How many miles before changing chain and Cassette?

[raleighnut]

After reading this post i decided to buy a chain wear tool today as i was starting to get a little curious about the condition of my chain. According to the tool, my chain is completely knackered at a 0.75.
I have always kept the chain spotless and well lubed and after working out the mileage its done over the last 12 months, its done around 6000 miles.
It still feels and sounds silky smooth but for the sake of £20 I've bought a replacement this afternoon. Hopefully the new shimano one will be just as good and hard wearing as the last one.

If you save that part worn chain then when you get to where the cassette is a bit worn and won't accept a new chain it will be alright with the part worn one, I used to keep em in empty marg tubs and cover em with Oil. If you've done it right you can get another year or 2 out of the cassette/freewheel.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

After reading this post i decided to buy a chain wear tool today as i was starting to get a little curious about the condition of my chain. According to the tool, my chain is completely knackered at a 0.75..
It still feels and sounds silky smooth but for the sake of £20 I've bought a replacement this afternoon. Hopefully the new shimano one will be just as good and hard wearing as the last one.

There's no point in mixing new and worn parts. All it does is waste money and cause accelerated wear. Anyone who has ever rebuilt an old car gearbox will tell you that you shouldn't replace just one of a pair of gears. If you want the best possible job, and can still get the parts, you replace both of the cogs. If you want to do the job as cheaply as possible, or the parts are obsolete, you cannibalise another old gearbox and swap in a part-worn gear which is at least serviceable.
So let's say you replace your chain twice @ £20 a throw, then the third time you buy both a £20 chain and a £20 cassette. Total expenditure £80 over the cassette lifespan. There is every likelihood that you could simply get away with running just one chain, and not replacing it at all until it starts to skip, at which point you would also change the cassette. Total expenditure in this case £40. On the subject of chains, I do not regard £20 for a chain as being a cheap consumable. £20 is approximately how much I tend to pay for a complete secondhand bike, and when I do so, so long as the chain is not rusted solid I will just use up whatever lifespan the existing chain has left in it. I don't possess a chain wear indicator tool, and see no need for them. If the chain is not skipping, it isn't actually completely worn out.

 

[raleighnut]

There's no point in mixing new and worn parts. All it does is waste money and cause accelerated wear. Anyone who has ever rebuilt an old car gearbox will tell you that you shouldn't replace just one of a pair of gears. If you want the best possible job, and can still get the parts, you replace both of the cogs. If you want to do the job as cheaply as possible, or the parts are obsolete, you cannibalise another old gearbox and swap in a part-worn gear which is at least serviceable.
So let's say you replace your chain twice @ £20 a throw, then the third time you buy both a £20 chain and a £20 cassette. Total expenditure £80 over the cassette lifespan. There is every likelihood that you could simply get away with running just one chain, and not replacing it at all until it starts to skip, at which point you would also change the cassette. Total expenditure in this case £40. On the subject of chains, I do not regard £20 for a chain as being a cheap consumable. £20 is approximately how much I tend to pay for a complete secondhand bike, and when I do so, so long as the chain is not rusted solid I will just use up whatever lifespan the existing chain has left in it. I don't possess a chain wear indicator tool, and see no need for them. If the chain is not skipping, it isn't actually completely worn out.

A high end cassette can be well north of £100 depending on brand/level.

 

[raleighnut]

A high end cassette can be well north of £100 depending on brand/level.

A Campagnolo 11 speed Super Record is £406 from Chain Reaction for instance

 

[johnnyb47]

I know we may well have different views @SkipdiverJohn, and i totally respect yours, but i enjoy my cycling and for the sake of £20 for a new chain that will propel my aging body for another 5/6k (hopefully) miles im quite happy to spend this on routine maintenance.

 

[I like Skol]

I can't ignore this any longer! The people who advise running a chain and cassette until it starts to give problems are ignoring one point, chainrings!
I have no problem with running chain and cassette into the ground and fully expect it to perform satisfactorily well past 1% wear. However, this will also kill the chainrings, and they are often not as cheap or easily sourced as the other parts. Running to only 0.75% or thereabouts is the best way of maximising chainset life.

 

[Drago]

I'm a heavy, powerful rider who grinds high gears. A chain is typically down to 0.5 by 1500 miles for so for me and usually 0.75 well before 2000 miles, and I replace cassettes every 3rd or 4th chain. Unless you're built like Dr Banners green friend 700 miles for a chain and 2000 for a cassette is very poor indeed.

