I know nothing about the history of this chain, it was on the bike when I bought it (bike has ~30k miles, I'm betting chain is at ~15k). The bike sat outside for 3 years before I got it running. Needless to say the chain was a bit rusty and dirty. I cleaned it off real good and then coated it in 30wt oil. I made sure all the links moved freely (they all did except for one which freed up after some wiggling). After each of the first 4 or so rides I wiped off and heavily oiled the chain again before switching to a once a month schedule. This was last summer (~800 miles ago).
When I was getting the bike ready for this summer I noticed that all the rollers had some play (~0.25mm radially and ~0.5mm axially). With the tension adjusted properly I can pull the chain off the back of the rear sprocket by ~1mm. I know none of this is good, in fact I realize it means that the roller bearings are shot. I'm going to be ordering a new chain and sprockets (I'm thinking 14/48) but I really don't have the cash to pay a shop to install it. I probably won't have a chance to drive to my parent's house and use their garage for at least a month. I'm pretty easy on my bike, I mostly commute on it and take some fun rides on weekends. Is putting another couple hundred miles on my current chain really asking for trouble?
When I was getting the bike ready for this summer I noticed that all the rollers had some play (~0.25mm radially and ~0.5mm axially). With the tension adjusted properly I can pull the chain off the back of the rear sprocket by ~1mm. I know none of this is good, in fact I realize it means that the roller bearings are shot. I'm going to be ordering a new chain and sprockets (I'm thinking 14/48) but I really don't have the cash to pay a shop to install it. I probably won't have a chance to drive to my parent's house and use their garage for at least a month. I'm pretty easy on my bike, I mostly commute on it and take some fun rides on weekends. Is putting another couple hundred miles on my current chain really asking for trouble?
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