I've got 1,100 perfect miles on my Rival group. Does anyone know what the recommended chain replacement interval is? A bike shop wrench once told me to replace any chain after 1,000 miles. I've heard that Team Disco changes their DA chains after every stage.

I don't think I need a new chain yet as it still feels brand new. (I keep it very clean) Just curious if anyone knows when it will wear out.

My bike is an 07 Specialized Roubaix Expert. :thumbsup:

What do you mean by "feels brand new?"

The way to tell when to replace your chain is with a chain checker -- they make commercial ones, or you can do it carefully with a ruler.

Rules of thumb for mileage numbers aren't very useful; depending upon care, maintainence, conditions, etc, a chain could last 500 or 5,000 miles.

I switched to SRAM earlier this year and started with a 1090r chain (despite hating to shell out $50 for a chain). I never loved it's shifting and found it ran rough over a few cogs (felt like it wasn't quite engaging the cogs sometimes). I read that Saunier Duval runs dura-ace chains with the SRAM setup, so switched to a Dura-ace chain (always on sale at performance etc). Instantly better performance. Crisper shifting, better engagement with cogs. Also, the connector pins for the 10 speed SRAM chains are hard to find - sort of loses the appeal of a non-tool connector if you can't reuse it and need a chain tool to break the chain. Shimano connector pins cheaper and easier to find...

Shifting, pedaling, etc. feel no different now than when it was fresh off the showroom floor. Then again, I don't consider 1,100 miles to be a lot for a road bike so the whole bike feels pretty much brand new. Except for the engine which has gotten a lot stonger.

Thanks for your input. I might look into a chain checker after a couple thousand more miles.


What do you mean by "feels brand new?"

The way to tell when to replace your chain is with a chain checker -- they make commercial ones, or you can do it carefully with a ruler.

Rules of thumb for mileage numbers aren't very useful; depending upon care, maintainence, conditions, etc, a chain could last 500 or 5,000 miles.

Rules of thumb for mileage numbers aren't very useful; depending upon care, maintainence, conditions, etc, a chain could last 500 or 5,000 miles.
+ 500 or 5000 [YMMV]

At minimum, ride in and have your LBS do a quick measurement of the chain to see where you are at. Certainly it’s good to keep an accurate log of your mileage as you do. If not already, perhaps additional notes of climbs, harder mashing, 16 tooth jump frequency of that compact as well as ride weather conditions which confound the straight line miles may give you a better future prediction of chain life. I have found that ’feel’ is not objective enough nor quick enough to avoid additional chainring and cassette wear for example. Measure first...guess last.

Finally, that Roubaix Expert Comp is a great, great ride and complete SRAM group is a significant contributor. IMO, avoid the patchwork upgrades like chains [leave that to the idiosyncrasies of some pro tour mechanic] as there are often very good reasons that using a single manufactures drive train works best…and you are sitting on it :D

I switched to SRAM earlier this year and started with a 1090r chain (despite hating to shell out $50 for a chain). I never loved it's shifting and found it ran rough over a few cogs (felt like it wasn't quite engaging the cogs sometimes). I read that Saunier Duval runs dura-ace chains with the SRAM setup, so switched to a Dura-ace chain (always on sale at performance etc). Instantly better performance. Crisper shifting, better engagement with cogs. Also, the connector pins for the 10 speed SRAM chains are hard to find - sort of loses the appeal of a non-tool connector if you can't reuse it and need a chain tool to break the chain. Shimano connector pins cheaper and easier to find...

I find this interesting because my experience was almost exactly the oposite. I have both a shimano bike and a SRAM bike and when I tried the SRAM cassette on the Shimano bike it never missed a shift or skipped but it was noisy and rough to the point that I could feel a grinding sensation in the pedals. The SRAM chain and cassette have been flawless together so far. I am interested in trying the Wipperman chain to see if it will run smoothly on both.