Huh? You go through 5 chains in a riding season??
I rotate two chains on my road bike so there is always one clean one waiting and the wear-and-tear is cut in half between the two.
Saul,
I own 4 bikes. My road bike (Ti Basso with a purple fade, that is basically a Litespeed "Classic" rebranded) needs new chainrings and a chain. My Ti Basso Mountain bike is also getting a new chain and just got a new set of chainrings. My two IBIS Mountain Trials bikes (one steel and another Ti) are bikes that I experiment with and are rather creative.
I have Middleburn cranks on the two IBIS bikes which has a modular ability to change/convert spyders. One spyder is a "Pro Trials Guard" that I have mounted a 20T chainring with a 16 tooth freewheel. This bike has a 26 inch front wheel, a 24 inch rear wheel, and only a 39 inch wheelbase. The gearing is only 30 gear inches for full blown trials. Interesting to note that Middleburn has been around a long time and now it seems the modular and "spyderless chainrings" are the rage. This is old school and was done also by White Industries, Paul Components and of course Middleburn back in the day.
I can also have UNO chainrings and Duo chainrings which are spyderless chainrings. The steel IBIS has horizontal drop-outs like a track bike, so it is ideal for single speed ad well as creating a two speed that I intend to build out where a 42/32 Duo can provide me with a two speed bike using a Paul's Components "Melvin" as a chain tensioner for 48" and a 63" gearing.
Know that not far from where I live in East Harlem is Highbridge Park which is a rather large NYC park in Madhattan that pretty much is abandoned and ferrel. Other than the pool, and the skate board park under the George Washington Bridge it is pretty much a "no-man's land" except to very near the entrances. Inside pretty much is a feral overgrown NYC park.
Kinda funny in the summer seeing many of the local residents of Washington Heights Bar-B-Q-ing right next to the no Bar-B-Q-ing signs right near the entrances to the park, but once in the park proper you are pretty much in "Gladiator mode" if there is any trouble. A good place to kill someone during the day, or a place to dump a body. The geography is basically a ridge/cliff that extends south to north parallel to the Harlem River and the Harlem River drive.
On the extreame northern end of Highbridge Park there are some technical mountain bike trails complete with "rock gardens." Beware of glass though, and there are reports of seeing teenagers having sex near or on the mountainbike trails.
Much of the park is gravel roads, so not the best for a road bike. Ideally I'd like to have a 3X1 63"-48"-30" on the steel IBIS for this park. Near the mountian bike trails is also a BMX track...
The Ti IBIS is currently a 46T-17 freewheel single speed with a perfect chain length that requires no chain tensioner. The Ti IBIS set up with a 23.5 s "Kojak" slick on the rear, a a 26 "Kojak" slick on the front weighs less than 17 1/2 pounds and is built for acceleration and climbing.
Once I timed the lights on Third Avenue from 79th Steet to 101st Street where I live. Know there is no bike lane on this avenue and pretty much I too a lane and was doing the speed of traffic.
Understand that "Vision Zero" lowered the speed limit to 25 MPH and the lights were all "timed" for the reduced speed. Pretty much when I jumped and pumped the light was just turning yellow and I just accelerated into the traffic favoring the left side to avoid stopping buses.
I made it to 101'st no problem and could of kept on going, but I wanted to go home. Not bad for an old guy pushing 60 at the time.
So now Shimano is coming out with a 12 speed, and I don't really need all those gears on my retro bikes, so I took advantage of closeouts on 11 speed XTR. I also like using Road Dura-Ace on mountain bikes to simulate Suntour MicroDrive because I'm a "weight weenie." I have a stockpile of XTR and Dura-Ace to replace the drivetrains on three bikes. Building wheels will require some cash flow, but otherwise I'm ready...
Know that I like doing crazy things like putting a Corvette engine in an 84 Jeep Scrambler with a half cab. "Crazy is good," I say. You should also know that even though I only weigh 156 pounds at 5'9" (no shoes) that I'm known as a hammer who stretches chains. On a mountain bike I kinda use it like a stairmaster and am out of the saddle stomping gears. Basically I kill/destroy chains. I also like to have chain rings, freewheels/cassettes, and chains "kitted-out" as an expansion and exploitation of the Middleburn modular approach. My Middleburn cranks are designed for tandems and are fully warranteed for Trials use.
Its been a while. I see you got your not big, but huge printer. I thought I was known as the guy who printd "Monster Prints." Care to elaborate more? Know that I'm a smut queen and want to know. Don't be shy. LOL.
Cal