 

[MountainSide]

I used to just continue riding until it stopped working and then be disappointed that a new chain needed a new cassette and sometimes a new crankset. So having read about the wonders of chain wear tools and replacing the chain early to get 3 or 4 or more chains per cassette, I decided to do that about 14 months ago. I started with everything new. All Shimano 9 speed parts. Replaced the first chain at 0.75 before any signs of skipping. All was good. Just replaced the 2nd chain again at 0.75. Again no signs of skipping but with the new chain, skipping. New cassette - no skipping. So I only got 2 chains per cassette. That is after about 4500 miles. Bit disappointing really, don't know whether to go back to running it into the ground. I oil the chain frequently but don't fully clean, just scrape and brush any gunk out regularly. It's a hybrid bike but 50:50 road to gravel tracks. I do a fair bit of hills and a bit heavier than the average cyclist.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

A Campagnolo 11 speed Super Record is £406 from Chain Reaction for instance

How much???

Pure cycling silliness like that acts as a useful reminder why I like to stick to my basic no-nonsense 14-28T six speed Shimano freewheels and run £12 RRP chains that I try to pick up to keep in stock whenever on special offer for £6 or £7 apiece.

 

[johnnyb47]

How much???

Pure cycling silliness like that acts as a useful reminder why I like to stick to my basic no-nonsense 14-28T six speed Shimano freewheels and run £12 RRP chains that I try to pick up to keep in stock whenever on special offer for £6 or £7 apiece.

But isn't this, what makes cycling so special?
It caters for everyone as to what they want to spend or afford.
My old 80s Peugeot bike was cheap as chips and has carried me along for many a good mile and has been a joy to ride. It will never be sold as it holds alot of sentimental value. It got me back into cycling again after going through some rocky personal issues. As the cycling bug took me to another level i bought an expensive" to me" Specialized bike with all the bells and whistles. Its maintained to the best i can and has covered many 1000s of miles in my ownership.
Two different bikes at opposite ends of the spectrum.
That's what makes cycling so great. It can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of cost or budget constraints.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

But isn't this, what makes cycling so special?
It caters for everyone as to what they want to spend or afford.
That's what makes cycling so great. It can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of cost or budget constraints.

Most activities in life can be participated in at various levels, depending on how much you can afford, or are willing to spend, and what your approach to value for money is. Cycling is not really any different to a lot of things in that respect, although the cost multiple from the cheapest to the dearest approach can be huge..
Cycling can certainly be enjoyable, but I don't see very much relationship between money spent on bikes and cycling gear and enjoyment achieved. Factors like road and weather conditions, interactions with others, and rider mood, make a vastly bigger difference than whether you are riding several thousand pounds of lightweight exotica or an old steel banger sold by Halfords that you paid a tenner for in well-used condition.

 

[Kajjal]

I'm a heavy, powerful rider who grinds high gears. A chain is typically down to 0.5 by 1500 miles for so for me and usually 0.75 well before 2000 miles, and I replace cassettes every 3rd or 4th chain. Unless you're built like Dr Banners green friend 700 miles for a chain and 2000 for a cassette is very poor indeed.

As a 100kg+ bronzed Adonis of mountain biking I know exactly what you mean, no bike can handle that amount of raw unadulterated power for too long.

 

[Blue Hills]

I measure how much the chain has stretched with a chain wear tool, and chuck it when the wear is greater than 0.5%. g.

You mean you chuck them when they get to 0.7, 0.75?
I have never seen a chain checker with a 0.5 marker.
I change my chains at 0.7, don't keep records of when, how many chains per cassette, but change cassette every so often or when I sense drive issues.
Am always intrigued by folk who know how many miles they have done on bits. Nay, worried even.
But 700 miles is definitely way way too short.
+1 for regular cleaning. I clean my chains when, by touch, I can tell that there is significant grit and muck in them.

 

[Blue Hills]

I have always assumed that the act of spinning the crank would induce the oil to find its way into the bushes and rollers.

I don't have the patience to wait 10 minutes.

Yes i didn"t understand the 10 minutes thing. Unless spiderweb has concocted some special brew of standard oil and his own sperm to create some sort of active lube.

I just drip oil on the chain as I rotate it, rotate some more as I wipe excess oil (without personal additives) off the outside plates. And do this before going for a ride so that the oil will be well worked in/distributed.

 

[Blue Hills]

Ir. I know the feeling if riding with a new chain and cassette. It just feels more responsive and smoother. y.

An advantage of fettling/building up your own bikes rather than handing them over to a bikeshop is I think that you develop a feel for them. I too change the cassette based on feel (and a very vague idea of when it was last changed).