Bicycle Chain Wear Check
This page was last updated on February 27, 2015. All reported kilometres are as at this date.
Bicycle chains and cassettes are both important parts of a bike’s drive train and hence maintenance of them can be time-consuming. Getting value out of your bicycle chain is important and a key aspect of that is understanding how well a bicycle chain wears. To get a handle on how my bicycle chains wear, I maintain this blog posting of my bicycle chain wear rates and my bicycle cassette wear rates. I have tried out Shimano chains, KMC chains, Wipperman chains and SRAM chains and my current preference is for Wipperman 10 speed chains and SRAM 9 speed chains.
To put my bicycle chain wear rates in context I record all my rides in BikeJournal so I have an exact measure of the kilometres ridden. I also use BikeJournal to track my chain use. Cassette usage is done in a spreadsheet.
As part of my bicycle chain maintenance program and hence something to keep in mind with my bicycle chain wear rates is that I service my chains every 500 kilometres in the wet riding season (winter to spring) and every 1,000 kilometres in my dry riding season (summer to autumn). My standard bicycle service is detailed here.
This post of my bicycle chain wear rates is updated approximately once a month to ensure the information is current. I am always interested in your opinion on how you experience with your bicycle chain wear rates and general experiences with bicycle chains and cassettes so please do leave a comment below.
Bicycle Chain Wear Rates – Chains and Cassettes Currently in Use
Bicycle chains in use
| Chain Brand and Model | Last Reported Mileage | Other Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Shimano Dura-ace CN-7801 10 speed chain | 1,953 | Fitted to my Look 555; Weekend warrior and Audax ride |
| Shimano HG 93 9 speed chain | 1,953 | Fitted to my Giant XTC 2 mountain bike; touring |
| Shimano HG 93 9 speed chain | 695 | Fitted to my Giant Defy 1 Electric Bike |
| Wipperman 9SX 9 speed chain | 4,201 | Fitted to my Surly Long Haul Trucker; touring |
| YBN LG-7710 9 Speed chain | 1,448 | OEM fittment on my LoGo Lightning P-38 |
Bicycle cassettes now in use
| Chain/Cluster Brand and Model | Milage (Kilometres) | Other Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Shimano CS-HG50 11-34 10 speed cluster | 1,956 | Fitted to my Giant XTC 2 mountain bike; touring |
| Shimano Deore XT CS-M770 11-34 9 speed cluster | 4,201 | Fitted to my Surly Long Haul Trucker at 9,676 km. |
| Shimano Ultegra CS 6700 11-28 10 speed cluster | 9,132 | Fitted at 13,575 km to my Look 555. |
| Shimano 9 sp | 695 | Fitted to my Giant Defy 1 |
| Unknown - 11-34 9 speed | 1,448 | LoGo P-38>/a> |
Bicycle Chains Wear Rates – Chains Retired (Archival Data)
| Chain Brand and Model | Number of Chains Used | Average Mileage | Other Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| KMC X10 10 speed chain | 1 | 4,240 km | Fitted to my Giant CRX 1 commuter. In fairness to the chain I may have prematurely retired it due to my incorrect use of my new Shimano TL-CN41 chain wear tool. |
| KMC X10L Gold 10 speed chain | 1 | 13,044 km | Fitted to my Kinesis Racelight Granfondo Ltd commuter |
| Shimano CN-5600 10 speed | 1 | 1,874 km | OEM chain fitted to my Giant CRX 1 |
| Shimano CN-6600 10 speed | 1 | 9,606 km | OEM chain fitted to my Look 555 |
| SRAM PC 991 9 speed chain | 1 | 3,843 km | Removed earlier from my Surly Long Haul Trucker in preparation for the Dreaming Tour. |
| SRAM PC-971 9 Speed | 1 | 5,833 km | OEM chain fitted to my Surly Long Haul Trucker. |
| Wipperman Connex 10s0 10 speed chain | 1 | 11,147 km | Fitted to my Look 555; Weekend warrior and Audax ride |
Bicycle Chains Wear Rates – Cassettes Retired (Archival Data)
| Shimano 105 12-27 10 speed cluster |
1 | 18,672 km | |
| Shimano Ultegra CS-6600 11-23 10 Speed |
1 | 13,575 km | OEM cluster fitted to my Look 555 |
| Shimano Deore XT CS-M770 11-34 9 speed cluster |
1 | 9, 676 km | Removed earlier from my Surly Long Haul Trucker in preparation for the Dreaming Tour. |
There is another way! I’d be interested to hear your opinion of it…
http://www.cyclorama.net/blog/advice/51/
All the best, Mick
You might convince me yet 🙂 Actually I have a 5,000 km + ride coming up where applying your suggested method will be a good test. I will be heading off with a new chain as well and will not have the option of cleaning and degreasing like I normally do. Will be interesting to see how it works out.
Me too! Looking forward to your impressions of ‘The Method’ with eager anticpation!
Mick
I wonder if the cheaper wippermann’s are much worse or I just got unlucky, I tried a 900 9 speed, and it not only stretched to 0.75% wear in only 3,000km, but wore out the middle ring and cassette. I’ve been getting typically 5000-7000 on shimano HG73 and HG53 and gettilng at least two chains out of a cassette.
This is just commuting usage in perth, mainly dry weather, wipe and rock’n’roll lube only maintenance, no degreasing.
I haven’t used the other Wipperman chains so cannot comment on them but I would be double checking the reported wear rates if using a “standard” measuring tool. You may well be replacing the chains earlier than you need to.
You don’t seem to get many kms out your cassettes and chains. I usually run DA 7801 chain and get probably 3 months (4000 – 6000km) before it is worn (usually just over .75, not worn right out) and a year/20000km, sometimes more out of a cassette (Ult or 105 – can’t see the value in DA). I usually clean the chain and cassette once a week, just leave them on the bike and scrub with kero, rinse, dry off and re-lube
Crikey. Last removed chain … Shimano Ultegra CS-6600 11-23 10 sp after 13,575 km. The chain and cluster on the Surly was removed early due to heading off at the time on what was a planned 5,000 km tour. That chain and cluster will go back on the bike eventually.