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A Look At Chain Checkers You Recommended And a Few More

Jim’s Tech Talk

By Jim Langley

Thanks to the excellent comments to last week’s column on our look at Park Tool’s CC-4.2 Chain Checker tool, I thought it would be helpful to list and show the chain checkers that you helpful readers recommended. 

Then it occurred to me that it would be even more fun to try to show all the chain checkers I could. So I added SRAM’s because while no one mentioned it, their components are popular and you might want their specific tool. Because as Coach Rick pointed out in his comment, Shimano for one, states that their chains should only be measured with their tool.

I also added Abbey Bike Tools’ new LL, which I wrote about here when it debuted https://www.roadbikerider.com/abbey-chain-wear-tool/. Plus, I found two tools from KMC to show, one of which is digital. I could not find a Campagnolo chain checker. If you know of one, please share it in a comment.

If you’re new to this discussion, chain checkers are handy to have because they allow you to accurately evaluate chain wear. By checking occasionally while you pile on the miles, you can catch a chain before it’s worn out. And by replacing the chain, you’ll keep the worn-out one from wearing your cassette and chainrings. They are expensive components that bad chains will wear faster.

One key thing to know is that to get an accurate chain measurement, the chain needs to be clean. If it’s packed with grime, mud and debris, it will “hide” the wear and the chain might check out as fine when it’s not. So be sure to clean first.

I decided to do this with a simple list of the tool names, model numbers when available and photos. You can learn more about the tools and how to use them on the company websites. These tools can be found at retail and online stores.

I found the following 10 tools. Please comment if you know of any others. Thanks!

TOOL COMPANY CHAIN CHECKERS

Abbey Bike Tools LL

Park Tool CC-2

Park Tool CC-4.2

Pedro’s Plus II

Unior Chain Wear Indicator

Unior Manual Chain Wear Indicator

Unior Professional Chain Wear Indicator

COMPONENT MANUFACTURER CHAIN CHECKERS

KMC

KMC Digital

Rohloff Caliber 2

Shimano TL-CN42 (the tool Coach Rick mentioned)

SRAM Chain Wear Check Tool

Wippermann Chain Wear Indicator

OTHER

BikeHand YC-503

JensonUSA Foundation Chain Checker

Temu Toopre TL-217

Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • +1. I like the fact that you don’t have to flip the new one (from Park) over to change the % scale, but not enough of an improvement to replace this one.

  2. Jim, you forgot the most basic chain checker, a steel ruler. Put some tension on the chain and measure a 12-link section. If it measures more than 12 1/16″, replace the chain.

    As for the chain checkers you showed, all I can say is WOW. I had no idea there were so many. I own a Park CC-2 and a freebee that KMC gave away at their booth at a ‘cross race. I rarely use the Park, as the simple go/no-go gauge is faster and tells me all I need to know. As for the digital gauge…seriously? Who needs that level of precision outside of doing QC on a production line?

  3. Five of those tools are designed to eliminate roller wear from the measurement of chain elongation. Chain checkers that include roller wear, which does not elongate the chain, tend to overestimate chain wear (as I understand this). It would be interesting to assemble a few chains worn to various degrees and compare the different devices and see if any of them is as accurate as the ruler method.

    Among the tools you listed, the ones that are (or look like they are) designed to eliminate roller wear are;
    Park CC-4.2
    Pedro’s Plus II
    Unior Chain Wear Indicator (but *not* the other two Unior tools)
    Shimano TL-CN42
    SRAM Chain Wear Check Tool

    I have the Park CC-2 and CC-4.2 and the Shimano TL-CN42, as well as a “Spin Doctor” chain checker. The latter does not eliminate roller wear. I haven’t used the CC-4.2 yet, but the Shimano checker requires a very light touch or the rollers are bumped out of the way, over-estimating wear.

    One thing is clear to me: even if the chain checkers overestimate chain wear, they’re much easier to use (and cleaner) than the ruler method. And chains are cheaper than gears, so slightly premature replacement does no real harm.

  4. I have several and they all indicate the same stretch. I’ve been following the idea that 9 speed chains are good till 1% stretch and 11 speed which I use should be changed at .75%, In the article about the new Park tool they suggest a new chain at .5%. That seems way too excessive. I’m using the least expensive KMC 11 speed chains . I’ve never actually measured in miles the longevity but I’m sure I’m getting 2500 to 3000 miles per chain. I do keep an eye on the chainrings and cassette and rarely are they needing replacement. And the chains are only $20 on line.
    Dave

  6. I’ve been using a simple steel ruler for over 50 years and it seems to work fine.

    I know some people get very short chain life at around 2,500 miles, not sure why a steel chain is only lasting as long as most tires, but the least amount of miles I ever got out of a chain was 5,000 and that was when I use to race in mountains, and the most was around 10,000 miles. I know from using the ruler I’m not waiting to long from misreading it because the rear sprockets typically last 3 times longer than the chain, which is standard that I see on all cycling forums when this sort of discussion comes up. Even on forums there were a few that reported getting around 10,000 miles, one got 12,000, out of their chains, so I know I’m not the only one experiencing that.

  7. This is unrelated to Chain checkers, but it is regarding chain wax. I maintain five bicycles that I wax on a regular basis, using the dip method with melted paraffin. I am not diligent about having clean chains before I dipped them. So therefore, after a couple of years, the wax in the melt pot gets pretty grungy. So I use a Boy Scout trick to get rid of the old wax. That is to fill paper egg cartons with sawdust and pour the melted wax into the eggpockets. After it cools cut the pockets apart, and you have fantastic fire starters.

    • I’ve used the Pro Gold chain checker for years. I can’t attest to the accuracy, but the repeatability is very good. I always check at least 3 spots on the chain and at each spot I put the small end on each of the rollers on the narrow and wide outer plates. It’s very fast and gives a percentage so that you can track the progress of chain wear. I get reasonable chain life and the rest of my drive train lasts ok, so I think that its accuracy is ok.
      Much faster than the ruler method I used to use. And more accurate as well I believe.