DID X-Ring chains in the long term
 

While cleaning my road bike's chain yesterday I had one of the "X-Ring" rings come completely out, and on closer inspection there's quite a few little "hairs" of rubber sticking out between other links :(

This was the first X-Ring chain I bought about 5 years ago, but because the bike was laid up for nearly 2 years it's only done about 25K miles in that time. There aren't any sticky links and the sprockets are still in good condition, so the seals must have been working ok.

I've never had a problem like this with O-rings :innocent: has anyone esle experienced this?

25k miles and five years seems like pretty good service to me. Not sure what you were expecting but rubber doesn’t last forever, and depending on the specific formulation may be susceptible to ozone, UV, other atmospheric contaminants, or mere impure thoughts by neighbors or close relatives [—< joke]. Far as I can tell, same might go for other rubber parts—fork seals, gravity fuel system parts, grips, tubes and tires….

It's not that I'm feeling short-changed, if the chain had sticky links then I'd just roll with it (pun intended), it just seems odd the rubber bits are falling apart before anything else!

Maybe that's the thing, they're so good that the failure point is different, a la survivorship bias

For whatever reason (design, maintenance, type of riding) wear has been minimal. That’s what suggests mere passage of time in combination with possible environmental factors.

I had a lowly KLR sitting in my garage for an embarrassing length of time. One day, without warning, the fuel hose (vacuum petcock) started dribbling gasoline all over the floor. Maybe it was ethanol in the gas, maybe ozone or solvent vapors—who knows? Point is, rubber doesn’t last forever even in the absence of physical wear and tear….which I think is what you’re saying.

25,000 miles?

Personally, I would think that's pretty good mileage for a chain.

I'm guessing that other indicators of a worn out chain are present as well. Sticking links? Have you had to adjust it recently? Can you pull it off the rear sprocket and see light through there? Measure 20 links and compare to manufacturers specs?

............shu

It is good mileage! and still seems to be ok (signs of the start of sticky links are there but it's not stretched), I put that down to careful maintenance and that it's on a road bike in Spain so not exposed to salt or road much ... it's a good point about the lifespan of rubber, and probably what's happened here.

I have X-Ring chains on the Tangos too, so I guess I'll find out how they do with regular dust baths :innocent:

Hmmm, interesting. My last few bikes have had x-ring chains on and seem to have experienced virtually zero wear in the first 5,000 miles. Longer term of course it depends on how the 'arms' of the 'x' hold up. Thanks for the heads-up Turbo and it's something I'll keep an eye on.

How long a chain will last depends on your maintenance !
I did 32000 miles on a crf1000 africa twin and 21000 miles on a yamaha t700
Both bikes had very little wear on the chain or rear sprocket ( i did replace front sprockets before they became worn )

I allways carry 2 small plastic bottles , you get in hotels and fill them will oil and keep the chain very well oiled,
The only drawback is you get an oily swing arm . and the bike runs smoother !:scooter: