

http://yarchive.net/bike/chain_wear.html

[Kevin]

I like my Park CC-2, it gives me a good idea of how much wear I have left and it's very easy to use.

Ditto.

Kevin

[ergott]

Fancy chain wear tools are most often less accurate than a good 12" scale. If anything, most tell you that a chain is worn out when it is not, because they press against a roller at each end. The roller wear included in the measurement is NOT a change in the pitch of the chain, which is what needs to be measured.

A 12 inch scale can be used on the bike or on a bench, with the chain pulled tight. Lay one end of the scale on the edge of a pin. The pin at the opposite end will be completely covered by the scale when the chain is new. As wear occurs, the covered end will begin to peak out from under the scale. The chain should be change before 1/2 of the pin diameter is exposed.

I disagree that campy 10 chains don't last very long. I'm using one with 3800 miles on it that has almost no measureable wear. I won't even think of changing it until it has at least 5,000 miles on it. The key to long life is frequent lubrication and cleaning. The technique I use cleans and lubricates the chain at the same time, so it really never needs to be removed for a separate cleaning.

http://yarchive.net/bike/chain_wear.html

Yeah, Dave explained it much better than I did. :) :)

Eric

[toaster]

I use a dial indicator. Campagnolo explains how to measure chain wear in their user guide that is included with the chain. Just skip the Italian, French and Spanish text and read the english version.

Campy chains for me are done between 2,000 and 3,000 miles.

[Grant McLean]

I'm often confused by people saying "10 speed chains are thinner" so they "wear" faster. I don't think this is true. Last time I checked, every derailleur bicycle for the last 40+ years has a 3/32" wide chain. Measure the thickness of the teeth on a 5/6/7/8/9/10 speed chain ring and you'll see it's exactly the same thickness. (3/32")

What is the difference in width is the thickness of the plates of the sides of the outer link. (and the space between each rear cog is less) I don't believe these plates "stretch" because they are thinner than an ole' 6sp chain. All the contact surfaces from the cassette cogs, inside chain rolles and the chainring teeth are exactly the same dimensions on all derailleur drivetrains. These are the parts that wear out,
regardless of how many cogs you have.

Gee, I should be on "mythbusters" tv show!!

Grant

[Dave]

The thickness of cog teeth has changed over the years. Cogs haven't been 3/32" (2.38mm) wide for a LONG time. 8 speed Campy cogs are only 1.9mm thick. Campy and Shimano 9 cogs have nearly identical thicknesses of 1.75 and 1.78mm. Campy and Shimano 10 cogs are 1.70 and 1.60mm respectively. Shimano 10 cogs are 10% thinner, while Campy 10 cogs are 3% thinner than 9 speed.

Part of the reason 10 speed chains are thinner is due to thinner outer side plates and part of it is due to reduced width between the inner side plates. Campy 10 chains have about 6% less width between the inner side plates than 9 speed chains. The reduction in the inner width and the resulting reduction in the width of the bushing formed into the inner side plates will increase the wear rate.

Chain wear has NEVER been due to anything "stretching". The chain wear that increases the pitch of the chain is due to wear between the pins and the bushings formed into the inner sideplates. The maximum allowable wear of 1/16" per foot is merely an average wear of .0026 inch between each pin and bushing. With Campy 10 chains having 6% less bushing width, you can expect a slight reduction in chain life.

With Shimano 10 having then narrowest cogs and chains, the life will be reduced even more. Shimano has added an abrasion resistant coating to some of their cogs to help reduce this problem.

One method that may increase chain life is flipping the chain from inside to outside fairly frequently. The idea is that a different portion of the pin and bushing are exposed to wear in each direction. I haven't tried this enough to gather any data, but it's not hard to do. Just scratch or file a small mark on one side of the chain, on a link near the connecting link (assuming a no-tools connecting link is used). Each time the chain is removed for cleaning, note whether the marked side is on the inside or outside and install the chain with the opposite side outward.

[Grant McLean]

I'm glad to see your correct info. My observation was based on the measurements I made of various chainings. I assumed that the thickness of the chainrings would be the same as the cogs. I stand corrected. I still don't thing that the difference between 1.7 and 1.6mm cogs should make that much difference in how quickly they wear. I would think riding conditions and maintenence would have a much greater impact.

Grant

[Ken Lehner]

Given the outrageous cost of cassettes these days I’ve decided to finally buy a chain wear indicator tool. (Not that chains are cheap either.)

There seem to be a couple different options out there. Have you been able to compare the various choices? What do you recommend?

Thanks
Louis

A ruler.

[Grant McLean]

Dave wrote:"Part of the reason 10 speed chains are thinner is due to thinner outer side plates and part of it is due to reduced width between the inner side plates. Campy 10 chains have about 6% less width between the inner side plates than 9 speed chains. The reduction in the inner width and the resulting reduction in the width of the bushing formed into the inner side plates will increase the wear rate."

Dave, are you sure the inside measurements are different? The 9sp and 10speed campy chains I measured have exactly 2.35mm distance between the inside plates. One chain is clearly marked 'C9' and the other has the holes in the plates and pins, obviously 10sp. I used a set of dial vernier calipers, they are pretty accurate.

I measured a few other different brands of chains, ALL have 2.35mm between the inner plates. I measured a few chainrings.... all are 2.00mm thick. That's a campy 1973 NR to current 10sp carbon record. So in terms of this "chain wear" issue, the only dimentional difference I have found is the one you pointed out, the thickness of the rear cog from 1.9 8sp to 1.6 in 10 speed.

I still find it interesting that a chain with an inside 2.35mm diameter runs on a 1.6mm wide cog. Could this be why Campy doesn't have float in the upper pulley of the rear derailleur?

Grant

[Too Tall]

OK I'm a hillbilly. The reason a wipperman works for me is that it it is a visual "go" "no go" device and is two sided with one side measuring .5% wear (right?) and the other a more conservative number eg "A"luminum vs "S"teel. Being able to see where the device falls into the chain is quick and very easy. I've been able to keep an eye on chains from start to finish. Jobst is never wrong but in the real world his prognostications often fall short of a practical solution.

[Dave]

You're right about the width between the inner plates, but don't forget about the reduced thickness of the plates. If you measure across the end of 8, 9 and 10 speed chains, the bushing width is .15mm narrower on a 9 speed chain than an 8 speed and the 10 speed is .35mm narrower, or 9%. I don't have dimensions on a shimano 10 chain but it's bound to be even narrower.

With equal maintenance, you might expect up to 10% less life from an ultra narrow chain and cogs, but this isn't a lot.

Regarding the width between the inner plates being much larger than the cogs, it's the outside width and the clearance between the chain and the cog on each side that's important. Both campy and shimano make the chain width about .4mm less than the available space. Even though there may be lots of clearance between the inner plates, there's not much room for a wider chain to squeeze between the cogs on either side of the chain. Some folks use a 9 speed chain that's 6.8mm wide on a 10 speed cassette with 6.6mm between the cogs. The only reason this works at all is that the ends of the cog teeth are not quite as thick as they are at the root. I've tried this setup and it will work, but the derailleur adjustment is finicky and I got the occasional over shift, where the chain had trouble settling down into the little space available. I'ts just not wise to use a too-wide chain.

As for campy derailleurs not having float on the upper pulley, that's not correct. There is some float in the upper pulley. It's not a lot, but there is definitely some float.