For better maintenance of your road bike, chain rings, cogs and chain needs to be properly maintained and replaced from time to time. As an important component of the road bike, chain is the main topic of this post.

How Chain Determines When to Replace the Road Bike Cassette

The chain of your road bike wears quickly compared to the chain ring or the cogs in the cassette. As it deteriorates, the cylindrical rollers between the links lose their shape to become more like hourglass. They become narrower at points at which cogs and chain ring are engaged to the chain. You must have seen a well-worn chain before. It becomes slightly longer than a new chain.

Both conditions can cause major damages:

• The cogs and chain ring will wear quickly
• Increased difficulty in hindering shifting
• Overall efficiency will be reduced

So, it is vital to replace the chain on regular intervals, depending on how you use your road bike.

How Often You Should Replace the Chain

Some people recommend replacing the chain after every 2000 miles, but that’s not always the case. There are other factors affecting the performance of the chain, such as:

• The surface: Chain wears quickly on hilly tracks
• The weather: If you ride your bike during heavy weather, the chain will wear quickly.
• Rider’s Weight: If you weigh 195 lbs, your road bike chain takes less than 2000 miles to wear, but if your weight is around 110 lbs, it’ll take longer than 2000 miles.

So, it is recommended that you keep an eye on the chain or have your bike checked by a professional as often as possible.

3 Steps to Measure Chain Wear

1. Take a 12” ruler and begin from the one link pin.
2. One link pin is half-inch from the next, which means that the 24^th pin should exactly be on the 12” mark on the ruler.
3. If the 24^th pin is not aligned with the mark, it’s time to replace the chain

You can also buy a chain checker to assess the chain. In this way, it will be much easier for you to determine how long your bike can go with the same chain.

The Process of Chain Wear

“Stretch” is the term used to refer to the chain wear. Here’s the technical aspect of how it really happens.

• The pins in the chain wear at each link, allowing the rollers to lose their position.
• This displacement in rollers results in a slop which makes the next link to offset forward.
• This offset is further stretched under the pedaling where there is more tension.
• This stretch might result in clunk or violent skips during pedaling.
• Clunk or skip occur when the roller is displaced, making it impossible for the cog to hold the roller between its teeth (a slot). Therefore the next roller falls in the slot can causes the clunk or disturbance.

Eventually, it indicates you have to either replace the chain or the entire cassette.

Finally – the Chain ring and Cogs

It is even more difficult to identify the wears in chain ring and cogs. Now, with modern derailleur and unique shaped cogs, it becomes almost impossible to notice the wears. So, if you keep the chain in good shape, by means of proper lubrication, the chain ring and cogs will last up to 5 chain replacements.