My chain is dead, isn't it?

[Gas Man]

Its not so much that the chain is stretched. Stretched is what every chain does and does and does till its stretched out of tolerance.

Your chain is kinked. I had a chain do that once.... here's what happened to the cheap shitty vortex



Which by the way stay away from Vortex.

And ALWAYS replace at the very least the rear sprocket. I would like to see a good picture of yours but it looked like it was actually starting to slim in.

Further a replacement of all 3 components always increases the longevity of your chain. And 2 yrs is not long.

I always had good luck with Renthal sprockets and DiD chains. That being said... check out sidewinder seems like they have some good stuff as well. There are a couple other brands that offer good sprockets. Alum or Ti centers with steel bolt on teeth rings.