How much wear before you replace your chain and cassette

Big.Wayne

Big.Wayne

Big.Wayne

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I've been swapping out both chain and cassettes at 0.75% but I've read that some folk replace the chain only just before 0.50% stretch and are able to keep the existing cassette. I've tried this once and found the new chain didn't grip properly on the slightly worn cassette so now swap both at the same time.

Another reason I'm thinking it may be better to swap out chain and cassette early is to save excessive wear on the chain set, although as the chain rings are a lot studier than the sprockets this may not be a real concern but am unsure? I think my chain rings are made of steel and most cogs are made of Aluminium so I'm assuming that steel is less prone to wear and tear?

Thoughts?
 
Both scenarios sound quite excessive. I thought 0.75 was the accepted point for a chain and a cassette shouldn't need changing unless you have taken it to 1.0 or beyond. Should be able to get multiple chains per cassette if you change at 0.75.

Part of the reason that chainrings wear slower is the number of teeth that are engaged at any one time spreading the load between them.
 
Big.Wayne said:
Yes good point re the spreading of load. So you saying you have swapped out a 0.75% chain for a new one and it worked fine with the worn cassette?
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Not personally but I believe that is the norm and is inline with the instructions that came with my chain checker. I'm sure someone will be along to confirm.
 
eh ! all chain rings (campag chorus / deore) I have had are alloy and the sprockets steel , and even though do not change chain rings under pedal load the rings visibly get more wear ..no ?
albeit if you change a chain too late can find new one will not engage well with the sprocket and can run around it not sure why that is

as discussed in another thread can run two chains and swap occasionally
 
jpaul, chain rings are either steel or alloy but I thought sprockets were alloy too but just having just checked it seems most sprockets are steel? . . . I didn't know that.
 
I swap chains a bit too often (less than 2000 miles quite frequently) but I'll get at least 5000, usually quite a bit more, out of a cassette. What kind of cleaning/lubing routine do you have for your drivetrain?
 
Cassettes can last forever if you change chains often enough. Pro teams can go a season without changing cassettes with them swapping chains on an almost daily basis.
 
FrenchTart said:
What kind of cleaning/lubing routine do you have for your drivetrain?
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Sorry that made me chuckle.
In the summer I tend to clean the "drivetrain" a lot more, I'm not sure if this is because I want my steed to make small children point and woman gasp or that somehow summer gunks up the drive-train more.

In Winter my cycle looks destroyed and I only add more cross-country lube to keep the chain-links rolling, at best I will take a wide flat head screwdriver to the rear derailleur jockey wheels as I find the grinding paste builds up either side of the jockeys teeth and interferes with shifting. :(

In summer I pester the guys at my LBS to let me use their parts washer, take the chain off and attack it with a toothbrush. I don't know exactly what is the chemical composition but it literally eats the grease and gunk from the chain, followed by a quick optional rinse of fresh water, good dousing in GT85 before hanging to drip dry naturally. Once its dry its gets a per link drop of cross-country lube and each link-roller is rotated 5-10 times!:eek:

I really never heard you could swap out a chain and keep using the cassette so many times? As I said in the op I did try this once and the chain skated a little across the rear cassette sprockets during shifts. Maybe I goofed up somehow so I will have to give this another go, I would be happy to get two chains out of each cassette, let alone more.

So right now my chain and cassette are literally just 0.50% percent, if what you chaps are saying is true I can bin the old chain and lash on a lovely new one with no ill effects? . . . if that's true I will be pleased. I used to spend £50 every 6 months on a new chain and cassette (SRAM PC991+PG970) but that burn rate was a bit rich for my tastes so downgraded to a £25.00 bundle (SRAM PC971+PG950) which although not quite as bling lasted twice as long? . . . . £25 Annual mash up tax vs £100 Annual mash up tax with no discernible difference in the riding/shifting of the machine?

Now what you are basically saying to me is I can really cheap out and slash my annual mash up tax by another 50% to £12.50 a year haha! :D

Thanks for the feedback, I came here with a small concern I was wearing my chains rings out too quickly by not swapping out the chain and cassette regularly enough and I leave with an entirely different set of thoughts . . .
 
I have seen the skating problem with new chain on sprocket, my theory was that with new unstretched/tighter chain (having checked I was putting back same number of links) this exposed problems of ill adjusted rear-mechanism more than old chain had, and after tweaking the derailleur cable adjustment (running up an down gears in a bike stand) it was fixed.
I have been using sram 971's too always ~£10 amazon or CR, but the absence of nickel on outer plates does cause rust faster.
I could not tell if you were joking about the per link drop I just run chain around in a loop on the bike (or a former ... cardboard tube) adding teflon lube for a few cycles until I feel I have used enough of this expensive liquid.
Is gt85 ok to use ? I though that was like wd40 ?

...but yes you should get many chains per cassette

I will ask my lbs if they would clean a chain ... I would pay someone a £1 ?
dismantling and cleaning front/rear mechs/brakes is much more of a faff and cannot be done in a part washer I think ?
 
I try and change at the .75% but have changed chains on customer bikes somewhere between .75% and 1% and they haven't slipped.

A lot of the race guys swap wheels so the cassettes don't get the same wear. Compared to me when I was commuting a lot more I found my 14t sprocket to slip as it's the one I use the most.

Other people follow the approach of just using the same drivetrain all year and changing it all at once.
 
jpaul said:
I could not tell if you were joking about the per link drop
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No? I want to make sure every single roller is properly lubed and turning freely.

jpaul said:
Is gt85 ok to use ? I though that was like wd40 ?
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Sure why not? GT85 is a water displacer that dries to a teflon finish, it contains no solvents like WD40 does.

GT85 is also great sprayed on a towel then run a gunky chain through it several time and it comes up pretty clean, same for derailleur and chainring.

The only thing to be careful of with GT85 is not to spray it near your hubs, bottom bracket or headset as it can displace the heavy grease used there.
 
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