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Checking chain wear when waxing chains. (lemmy.ca)

submitted 3 months ago by Showroom7561@lemmy.ca to c/bikewrench@lemmy.world

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So, I joined the world of waxed chains. So far, it's life changing. Quiet to the point that your think I'm running a belt drive, but more importantly, super clean and component preserving.

But, I was thinking earlier, if wax fills in the gaps between the parts the wear, how would you actually get a true chain wear measurement?

I've never heard of someone stripping the wax off to check for wear, and that would get incredibility wasteful to do it often.

Zero friction Cycling doesnt mention anything special in regards to checking a waxed chain.

So, would I go about checking the chain, waxed and all, and assume the numbers are pin point accurate?

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[–] teft@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Personally I wouldn't think wax would add enough of a layer to change a chain checker's reading. The wax layer is pretty thin.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

But a chain's wear is measured in fractions of a percent, so a very small layer could significantly throw off the reading.

An 11 speed chain should be replaced at 0.5%, for example.

[–] teft@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

Yes, but a chain checker is just putting a piece of metal between links. Its not like giving a readings of thousandths of an inch or anything, it’s lines on a piece of metal and you just eyeball it. The thin layer of wax won’t really affect the reading.

[–] PlantJam@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The chain checker also spans ten links, but only touches one link. The very small layer will not throw off the reading.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The chain checker also spans ten links, but only touches one link.

I was under the impression that all pins in the series add up to the measured wear, like in this image:

[–] PlantJam@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

That's exactly correct. The point that the wax could interfere with the measurement is only where the chain checker touches the chain. Waxed chains wear much slower than usual, though, so I wouldn't be too worried about it.

[–] c0smokram3r@midwest.social 1 points 3 months ago

Agree 💯