Wasted $120 on a chain wear tool that was just guessing

I used to think those cheap chain checkers from Amazon were fine until I compared one against a Park Tool CC-4. The cheap one said my chain was fine at 200 miles but the Park Tool showed it was already stretched past 0.75. I ended up replacing a cassette and chainring that got eaten up because I trusted that $12 tool for too long. Anyone else find out the hard way that you get what you pay for with measuring tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah_brown5d ago

Hold up - was that Park Tool giving you a false positive for wear at 200 miles, or did the cheap one miss it completely?

gavin8165d ago

The Park Tool was definitely right on this one. That cheap chain checker had been telling me everything was fine for way too long, like a friend who won't tell you you've got food in your teeth. 200 miles is basically nothing for a chain unless you're riding in a sandstorm or something, so it was clearly the tool being optimistic. I checked the Park Tool against a ruler and yeah, the chain was stretched out way more than it should have been for that mileage. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for with this stuff.