Ever go into a bike shop for a simple adjustment only to have them say “you need a new chain” and that usually means new pulleys, cassette and chainrings. It’s happened to me before and I’ve declined knowing in my heart that all my bike needed was a derailleur adjustment. Luckily for those of us who don’t work at a bike shop, Feedback Sports have developed, with the aid of KMC, a bike chain wear gauge.

Check out more information and photos below.

The gauge works by measuring the amount of “stretch” that a chain has. Sure, Sheldon said that chains don’t “stretch” per say but that’s the best word to describe the condition of a chain’s aging process. Three grades denote whether or not your chain is “Good”, “Fair” or “Bad”.

By setting the gauge to Zero, the chain gauge works on all chains. BMX, road, track and even the big-daddy Whippermans.

Good chains fall within 0.00mm and 0.40mm and fair chains fall within 0.40mm and 0.60mm.

If the gauge reads greater than .80mm, it’s time for a new chain.

Not a bad little product development! The Chain Gauge is available through Feedback Sports and was in high demand at Interbike!