I've had this eMTB for about 16 months and have put over 1,300 miles on it. I recently was learning about chain wear / stretch and after attempting to measure it with a steel ruler decided I should get a dedicated measurement tool to monitor my chain wear going forward. I bought the official SRAM chain wear tool as well as the Park Tool Chain Checker 4.2, both are stated as being compatible with T-TYPE chains. I wasn't surprised that the SRAM tool showed that my chain was well-worn and needed to be replaced, but the Park Tool showed it was just barely at the point of needing to be replaced.
I pulled out the brand new SRAM XX T-TYPE chain I bought as a replacement and decided to check it before installing the new chain. The SRAM tool showed that this chain was already technically "worn" by a fair amount even brand new right out of the package!?! But the Park Tool measurement tool showed it wasn't worn at all.
Am I using these tools incorrectly? What the heck is SRAM doing with their tool? I would rather replace the chain a little early if it prolongs the lifetime of my cassette, but at $155 for a new chain, I don't want to replace a chain unnecessarily either. Has anyone encountered this before and come up with a good answer?
Please refrain from any negative comments about SRAM groupsets, T-TYPE chains, etc… That is not up for debate with this post and don't care to hear your opinions about why other brands would be better. I'm simply asking about measuring chain wear and how to accurately use the tools for this. Thank you for your help.
Trying to understand chain wear tools and when to replace my SRAM T-TYPE chain (see video)
byu/skeptical_introvert inMTB
by skeptical_introvert
7 Comments
You aren’t using the sram tool correctly. Insert the 2 prongs of the tool, squeeze the chain between those 2 prongs then measure with the final prongs. Normally the instructions are printed on the side of the tool. Is yours official sram or aftermarket sram tool?
Why i feel like i have to find a green keycard ?
On the old chain, you placed the tool into the narrow links. On the new chain, you placed the tool into the wide links.
I don’t have either of these tools, so I don’t know which is correct. You should check the instructions for these tools.
In the version I have (which is just cheap no-name brand from Amazon), the pointy side goes into the wide link. The other side with the 2 hooks go into wide link further from the pointy side and narrow link closer to the pointy side.
According to SRAM you cannot measure wear on a T-Type chain with any tool. They are saying that the chain should be changed when the shifting feels shitty. I’m not making this up.
I‘m sure this kind of tools are made to bring more earnings to companies like SRAM, Shimano, etc… little story about my eBike and my SRAM chain/cassette/chainring: 2 years ago a mechanic in a bike shop used this tool and said, the 3 things has to be replaced. I refused to do so, because it didn’t feel like (for me), this has to be exchanged (when I‘m riding)… now 2 years later, 3000km more and I am still having the same chain/cassette and chainring in my eBike.
See video, mate read the front of both your chain tools…… Then you’ll understand how to use them
You need to know how to use the damn tools first before writing an essay.