You may have heard of the term electric bike chain stretch and want to know if your bike chain is stretching.
And to be honest with you, it’s not what the name sounds like, stretching the electric bike chain does not mean stretching in the literal sense of the word, but it’s a very little stretch in the chain.
That is why your question about how to know that the electric bike chain is stretching is logical, as the expansion of things made of iron is not easily noticeable.
In this post, I will explain to you what is the stretching of the electric bike chain? And why does it happen? How do you know that your electric bike chain is stretched?
How Do you know if your ebike chain is stretching?
In order to know whether the chain of your electric bike is stretched or not, you must first know what is meant by the term chain stretching.
What is the meaning of ebike Chain stretching?
As a general rule, stretching the chain of an electric bike is the increase of the chain length by half a millimeter or millimeter.
This increase may not be noticeable to the naked eye, so a ruler or chain checker tool must be used.
Now let’s answer your question, How Do you know if your ebike chain is stretching?
As we mentioned earlier, the stretching of the electric bike chain is half a millimeter or millimeter, and for this I will explain to you two ways through which you can know if the electric bike chain is stretched first.
First, measure the stretch of the electric bike chain using a ruler.
1- Ruler Method.
In this method, you have to place the start of the ruler exactly in the middle of the pins (parallel to the bike chain) and then look at the end of the ruler. If you find the end of the ruler at the middle of the pin, this means Your chain is not stretched.
But if you find a slight difference in the place of the ruler, this means that there is stretching.
Example for stretching chain.
The Chain Measuring Tool Method
The correct way to use the electric bike chain measuring tool is to put the end of the tool inside the chain and if you can enter the other end, this means that the chain is stretched.
Note that this tool usually has two ends of the measurement, the first is half a millimeter and the second is 75 mm.
If you can enter either side, whether half a milliliter or .75 milliliters, then this means that the chain is extended.
But if you can’t, this means that the chain is an extended and valid one for you to use.
Other signs that will tell you that your chain is stretching
One of the easiest ways to find out if the chain of an electric bike is stretched is to hold the chain and try to lift it off the ring and if you can lift it and see the teeth of The ring, this is a sign that there is a stretch in the chain because the good chain is tight so you will not be able to see the teeth of the ring.
Why Your ebike Chain Is Stretching?
As a general rule, the chain of an electric bike stretches as a result of the rapid movement of the outer plate of the chain while riding, which is pivoting on the chain pins, which causes the pins to wear out over time.
This wear of the chain pins is small (half a millimeter or millimeter), but with the length of the chain, it causes stretching of one centimeter or more.
What would happen if your chain is stretching?
There are many damages to the stretching of the electric bike chain, such as the inability to drive well or relatively slow movement, but the most affected part of the stretch of the electric bike chain is the cassette.
This is because the teeth of the cassette are designed to enter the holes in the chain precisely, but with the expansion of the chain, the holes will not enter the teeth of the cassette correctly, which will lead to damage to the cassette.
How to protect your ebike chain from stretching?
As we mentioned, the expansion of the electric bike chain occurs as a result of the speed of winding the outer plate centered around the PIN, and in order to maintain your bike chain, you can do some very simple maintenance.
1- Keep the chain clean:
The presence of dust or mud on the electric bike chain increases the friction force in the internal parts of the chain, which ends with the chain stretching, so always keep your electric bike chain clean.
2- Lubricate your ebike chain.
As part of caring for the electric bike chain, you should lubricate the chain periodically in order to keep the internal parts of the bike easy to move and also not wear out.
You can view this post on how and when to properly lubricate the electric bike chain From Here
3-keep your ebike chain away from rust.
One of the most important factors that lead to the damage and stretching of the electric bike chain is rust, so you should keep your bike from rusting.
You can check out the below post to learn more about how to clean the chain from rust.
Is It Safe To Ride Ebike With A Rusty Chain? (Explained)
Conclusion:
Chain stretching is a very small increase in the length of the chain about 0.5mm or 1 mm.
Stretching occurs as a result of the corrosion of chain pins. you can check if your ebike chain is stretching or not using a ruler or chain checker tool.
Also, you can try to lift the chain from the ring and if you were able to see the ring teeth this means that the chain is stretching.
The parts of the bike that is most damaged from chain stretching are the cassette.
You can keep your electric bike chain from stretching by keeping it clean, lubricating it regularly, and preventing it from rusting.
