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

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (6 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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (4 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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month 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.

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