How many Km/miles should we expect to get from our drivetrain parts?

[BeeGuy]

I can live with that. At $20-$30 a pop (I replace it myself) I do not mind getting a new chain every 2k miles or so.

Here's a great site by Sheldon Brown from Harris Cyclery, http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html. It has some nice photos of what is exactly happening with chain and tooth wear in the drivetrain. The key to my system is the Park tool, http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=3768&subcategory_ID=4204, definitely worth the investment.

You're in Santa Clara? I'll bet the weather's a tad better than the 22 deg and wind right now in Iowa. I'm trying to get myself psyched to go out for a two hour ride.

chris

 

[Treky]

Here's a great site by Sheldon Brown from Harris Cyclery, http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html. It has some nice photos of what is exactly happening with chain and tooth wear in the drivetrain. The key to my system is the Park tool, http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=3768&subcategory_ID=4204, definitely worth the investment.

You're in Santa Clara? I'll bet the weather's a tad better than the 22 deg and wind right now in Iowa. I'm trying to get myself psyched to go out for a two hour ride.

chris

Thanks for the links. I think I'll invest in that tool (looks like it is very popular, they are out of stock right now).

Yeah here in Santa Clara we are blessed with great weather. I always say I am grateful and hope I am worth of such good fortune. I wonder how weather affects chain wear? Well I guess for starters if you cannot go out and ride your chain ain't gonna wear. I am not trying to rub it in, just trying to stay on topic

 

[sogood]

12 sets of links for 12 inches. Just get a ruler to do your measurement (pin to pin distance).

I have also heard many people talk about this 2 chains to one cassette ratio. It reflects the differential wear rate of the two components.

 

[bikeguy]

In 2 years I've busted a frame, worn out the chainring ball bearings once, snapped a chain and cracked a derailleur off my bike, plus 2 rear wheels disintegrated on me (slowly, I could see the wheel rim was finished). I also did something to my saddle, it started wiggling and I had to replace it. I think I've gone through 10 brake pad pairs.

I think it depends how hard you ride the bike and how you ride it - fast accelerations in a high gear or high gear riding up hills put a lot of stress on components. Ideally you want to run a low gear and don't accelerate too quickly. If it's dirty outside and hilly and you have to brake a lot, the brake pads will wear out about 5 times as fast and the wheel rim will wear down about 5 times as fast too. Also, the faster you ride the more dirt your bike kicks up unto it - and I wonder why why lower legs are almost encased in dirt after a good hard ride. Cleaning the bike by cleaning the rims and chain + gears will really prolong chain/gear life and save the wheel rims and brake pads.

-bikeguy

 

[dhk2]

My point is that they are wrong; you don't need to change everything every 2 chains. If they are paying for the change (like a pro team or sponsoring shop might), no problem. If you have to pay for it, then don't listen to them. Either they don't know what they are talking about, or they want you to spend more money with them.

chris

Two chains, then cassette was what I needed. The chains went 6K and 4K miles before hitting the 0.75% wear limit on Park CC-3 gauge. Then, when I put on the new chain at 10K miles, had skipping on the cogs as soon as any pressure was applied.

My friendly LBS mechanic had advised me that the original DA 9 sp cassette would likely skip with the new chain after 10K miles, but I wanted to give it a try anyway as everything was fine with the old chain. When I went back and picked up a new cassette later that day, had to tell him he was right. Funny how the guy seems to know a lot about this stuff after only 30 years as a full-time mechanic

 

[Treky]

Two chains, then cassette was what I needed. The chains went 6K and 4K miles before hitting the 0.75% wear limit on Park CC-3 gauge. Then, when I put on the new chain at 10K miles, had skipping on the cogs as soon as any pressure was applied.

My friendly LBS mechanic had advised me that the original DA 9 sp cassette would likely skip with the new chain after 10K miles, but I wanted to give it a try anyway as everything was fine with the old chain. When I went back and picked up a new cassette later that day, had to tell him he was right. Funny how the guy seems to know a lot about this stuff after only 30 years as a full-time mechanic

So you had the experience that after 2 chains you needed a new cassette. What about the front grears, were they in good shape? Why didn't they wear out also? I think the answer is because not all components are made equal. My cassette may last longer or less because it is made of a different compound or quality then the next one... I think measuring is the way to go. I am not going to get suckered into changing everything after 2 chains (even if someone else is paying for it, why waste?). I'll measure it, test it and go from there.

 

[dhk2]

So you had the experience that after 2 chains you needed a new cassette. What about the front grears, were they in good shape? Why didn't they wear out also? I think the answer is because not all components are made equal. My cassette may last longer or less because it is made of a different compound or quality then the next one... I think measuring is the way to go. I am not going to get suckered into changing everything after 2 chains (even if someone else is paying for it, why waste?). I'll measure it, test it and go from there.

Yes, the FSA chainrings are still fine at 12K miles. My experience has been that chainrings are a lot more tolerant of wear then the cassette cogs. So even though they are aluminum rather than harder steel or ti, they seem to last longer before causing any noticeable problems like skipping. Would guess that's because they engage a lot more links of the chain due to their size.

Measure your chain, sure that's the way to go. But if you've found a way to measure cassette cogs, let me know. Like gears, a visual inspection doesn't tell you much. Mine "looked" fine at 10K, but didn't work with the new chain. Have heard about a gauge for checking cog profiles but have never seen one.

You could just let everything wear out together, but I think that would be more expensive since you'd need to replace a cassette with each chain, and maybe chainrings as well. Have heard that if your chain is worn beyond 0.1% (1/8" stretch over 12"), it's economical just to leave everything on until you have lots of noise or problems because the cassette is already worn-in and won't work with a new chain.

Like you, I don't like throwing away good components, especially expensive ones like DA cassettes. Cheapest thing to do is probably just what I did....monitor your chain wear, replace chains when they are at wear limit, and then only replace the cassette if you have skipping on the new chain.