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?

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sarah_brown2mo 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?

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gavin8162mo 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.

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