Chain length and life

[Cudzoziemiec]

This is actually prompted by a cargo bike, but as it's recumbenteers who most commonly have long chains, this seems the best place to ask. A cargo bike owner was telling me that his super-long chain, which he described as "two and a half normal lengths", lasts longer than a normal chain because each link is working, pulling and bent over the sprockets, less frequently. Something seems wrong about that to me, but I'm not sure what. Please explain how it is, dark siders.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

True, each link is bent round a cog fewer times per mile ridden. It is the change of direction of a link that wears it. A constant link angle causes no wear.

[Quint]

Length of life of a chain (IMHO) is also down to good maintenance, also the type of lube used, I currently use MucOff C3 lube on my trike and Finish Line Teflon Dry Lube on Barbaras (reason for different lubes being the Teflon Dry is just that and means a cleaner chain when wearing light clothing).
          Both lubes are giving minimal wash off even in the torrents from above at the moment  and good chain life, I shall stick with these I reckon, have tried wax lubes but they seem to give a shorter life of the chain, hope this is of use.

                                                                                           

[Kim]

Two and a half normal lengths is typical for recumbents too.

Not having worn out many chains, I can't really contribute much in the way of meaningful data, but the one on my recumbent is currently at about 5000 miles without appreciable 'stretch'.  My upright has worn out chains more quickly than this, but I suspect that chain length isn't the pertinent factor - the upright goes out in far muckier conditions, and the chain gets subjected to far more force on a regular basis (you don't generally 'honk' on a recumbent).

It's further obfuscated by the presence of idlers and chain tubes on most recumbent chainlines.  The Streetmachine's chainline is relatively harmless by the standards of such things - not deflecting the chain at all in some gears - whereas on the ICE trike the idler is always doing significant work.  Lowracers tend to have even more significant deflections around multiple idlers in on both sides of the chain.  Chain tubes mean the chain spends a lot of time indoors, and the very nature of recumbents means the chain is usually spared the torrent of muck from the front wheel.

[tom_e]

I concur.  Each link lasts longer, but you need to replace the whole thing at once.

By my records, my single [upright] bike chains have been 1800-2600km, partly depending on whether it was a new cassette or not.

My two recumbent chains have been 8600km then 4500km.  The latter was a deliberate experiment keeping the same cassette on from the first one.  Looking at prices and that comparison suggests the cassette should be replaced every time, which makes sense when you consider it is roughly 2.5 chains : 1 cassette, similar to an upright.  I did suspect that before, but wanted to actually test it.

I am not a good bike cleaner.  YMMV, but I guess the pattern is likely to stay the same.

[tom_e]

To add, these are vaguely when I have noticed wear above 0.75 on my checker.  In the latest instance the bent chain then unfortunately snapped on me before replacement arrived.    Fortunately I was obviously sat down so didn't hurt myself, and the cars on the roundabout gave me space to freewheel to an embarrassing halt at the side.

[Biggsy]

Compared to a "normal" bike, you'll have better chainlines as well, if the cargo bike has more than one external gear.  Lateral force on the links as they're rotating is a wear factor.

[Kim]

Compared to a "normal" bike, you'll have better chainlines as well, if the bike has more than one external gear.

I think that depends on the idler setup, and whether or not they allow horizontal movement of the chain...

ETA: No, wait.  Even if it doesn't move, you've still halved the worst-case angle.  Ignore me.

[Cudzoziemiec]

This particular cargo bike had a single chain ring with 8-speed cassette, so presumably there wouldn't be problems with chainline anyway.

[Biggsy]

This particular cargo bike had a single chain ring with 8-speed cassette, so presumably there wouldn't be problems with chainline anyway.

No chronic problems, but still the chainline on all but one gear is worse than that of a single speed's.  The greater the distance between the front and rear gears, the less poor the line can be (assuming the sprockets are positioned optimally).

[Auntie Helen]

I am a bit nerdy so have kept a record of when I changed my chains on my trikes.

A chain is 2.5 chains, if that makes sense.

These are the lifetimes (in miles) of all the chains on my Trice Q

2,869
3,658
3,484
4,558
3,512
4,357
1,652

That last figure isn't accurate as the chain is still on the Trice Q and has done another 800+ miles already.

The first chain actually snapped, which was a bit exciting. I ended up trailing a huge, huge snake of chain...

On my ICE Sprint I changed the chain at 4,859 miles as I was going off on my bike tour and didn't want an old chain on it, although it was still in reasonable-ish condition. I think having a hub gear on that trike means the chain has less wear as it's not sliding up and down the sprockets.

I don't look after my chains at all well, I ride in all weathers and tend to put the trikes away dirty. I oil them once in a blue moon (when I remember) and rarely clean them more than once in their lifetime.

YMMV.

[xpc316e]

Another factor which extends the life of chains on tadpole trikes is the fact that the chain does not get grit/water flicked onto it from the front wheel as on a conventional bike/delta trike.  The chain really appreciates not having grinding paste rubbed into it at regular intervals. 

I remember an MZ motorcycle that I owned years ago had a totally enclosed chain; once lubed it would last for years without appreciable wear as it was kept clean.

[redshift]

Compared to a "normal" bike, you'll have better chainlines as well, if the cargo bike has more than one external gear.  Lateral force on the links as they're rotating is a wear factor.

Indeed.  There are no 'illegal' gears on Speedy, even though it's running 3x9.  I would say that TCO is the same though - even if a chain lasts three times as long, you still need to buy three chains for a recumbent.  You'd need to buy about 15 chains before you'd have enough bits left over to make one up out of spare.

[Quint]

3700 on this chain now (ICE 26" trike) and although the Park chain checker says tis still ok I am going to drop a new one on (going on holiday don't want no worries sort of thing), Q - Do I scrub with Muc Off then lube before fitting or, (as some people say) use until factory lube goes, usually about 200 miles and then lube