How to check your chain for wear and tear

Everyone always talks about wear and tear and the timely replacement of drivetrain components. But how do I even know when my drivetrain is worn out? Or at what point does it no longer make sense to adjust the gears because the bearing of the rear derailleur or front derailleur has worn out? In this post, we want to give you a few clues that you can use to gauge the wear of your chain.

How Does the Chain Wear Out?

When you pedal, the chain is put under extreme tensile load. This causes chains to stretch out over time. The more stretched a chain is, the morn out it is. Chain wear indicator tools use this stretch value to gauge the degree of wear.
But the chain wears out not only due to the force applied when pedalling, but also due to skewing and jumps over sprockets or chainrings when shifting gears. When upshifting, the chain is pressed against the next larger sprocket by the rear derailleur and guided onto the sprocket via ramps. Due to this coaxial load in the skew, the functional play between the chain links and the pins increases over time.

Special Case: Downhill and Freeride Chains

Chains for freeride and downhill use are a special case. These disciplines require relatively little pedalling, but you ride a lot through hard terrain. Here the chain swings in all directions. Due to the increased horizontal movement of the chain, the bearings often fail laterally before the chain can stretch out enough to gauge the wear with an indicator.

The A-side for Titanium and Aluminium Sprockets

If the A-side gets caught in the chain, then you can continue riding with it.

Is the A-side falling through? If you ride with aluminium or titanium sprockets, you should replace your chain now to protect your sprockets from premature wear.