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    My chain wear has been at 100% forever. I read to replace it at 0.5 (or 0.75?) but it seems to never degrade down to that. How many miles can i expect? currently around 5000 on this chain

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    34 Comments

    1. Adventureadverts on

      You’ll have to replace your cassette, front cogs, and chain at some point. It probably won’t be too long 

    2. Fickelson on

      Your chain is beyond the wear mark.

      “100%” is actually 1% and it means 1% stretch. 0.5 and 0.75% come before that.

      Time for a new chain, and probably a new cassette.

    3. psychillist on

      Ride that until it skips,and you bash your nuts on the stem. That chain, cassette and chainrings are done

    4. TrueF0xtr0t on

      are you reading the tool correctly? if the tool fits the 0,5 peg inside the chain that means the chain is stretched at least that amount, how does the shifting feel?

    5. bill-smith on

      If you run your chain past a certain point, the rollers will no longer sit where the cassette teeth expect them to be, and you will increase wear on the cassette. At some point beyond that, you will also wear the chainrings out. Do that and you can get chainsuck. Worn chain + worn cassette will eventually start skipping, I think.

      Basically, past 0.5% wear, your chain is already degrading your cassette and your chainring. If you replace at 0.5%, you should be able to get two chains or more to one cassette. If you replace at 0.75%, you’re most likely going to need to replace the cassette, which can be expensive (Shimano not so bad) along with the chain, as a new chain will skip on the cassette. Past 1% is in the range where you’re starting to wear out those chainrings.

    6. CoffeeList1278 on

      You chain is beyond saving. And so is your cassette and chainrings. On the upside, that was the case even when you got the gauge. The gauge wasnt supposed to fall through when it was new.

    7. high_yield on

      You aren’t using/reading the gauge correctly.

      On a new chain, *none* of those three prongs will fit in. Eventually, once the chain is worn, the 0.5% prong will fit in. At this point, if your drivetrain is 11-12 speed, you should replace the chain, otherwise you can ride a little longer.

      If you wait longer, eventually the 0.75% prong will fit in. Now if your bike has 7-10 gears, you should replace the chain.

      If you ride longer still, eventually the 1% prong will fit in – now, even if you have a singlespeed, you should replace the chain.

      Following these rules and replacing chains frequently will actuslly save you money.

      *Note: refer to the manufacturers guidelines for which % applies to which groupset, but the rules above are a good starting point.*

    8. mike_speaks on

      Eventually the shifting will degrade……speculative suggesting it’s already happening, but the degradation is slow, so you might not notice…yet.

      I’m in that situation right now. My front chain rings are SHOT. I had to add a TON on tension on the front derailleur to get it to shift….had to move the high limit way out too. No front trim with all that tension, my chain occasionally comes off on the outside….it’s noisy…i get chain pops from the front if I pedal too hard too fast(the chain does not mesh great with the chainrings, but with enough pressure it snap into place)

      When you replace the chain, it won’t mesh with your worn cassette and front chainrings. You won’t be able to adjust it for smooth running across all the cogs…and the new chain will be worn in 1000 miles…like DONE worn.

      If you keep the current setup, eventually the chain will start slipping over the gears, that dangerous, particularly if your not expecting it.

      I don’t know, but I’m guessing your worn chain is more likely to break too ?

      I’ve hit all this stuff due to my lazy ways….

      And to the others saying to replace cassette, chain and front chainrings, 100%, +1

    9. thelaughingmilk on

      Side note but this looks like an 11sp shimano chain that’s on backwards. If it is that chain the side with letters faces out. If not don’t listen to me.

    10. Fast-Coast-3456 on

      I don’t know why is people answering this as if it was a seriouse question, this must be a joke.

    13. Unlikely-Office-7566 on

      At this point just run it till something breaks.

      I have had the same chain/cassette/ring on my mtb since 2019. no idea how
      Many thousands of K’s, well over 20k for sure. Doesn’t shift great anymore, but I don’t care 🤷‍♂️

    14. Mean_Criticism983 on

      it’s not supposed to go through the chain lol that means it’s 100% worn

    20. sun_monkey on

      Everyone’s right about OP mis-reading the gauge. But this gauge itself is problematic because it does not isolate pin wear from roller wear.

      You want a gauge that uses three points of contact to remove roller wear from the measurement, such as the Park Tool CC-4, Pedros Chain Checker Plus II, Shimano TL-CN42, or the Abbey LL.

    22. Ecstatic_Wishbone609 on

      At this point just run it till it breaks and then replace everything, chain, cassette, chain rings… bike?

    23. kupofjoe on

      The prongs will not all go into the chain at the same time if it doesn’t need replacing. Once the chain has been worn to the point of needing replacement, all three prongs will fit into the chain as you have here. New chain time.

    24. jinper2012 on

      I’d replace the chain first and see what happens. Definitely try that first before you replace the cassette too. I usually can go through 2 or 3 chains before I need a new cassette. But if it skips, then time a new cassette too.

    28. georgeforeman89 on

      The chain is the cheapest part of the drivetrain and the easiest to replace. If your chain gets that worn out, chances are your drivetrain is fucked. So change your chain so you don’t have to change any other more expensive parts.

    29. zombie9393 on

      Where are you and what kind of conditions are you riding in?

      I have 26k+ miles on a single chain and it’s still almost brand new looking.

    30. Kind-cheesecake-3316 on

      The fact that chain stretch stopped increasing means that its tearing into the cassette.

      Protecting the cassette is why we change chains sooner rather than later.

      I agree with those who say 3 chains to a cassette. With SRAM Red flat top chains, I go by two chains to a cassette and each chain is used twice.

    31. YamWorth3666 on

      Hahahahahaa paging cycling circle jerk. This is absolute top tier content. Thank you for the laugh. I hope you’re being genuine because it’s even better that way
      To be honest, you may come out of this a more sophisticated drive train wear analyzer but now you’ll forever be counter intuitively replacing chains wondering if it’s the most cost effective option… It totally isn’t. But I’d chalk it up to the new chain being more reliable. Old worn out chains can break and new chains won’t work on that drive train. To each their own tho, I’ve worked on bikes with the slinkiest chains and clients don’t want them changed because “everything is working fine” year after year this 8 speed masterpiece just plods along.

    33. Slab_Sycle_Triccer26 on

      It’s more than stretched out. You’ll soon ruin your cassette and chainring if you haven’t already.

    34. deesernutz on

      Sorry, what? That chain checker has fully dropped in. Its over 1% stretched, cnts fkd

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