Chain - to change or not to change?

[punkypossum]

Just measured my chain on my mountain bike with the park tool thingy and it's dropping in all the way on the 0.75, still fine on the 1.0.

Now, I know that indicates it's time to change the chain now, but so far it doesn't seem to cause any problems.

It's an 8 speed chain, how much roughly would it be to get it changed and how much longer would it remain useable if I didn't? Just wondering if it might be cheaper to ride it into the ground completely and change cassette and change at the same time, but no idea which one would work out cheaper....

Also, would a new chain definitely work with the old cassette? I have used some gears far more than others, so worried that the new chain might end up jumping anyway...

Any advice?

 

[summerdays]

Well ... I'm not going to be much help on whether it would be cheaper etc... depends on what spec stuff you've got on at the moment and if you would put on the same again etc. But I done it twice (on different bikes) where I have changed the chain without changing the cassette. First time complete sucess and even solved my chain suck problems ... second time (recently)... I can't decide whether its jumping a bit and maybe I should of changed both... or whether I just need to adjust the gears a bit anyway.

But you are about to go on your trip soon, so either do it soon and have time to fix any problems that arise or leave it until after your trip.

 

[Landslide]

Change it. You can get 7/8spd compatible chains for so little these days e.g. SRAM PC30 is less than a tenner.

 

[Radius]

If it were so bad you were noticing problems then it would be way past the 'should change it mark'. It doesn't have to be causing issues to need changing.

 

[punkypossum]

But you are about to go on your trip soon, so either do it soon and have time to fix any problems that arise or leave it until after your trip.

Hmm, yes, this is partly why I'm wondering what to do - the bike for various reasons can't go into lbs till quite close to the start date, so if it then starts jumping with a new chain, I have a problem....

 

[ChrisKH]

I bought an eight speed chain two weeks ago for £7.00 from Parker International. It was easy to replace; much easier than I expected. Change the chain now before the cassette deteriorates. You only need a cheap chain tool to get the old one off and to 'cut down' the new one to size.

Also, it would be useful, if you're shortly off on a trip with the bike, to know how to do this ahead of time. Some good explanatory vid's on youtube, etc. that show you how to do it. I did it and I'm completely useless.

 

[Mr Pig]

so if it then starts jumping with a new chain, I have a problem....

You'll be fine. It's not very worn yet. I've gone up to the 1% mark before changing the chain and not had any issues.

PS. KMC chains seem to last longer than Shimano or SRAM.

 

[stonecastle]

One tip about bicycle chains, never wait until they need replacing to replace them. Otherwise you will have to chance the sprockets as well! It is a good idea to change your chain at least once every three months if you do a lot of cycling just before it needs changing. That way the new one will mesh neatly with the old sprockets and will prevent sprocket wear.

If you wait too long to replace a chain then the new one will skip when it is in top gear. I have had this anoying problem a lot in the past when I used to ride derailier bikes. I now ride a three speed though so this is much less of a problem for me. But I would advise any derailier owner to change their chain regularly to avoid the problems of chain skip.

 

[yello]

There's no real right answer here pp. You can do either. A new chain will work with the old cassette. If it were me, and I was going to change the cassette anyway, I'd purchase the bits needed now and change them when the old one chain started giving problems. But then neither chain nor cassette are pricey items so you might decide to swap them out now. For what it's worth, I keep spare chains for all my bikes, they're consumables in my book.

 

[02GF74]

you should replace the chain. you won't get any problems even if it wears well beyond the 1% mark since the chain and gears will wear together. trouble with doing that is when you do replace the chain, a new one will skip over very worn sprockets, (i.e. on the cassette) and will wear the new chain out quicker.

(do it - I've seen the price of cassettes and almost fainted - last time I piad about £ 34, now nearly double, and it wasnlt that long ago. It is almost cheaper to buy a £ 79.99 Tesco bike and wear that into the ground)

 

[punkypossum]

Hmph, just rang the bike shop to book the bike in for a service before Amsterdame (yes, I know I should be able to do this myself). Explained the chain issue, they said they would always recommend changing both chain and cassette at the same time (which, considering it's a tenner for the chain and about £40 for the cassette) plus the cost of a service (which seems to have doubled in price as well) is going to make this a rather expensive job...Although they did say they were going to let the mechanic have a look at it when I drop the bike off to see what he thinks and if I might get away with just a new chain or leaving it for a bit longer... Then again, it's done about 3,000 miles so is probably well due for a change.

Seriously tempted to just let it wear out completely now...

 

[Radius]

If you do that, then you'll definitely have to replace both the cassette and the chain, if not the chainrings (depending on how long you leave it...)

 

[punkypossum]

ARGH!!!!

 

[Mr Pig]

Seriously tempted to just let it wear out completely now...B)

It's an option. Think about it. Eventually you'll have to replace the chain and cassette but that's only the same parts are you're looking to replace now! The only additional cost would be replacing the rings, which will definitely be done in if you run a very worn chain on them.

However, over all the cost of replacing the lot at a later date will almost certainly be a lot less than changing the chain every few months. a very worn transmission can still work perfectly for years. Eventually the chain will fail or it'll start shifting badly but it'll take a long time.

I don't see how they can know that you need a new cassette without checking it. Sounds like bollocks to me. If you fit a new chain and it doesn't skip you don't need one.

 

[4F]

I don't see how they can know that you need a new cassette without checking it. Sounds like bollocks to me. If you fit a new chain and it doesn't skip you don't need one.

Agree totally.