Warning: some of these images may disturb....
Okay, context: This is my mongrel commuter - 10 years old and in that time it's had probaby only a couple of cassettes and chains, and the rings have never been touched... It got to the point a couple of years ago where I thought I might as well run it into the ground as to replace any one item would have meant replacing the whole groupset - which I was happy to do, but in the interests of making the most of what I've got, wanted to wait until absolutely required... And to be fair, it's performed flawlessly for years with neglect and abuse...
Riding home this week a little click from the cranks was bugging me - not in a 'oh my God the drivetrain's imploding' kind of way, but just that little irritating noise that doesn't sound like damage, but you'd rather do without.
On having a close look at the drivetrain to see what the issue was, I finally made myself come face-to-face with this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17285052@N00/107000370/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17285052@N00/107000368/
Nasty looking, I'll admit - but the thing which makes me uncertain as to whether to replace now or leave is that apart from the little click (which could be unrelated) it's still doing what it should - no slipping, no jumping, no poor shifts... Should I just leave it until something more drastic happens? or would that something drastic be something i should really be avoiding?? I guess I just never feel like throwing out something that still works, but if safety's at sake, perhaps I should...
And on a related note, on my other bike (which is in sterling condition comparatively), one of the teeth on the middle chainring appears to have snapped off (it's a mtb, so probaby got smacked somewhere) - Is that one tooth less likely to affect performance? My gut and wallet says no...
Eddie(frugal)c
Okay, context: This is my mongrel commuter - 10 years old and in that time it's had probaby only a couple of cassettes and chains, and the rings have never been touched... It got to the point a couple of years ago where I thought I might as well run it into the ground as to replace any one item would have meant replacing the whole groupset - which I was happy to do, but in the interests of making the most of what I've got, wanted to wait until absolutely required... And to be fair, it's performed flawlessly for years with neglect and abuse...
Riding home this week a little click from the cranks was bugging me - not in a 'oh my God the drivetrain's imploding' kind of way, but just that little irritating noise that doesn't sound like damage, but you'd rather do without.
On having a close look at the drivetrain to see what the issue was, I finally made myself come face-to-face with this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17285052@N00/107000370/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17285052@N00/107000368/
Nasty looking, I'll admit - but the thing which makes me uncertain as to whether to replace now or leave is that apart from the little click (which could be unrelated) it's still doing what it should - no slipping, no jumping, no poor shifts... Should I just leave it until something more drastic happens? or would that something drastic be something i should really be avoiding?? I guess I just never feel like throwing out something that still works, but if safety's at sake, perhaps I should...
And on a related note, on my other bike (which is in sterling condition comparatively), one of the teeth on the middle chainring appears to have snapped off (it's a mtb, so probaby got smacked somewhere) - Is that one tooth less likely to affect performance? My gut and wallet says no...
Eddie(frugal)c
