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Few months ago (March 2024) I bought a 1x10 Triban GRVL 120 from Decathlon. AFAIU, it's an entry-level gravel bicycle with matching components.

Few weeks ago (after riding ~900 km) I checked the chain (according to a Decathlon mechanic a low-end KMC) with a chain checker and it indicated >0.8 wear, which seemed strange to me as I read on the internet that chains usually survive ~2000km. Anyway, I bought a new Shimano deore chain. After checking with the same chain checker (after riding ~30km), it shows wear around 0.5% which was confirmed by Decathlon mechanics.

I don't understand how could I have worn through the chain so quickly. I lubed the chain every ~100 km with Muc-Off Dry lube, which I now understand is not very good, but I still wouldn't expect such a wear after 900 km.

What I'm wondering is:

  1. Is the chain wear mainly because of bad lube?
  2. Do I have to change my rear cassette? At a glance it doesn't show signs of excessive wear and chain doesn't skip.
  3. Or is this wear a systemic consequence of lower-level components?

Derailleur view Cassette close-up Chain checker close-up

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    It seems very fast, but I would also question the tool, 0.5% on a new chain that is new and that clean is suspicious. Note that if you ride in dusty environments and you don't clean the chain before lubing it (with a rag for example), you may have dust getting into the rollers and accelerating the wear.
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Aug 1 at 13:21
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    If you got the chain on Amazon, there are a lot of convincing fake Shimano chains. I'm serious, this has been reported extensively on forums and YouTube.
    – Weiwen Ng
    Commented Aug 1 at 13:43
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    @Renaud Questioning the tool was my first instinct, but I stopped by Decathlon service and they also told me it's at 0.5 (they used the Park Tool CC-2 if I saw correctly). Hmm, you might be on to something with the dusty environment. I don't drive wet but I also did not wipe the chain when re-lubing. I'll change my lubing procedure, thanks.
    – lavaLamp
    Commented Aug 1 at 14:36
  • @WeiwenNg I bought it straight from Decathlon, so I guess we can assume that it's 99% genuine.
    – lavaLamp
    Commented Aug 1 at 14:36
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    For what it's worth, the least I got from a chain is less than 500km, but it was with web lube and when riding a lot in the mud. Cleaning the chain was impossible (the mix lube/grime was too sticky). Note that even with dry lube, excessive lubrication also attracts dirt. Wiping the lube in excess after having applied the lube is also necessary (a rag is enough).
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Aug 1 at 14:48

1 Answer 1

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Cheap chains can wear fast, but also your chain measuring device picks up the slop in the rollers which is not always wear. There are other types of chain measuring tool that measure from the same side of the rollers to eliminate this slop from the measurement.

Personally I think the cassette only starts to get heavy damage when wear shows over 1 percent. If you have no gear issues and smooth gear changes with your new chain then the cassette is fine and will outlast the current chain. The small sprockets wear fastest, generally, and from the middle to the largest sprocket can take a surprising amount of abuse and still function acceptably.

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  • I saw that the Decathlon service guys used the Park Tool CC-2 tool and also said it's at 0.5 wear, otherwise my first thought was that the chain checker is incorrect
    – lavaLamp
    Commented Aug 1 at 14:37
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    @lavaLamp cc-2 works the same way as your tool. The sliding gauge is a gimmick. Shimano chain check tool and Park CC-3.2 measures in a different way. 10sp chain can be used until nearly 1 percent wear with no problem unless you only use 11/12/13t sprockets.
    – Noise
    Commented Aug 1 at 17:21
  • Also some new chains will measure nearly .5 percent wear on the standard chain checker.
    – Noise
    Commented Aug 1 at 17:23
  • Yeah, I mean it doesn’t really make sense to me. I guess I just wanted a confirmation from someone knowledgeable. Thanks
    – lavaLamp
    Commented Aug 1 at 17:55

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