# Super Record Chainrings and Cassettes - How Long Do They Last?



## joshf

I'm running Super Record 11 and have 5500 miles. It's almost time to change my chain for the 3rd time according to measurements. It seems easy to know when chains need replacing with the tool. My question is how do I know when the cassette or chainrings need to be replaced? Is there an expected mileage?

I do a pretty good job cleaning and lubing the drivetrain but I will ride some long rides in the rain where it gets pretty gunky. Also, I'm on the heavier side (High 170 Lb range) and have a lot of high power accelerations.

Curious.


----------



## C-40

If you put a new chain on and the chain skips on one or more of the cogs when you pedal with heavy pressure, then the cassette is worn out. 

Those Ti cogs on the SR cassette will last about half as long as Chorus steel cogs and the cassettes cost about 3 times as much. It's a pricey was to save a little weight.

You're not getting much use from your chains, which suggests either poor maintenance or a chain checking tool that is incorrect. It's common to suggest using a precision 12" rule to measure the chain for elongation and trash the chain when it the chain elongates by 1/16" over 12 inches. This does not often work with a Campy chain.

Personally, I expect an 11 speed chain to last 3-4,000 miles, but I use three chains in a rotation and alternate at about 2,000 mile intervals, when the is about half worn. I do not use a 12" rule on a campy chain. I use calipers and measure between the rollers. A new chain will measure .200-.205 inch. I alternate chains when the spacing increases to about .220 inch and trash a chain in the .235-.240 inch range.


----------



## tom_h

Campy's chain spec, see pic below.
You need a vernier calipers to measure it properly.
I get about 3000-3500 miles an a Chorus 11sp chain.

When chainrings start to wear out, ring teeth will develop a "hooked" profile and you may start getting "chain suck" -- when shifting from big to small ring, the chain will not easily release off the big ring and will continue to wrap around the big ring past the 6 o'clock position. My Chorus big ring (same as Super Record) started having that problem at 10K-12K miles.


View attachment 276838


----------



## natedg200202

Tomh - that's an interesting resource you posted with the campy chain spec. Thanks!


----------



## tom_h

That chain spec came from Campy's "11sp chain instruction" tech document, found here:
www.campagnolo.com/jsp/en/docstec/doccatid_8.jsp

You'll need a vernier caliper to measure the chain, using the set of jaws labelled "2" in the pic below, and jaws pressed firmly against the 2 rollers specified in Campy's drawing. I'll measure 4-6 locations on a chain to determine the "typical"


View attachment 276860


----------



## C-40

I've been able to wear a Campy chain to their specified length in a little as 2,000-2500 miles. Following Campy's spec will result in tossing chains that are half-worn. If you check the true elongation at that point, it's probably as little as .1-.2%.

The Campy measurement is flawed, just like most chain checkers. It adds roller wear to the true longation. In the case of a Campy chain, most of the increased length is roller wear and little of it is elongation.

When I use three chains in a rotation, I find that Campy's length is about the right time to alternate to a new chain. I don't consider the chain to be shot until the length increase is about twice what Campy suggests.


----------



## Pirx

joshf said:


> I'm running Super Record 11 and have 5500 miles. It's almost time to change my chain for the 3rd time according to measurements. It seems easy to know when chains need replacing with the tool.


For reference, I replaced my last Record chain after 6200 miles.


joshf said:


> My question is how do I know when the cassette or chainrings need to be replaced? Is there an expected mileage?


Chainrings should last a very long time. I had about 5k miles on my SR cassette when I replaced it. This is mostly dry-weather riding, very few miles in the rain. Lubed with Chain-L No.5, typically every 500 to 800 miles or so.


----------



## Pirx

natedg200202 said:


> Tomh - that's an interesting resource you posted with the campy chain spec. Thanks!


All maintenance details and manuals of all Campy parts are available from Campy's website.


----------



## tom_h

C-40 said:


> I've been able to wear a Campy chain to their specified length in a little as 2,000-2500 miles. Following Campy's spec will result in tossing chains that are half-worn. If you check the true elongation at that point, it's probably as little as .1-.2%. ....


