Categories: The Bikes

That New Chain Feeling

Chain Breaker. photo-Cor Vos

I replace my chain every year, more or less. It tends toward less as I don’t have a set anniversary for new chains. Usually I notice the shifting is lagging a second and it dawns on me that the chain is in need of replacement. In my youth I would keep the same chain on the bike forever. I even used to take it off, and reinstall it inside out (?!) thinking…thinking that I was a cheap idiot. The result of that was the rear cogs were always ruined too, reinforcing the cheap idiot thing. Since replacing the chain on a yearly basis I’ve never had to replace a cassette. I’ve heard that the Fabian Cancellara’s of the pro peloton get a new chain once a week. The pros are fifty-two times more mighty.

This most recent chain replacement had me using a Campagnolo Chorus chain I had attempted to install on another bike and failed. I shamefully put the chain on a shelf until I had stocked up on Campagnolo’s special bullet shaped, don’t drop this on the shop floor or you will never find it, you only get one shot at this, very special chain pin. Maybe it’s like redoing your handlebar tape or filing taxes; these jobs only done once a year never go perfectly. Installing the Campagnolo chain is like what I imagine arming a field tactical nuclear weapon is like. It is cramped. It requires small hands. It requires excellent vision. It requires mechanical skills and you only get one shot at it. Luckily, for me, the whole mess was contained with a KMC 11-speed quick link, whew, done and dusted.

My point is, when one changes just one component on one’s bike, the change is very noticeable, The first few pedal strokes out on the road with a new chain is a subtle revelation. It feels different. It feels better. Damn it feels excellent.

Or is it all in the mind. This article was linked in the Velominati posts a while back. In a world full of anecdotal evidence I do enjoy an article where our perceptions are put to the test. Maybe my new chain feeling is all in my head? Who cares, I can still enjoy it and “in my head” is where enjoyment happens anyway.

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

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rfreese888 says:

Apr 28 2015 at 2:34 am

@TBONE

I gave up on chain lube and its messes last winter. I bought to Campagnolo Chorus chains, and stripped the factory grease off of them. Melted a pot of paraffin wax, and dumped in some graphite. Added the chains, and let them stew in there for a while. I took one out, and put it on my new drivetrain, secured with a KMC 11 speed quick link. I just don’t have the patience to muck about with the pin.

Every ~900km I need to remove the chain, and swap it out with the one that is entombed in the wax. Heat up the wax, and do the switcheroo. My drivetrain is silent, always clean, never needs lube, never leaves a mark on my leg. No visible wear on the cluster or rings. Granted I have to use a new quick link each time, but I won’t have to replace the drivetrain for a long time coming.

Dude that is Jedi chain wisdom - chapeau!
Phillip Mercer says:

Apr 28 2015 at 3:34 am

I managed to get my bike shops chain gauge to keep so I can replace the chain before it skips and therefore damage the cassette. I generally go through two chains for every cassette but I've stopped wearing as quickly by a regular program of degrease and relubing particularly after a wet ride.

During a wet week (I commute) I'll wipe the chain with a rag after each day to reduce grit until it's practical to do a full clean.
1860 says:

Apr 28 2015 at 3:54 am

OK the photo is from 2009, but notice the sign behind Cancellara. I wonder if that house is still up for sale.... seems perfect for Frank.
Oli says:

Apr 28 2015 at 3:58 am

I change chains every ten years or so.

Shows how much I bloody ride these days...
Oli says:

Apr 28 2015 at 4:02 am

By the way, @piwakawaka is onto it. That grease that chains come with can't be beaten inside the rollers, and it's a fuck sight easier to strip it out with degreaser than it is to get any decent lube back in there, and inside the rollers is where you want the lube, not on the outside.

Whatever your flavour of lube, just apply lightly to the chain with factory grease in situ, then wipe off the excess. Keep wiping the excess off over subsequent rides until it's time to apply a bit more, then repeat the cycle.
Ron says:

Apr 28 2015 at 5:13 am

My favorite (now that it is awhile ago) chain installation mishap came when I had the bike in the stand in the kitchen of our rental house. Trying getting the magic link connected under tension. Hand slipped, chain pulled, all went flying, and I hear a faint "tink." A year or so later I found 1/2 of the link in a mixing bowl atop the refrigerator.

Faithful homebrew luber here. Mix up a few jugs every few years, put in contact solution bottles, wipe chain, light relube, let evaporate. I get many KMs out of my chains, but I ride in a relatively dry and relatively non-dusty place.

Campa on Campa, KMC on Shimano and Sram.
Rick says:

Apr 28 2015 at 5:58 am

@Ccos

We may be "Yanks" - but remember this. There are only two types of countries. Those that use the metric system and those that have put a man on the moon!
frank says:

Apr 28 2015 at 6:07 am

@Gianni

@JohnB

A new chain is indeed a wonderful thing. No matter how often you clean and lube there is something extra slick and silent about a new one. What grease do the manufacturers put on them before packaging?

I love the lube that the factory uses. It is some warm bath of lube-goodness and i would love to be able to replicate it. I know this post is going to turn into a lube-fest. So be it.

Once a year though? I couldn’t wait that long except on the fixed because it’s 1/8th. Twice a year on the #1 and hardtail, every 3 months max on the wet/ winter bike. It’s been a long while since I too purchased a new cassette and the Park CC3.2 chain checker has been worth every penny of the £6 it was when purchased back in the day.

To me chains are a throwaway consumable, a pleasing item to change out and saving money elsewhere, Dura Ace on the #1, 105 on the others.

Chapeau! Don’t screw around.

I think the frequency of required chain replacement has a lot to do with how clean you keep it, how much you lube it, and how you ride.

I clean my chain obsessively and have never had much need to change it until I started big-ringing more often and found it to stretch a lot more quickly.

And, rather than just guessing at how many miles it takes you to fuck your shit up, routine use of a chain gauge takes the guesswork out of it.

And DuMonde Tech is still the best lube out there.
frank says:

Apr 28 2015 at 6:10 am

Oh, and the Connex quick link is my favorite; no more $30 Campa chain reconnection kit any time you decide its a good idea to take your chain off.
RedRanger says:

Apr 28 2015 at 6:33 am

@frank

$10 well spent for this bad boy. Go/No Go gauge.