Chain size

[Philly G]

Hi everyone, has anyone replaced the chain on their Rail, and would be able to confirm how many links are needed? Looking at the shimano chains there are several lengths available. Pretty sure a 126 link would do but I've seen 138 as well. Torpedo 7 were obviously caught short assembling my bike when new, they've used 2 quick links to patch a section in, I want to avoid this as this would require buying an extra chain as a donor ?

 

[Philly G]

Just had the bike out and counted the links. 120, or 119 plus quick link, with standard 34T ring and 10-51 cassette.
So even if I'm a bit out with my counting, the 126 link chain is the one to get!

 

[Davidwylie]

Just had the bike out and counted the links. 120, or 119 plus quick link, with standard 34T ring and 10-51 cassette.
So even if I'm a bit out with my counting, the 126 link chain is the one to get!

Standard 126 link is all you need, changed mine twice now (Nearly 1500 miles) rather change the chain every 6 or 7 hundred miles, helps the cassette and crank last longer (still both in great shape after all those miles)

 

[Philly G]

Standard 126 link is all you need, changed mine twice now (Nearly 1500 miles) rather change the chain every 6 or 7 hundred miles, helps the cassette and crank last longer (still both in great shape after all those miles)

Wow you get 6-700 miles out of a chain? Mine is showing up worn at just 500kms/310miles lubed after each ride

 

[Davidwylie]

Wow you get 6-700 miles out of a chain? Mine is showing up worn at just 500kms/310miles lubed after each ride

You must ride the S*** out of that thing .. I'm a spinner rather than a grinder, average cadence at end of ride usually around 80rpm .. not sure if that helps a bit with the stress on the chain.

 

[Philly G]

You must ride the S*** out of that thing .. I'm a spinner rather than a grinder, average cadence at end of ride usually around 80rpm .. not sure if that helps a bit with the stress on the chain.

I do heaps of steep climbing, so grinding describes my riding very well ? also it is an slx chain, I'm hoping the xt will last longer, maybe I could push it out to 0.75% wear instead of the recommended 0.5%. At $70- $80 NZD they're not the cheapest

 

[Davidwylie]

I do heaps of steep climbing, so grinding describes my riding very well ? also it is an slx chain, I'm hoping the xt will last longer, maybe I could push it out to 0.75% wear instead of the recommended 0.5%. At $70- $80 NZD they're not the cheapest

My last chain was XT,... SLX about £27 here and the XT £35- £40 .. Not sure if the XT £10- £15 better, but definitely better for a few more miles, you could be better sticking with the cheaper SLX and live with changing more often.

 

[Philly G]

My last chain was XT,... SLX about £27 here and the XT £35- £40 .. Not sure if the XT £10- £15 better, but definitely better for a few more miles, you could be better sticking with the cheaper SLX and live with changing more often.

You could very well be right! I'll give the XT a try and see how it goes. If the extra spend doesn't translate to significantly more miles, it's back to SLX for sure

 

[olde-mtber]

You must ride the S*** out of that thing .. I'm a spinner rather than a grinder, average cadence at end of ride usually around 80rpm .. not sure if that helps a bit with the stress on the chain.

I'm sure it does I'm a spinner and I get 1200-1500ks out of a chain coming up to 3000ks and have only replaced chain once. I may get a bit more out of the chain this time as I'm not grinding as much now as when I got the bike 15 months ago.