Yes, that's been my observation too. I use an 8" vernier caliper to measure pin's pitch, center-to-center (or edge-to-edge) on a 16 link segment.

Strictly speaking, it's elongation that should be causing the cassette and chainrings to wearout.

I suppose I've been very conservative, since chains are much cheaper to replace (around $35 from UK) than chainrings and my 3 Chorus cassettes.


----------



## tom_h

C-40 said:


> .... I do not use a 12" rule on a campy chain.
> 
> I use calipers and measure between the rollers.
> 
> A new chain will measure .200-.205 inch. I alternate chains when the spacing increases to about .220 inch and trash a chain in the .235-.240 inch range.


This is mostly measuring roller wear, then?

Othere than the specific choice of the "wear out" criterion, how is this functionally different than Campy's method of measuring the roller-to-roller distance over 6 links ?


----------



## C-40

I've used a Campy 10 chain for 6,000 miles but when I changed to the second chain, I got new-chain skip on my most-used 19T cog. I've severely worn Ti cogs after only 4500 miles with one chain. I got chain skip on the 19 & 21 cogs.

That's why I alternate the use of several chains. If you get some use on each of the chains before the cogs wear excessively, you'll never get new-chain skip and each chain can be used far longer.


----------



## r_o_b_s_o_n

for people using chains in rotation, are you using rivets or quick links to join your chains?


----------



## thosj

r_o_b_s_o_n said:


> for people using chains in rotation, are you using rivets or quick links to join your chains?


KMC 11 links for me, 3 bikes, 3 Chorus chains each, Chorus steel cassettes, rotate chains at 1500 miles, new link if it looks suspect (or every swap, these are cheap by the dozen!) One can really improve ring/cassette life doing this, the chain life is the same but spreading the ring/cassette wear over 3 chains is huge. 

This rotation should be in the gospel of chain care regardless of the religious lube routine you subscribe to! The bad part comes when you have to spend for cassette and 3 chains, and maybe rings, but it'll work out to less in the loooong run. And me, I started all three bikes at the same time, so let's see, 9 chains, 3 cassettes (more if you change configurations, I don't), 6 rings maybe!! Sheesh.


----------



## C-40

I often use the Campy joining pin for the initial chain install, then switch to a master link, the first time I remove the chain. The whole idea behind chain rotation is to not be tossing chains prematurely in order to reduce wear on the cassette. Done properly, you might get the same mileage from 3 chains and one cassette, that another person would get with 6 chains, changed prematurely.

As for the life of chainrings, they should outlast several cassettes.


----------



## Cyclin Dan

Is there anyway to measure wear on a Campy chain without that caliper? I don't own a caliper like that, but I guess I can get one if that's the only way.


----------



## tom_h

Cyclin Dan said:


> Is there anyway to measure wear on a Campy chain without that caliper? I don't own a caliper like that, but I guess I can get one if that's the only way.


With either C-40's method or Campy's spec, I don't see how it can be done without a vernier caliper.

The inexpensive guages like the Park Tool, measure an unknown convolution of chain elongation & roller wear -- probably based on some "typical" Shimano chain.

Check out Harbor Freight (discount tool retailer) for calipers. A lot of their stuff is decent quality, and the user reviews on their website are often fairly reliable.
www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/measuring-tools.html


----------



## Pirx

Pirx said:


> For reference, I replaced my last Record chain after 6200 miles.Chainrings should last a very long time.


For the record, I just installed my third chain, this one at 5,500 miles. It didn't give me any problems, and was silent as ever, but I just wasn't comfortable continuing to use it. One of the reasons is that I am going to try and see how long I can go with my current SR cassette, which is also at 5,500 miles. I compared my most often used Ti cog (17t) with some of the rarely-used steel cogs (my 12t and 13t), and I don't see any significant wear or change in the tooth profile at all. Let's see how long the thing will last...

Nevertheless, I'll say that in my experience, with good maintenance and mostly dry-weather riding, 6,000 miles are not unusual for these chains.


----------

