Noticed something about chain wear at the shop downtown

I stopped into City Cycles over on 3rd Street yesterday to grab some lube. The mechanic there showed me how he checks chain wear with a ruler instead of that fancy gauge tool. He said most people replace chains way too early because the tool reads wrong. Has anyone else compared the ruler method to a chain checker?

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valwest2mo ago

My buddy and I tested this a few months back on an old 10-speed. We grabbed a Park Tool chain checker and a ruler, measured the same chain both ways. The gauge said it was at 0.5% wear, but the ruler showed barely any stretch over 12 inches. @foster.wade is right, we rode that chain for another 500 miles before it actually needed swapping. It saved us like thirty bucks.

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foster.wade2mo ago

Yeah that ruler trick is the real deal. I used a chain checker for years and it was telling me my chains were shot way before they actually needed replacing.

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