Chain wear. It’s something mentioned all too often in bicycle maintenance guides, but rarely correctly understood. It’s a dirty job, but let’s take an in-depth look into what chain wear is, why it matters and how to prevent it from costing you money in the long run.
For this, I spoke with representatives from Shimano, SRAM, KMC, Park Tool and Abbey Bike Tools to help reveal exactly when you should (or perhaps shouldn’t) replace your chain. Roll on this way as I pin down a few thoughts.
The pieces of a chain
A bicycle chain is made up of lots of individual pieces. These are the pin, outer plates, inner plates, bushing and roller. On most modern chains, the bushing is integrated with the inner plate and holds in the circular roller.
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Each chain link is joined onto the next, alternating between outer plate and inner plate. A whole chain link is commonly thought as one segment of outer and inner plate together.
A chain has a 0.5in (12.7mm) spacing between pins. This is the chain ‘pitch’ and is an industry standard on multi-speed bikes. (Note: in this article we're only referring to standard ‘derailleur’ type multi-speed bicycle chains.)
What is chain wear?
Why should I care?
How do I measure for wear?
What is the best chain checker?
So how often should I replace my chain?
What about that chain ‘slop’ mentioned earlier?
What if my chain is already worn?
Wrap it up
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