Chain ridiculously noisy. 3000 KM's

[Shrike]

Past few weeks I've noticed my chain getting noisier. It's so bad now that if it rains and gets even slightly mucky during a ride that it'll make a terrible racket. Real grinding headache.

Deep cleaned and lubed it'll quieten down for a ride.

Tried everything, loosened the cables, redone the indexing and limit screws etc. Making sure shifting is perfect.

Can a chain really wear down that fast in a short distance? It's a KMC X11SL Ti-N Gold. Maybe it's something else that I'm missing. Should I stick to Shimano chains on the Ultegra 6800 cassette?

The Ultegra cassette it's on has done 4500 KM's.

(Changed the Ultegra chain quite quickly after getting the bike to get a bling gold chain).

[jekyll man]

I wouldnt say 3000km is a short time!
I'd have replaced any of mine before then.

Depends on how your rough you are with your changes, whether you cross chain, road conditions- summer should be easier on your chain than riding in the grime of winter.

Have you measured it?

[Shrike]

No chain wear tool, though I could pick one up. Been on my todo list for a while.. just didn't think I'd need it yet!

I do cross chain a bit when I'm tired in honesty yes. Have put it through some horrible mucky rides as well. So yes, wouldn't say I've been easy on it. Haven't been brutal though and I do clean and lube it a lot.

EDIT: measured the chain with a ruler using the 12inch rivet to rivet technique and it's bang on 12inches. Which would suggest no 'stretch'?

[toiyuet]

Firstly, you may ckeck by pulling the chain from chainring :
http://cyclingtips.com/2009/03/how-to-check-for-chain-wear/

[mattr]

Exactly 12" suggests you've probably measured wrong.
Even brand new, fresh out of the packet chains are very very slightly over once you've fitted them.

[Shrike]

Thanks guys.

Tried the chain lift trick and yes it lifts, suggesting wear.

Measured it again, and again. Exactly 12 inches. I'm using a dodgy tailor's measure, so doubt it's accurate.

Will pick up a chain wear tool and a new chain, scared I'm burning the Dura Ace chain rings now

This looks cheap: KMC-X11-93 at £14

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KMC-X11-93-11- ... KMC+X11-93

Or I can get Ultegra at around £20

Which would you guys go for?

Actually going to be shopping for two chains here, this bike and a winter build in progress.

[sugarkane]

3000 kms with a shimano or campag chain is bin time in my books ( and they make the best 11s chains on the market IMO ) my 2 cents if you don't want a noisy drive train stay away from the KMC chains..

[Nefarious86]

This, gold looks cool but runs noisy

3000 kms with a shimano or campag chain is bin time in my books ( and they make the best 11s chains on the market IMO ) my 2 cents if you don't want a noisy drive train stay away from the KMC chains..

[AJS914]

I finally switched to Campy chains after struggling with KMC since upgrading to 11 speed. I just couldn't get them to run quiet.

[BRM]

I'm using a dodgy tailor's measure, . . . .

use that one for your crochet and knitting hobbies
or to measure specific bodyparts, lol

for your chain you need something more accurate


Good info here>
Chain Wear Measuring Tools
http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html




If I were you I also would contact KMC to make them aware. And also the shop were you bought it.
Maybe they respond positive on it.

[xena]

Go for a YBN SL chain. You can pick them up pretty cheap on Ebay. The last one I bought cost £24 They are bonkers light, the SL stands for self lubrication so you don't need to use anywhere near as much lube. I don't use any. I use the gold chain and no difference from a silver chain performance wise.

[hmai18]

It's all dependent on riding conditions and shifting habits. I have just over 4100km on a SRAM 1170 chain on my road bike. It's been a dry summer here, so it's been 99.9% fair weather riding. Measured wear is less than 0.75 on a Shimano TL-CN42 tool.

[srshaw]

This, gold looks cool but runs noisy

3000 kms with a shimano or campag chain is bin time in my books ( and they make the best 11s chains on the market IMO ) my 2 cents if you don't want a noisy drive train stay away from the KMC chains..

I'll third this. I spent ages re greasing pedals and re installing cranks only to realise it was my gold kmc chain making a racket. Strangely though it does seem to be quietening down as I put more miles on.

[Shrike]

Detecting a bit of snobbery about my passion for knitting!

Thanks guys, ended up ordering a chain.

Amazon delivered it to some random address.

All is well

[Shrike]

Got a chain tool and the .5% fits easily. .75% nearly fits, so I guess the 'stretch' is around 0.65% ish.

Had a look at a KMC chain guide and it doesn't say which % requires changing. Going to change it now anyway, but was wondering what the recommendation is for the sake of it.