Replacing chain/derailleur/cassete.

[Energize]

Due to a number of problems with my bike caused by wear and tear as well as damage I want to replace all the gearing related components, bike will only shift into about 5 gears now and on the top gear the chain often "slips" when there's a lot of force on it, plus the shifter always displays first gear. The stuff was cheap crap in the first place so I'd rather replace it than fix it.

So I need a chain, cassette, derailleur, shifter, is there anything else?

Where do I find out about compatibility of various components for my bike, and are there any decent guides to fitting it all?

 

[Energize]

What system do you have at the moment?
How much are you looking to spend?

Search youtube for drivetrain fitting video guides.


A crankset - front chainrings, bottom bracket and pedal arms.

Below is a picture of the current system, says Shimano but I'm not entirely sure what model it is, there's just a single front chainring with 48 teeth.

Budget is very flexible at the moment as I have no idea how much these things cost lol.

 

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The thing is it's an electric bike that retails for £800 and better models are over the £1,000 range.

I do plan on building another electric bike at some point and will probably just transfer the new stuff to that.

 

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I have another bike with proper gearing but it just doesn't compare to the electric bike performance even with the bad gearing, takes me less than half the time to get to my destination.

 

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How do I find out what chain length my bike needs? I've tried the above Shimano 7/8 speed chain but it's definitely too small despite the 7 speed cassette.

 

[Energize]

Are you sure it's too short?

put it in the big cog at the back without the mech, find the closest link it could fit and add a link.

It's considerably shorter than my current chain.

Your frame is not a normal shape. The rear triangle is longer than normal (probably to give clearance for the motor) and a different shape too - we cant see where that chainstay goes behind the chainwheel but it's not at the right angle to meet up with the bottom bracket so there's something else going on in there.

Not really a problem, you'll either need to count the number of links in your current chain and find somewhere that sells a chain by the link or just buy 2 and join them together.

Thank you.

Does the thickness or strength of chains vary at all? Anything to watch out for in that regard?

 

[Energize]

Yeah I got the 7-speed freewheel Jonny ///M linked me, it seems to be exactly the same design as the original.

Luckily my bike fanatic of a father has every bike tool known to man.

 

[Energize]

Thanks for that, I think I've found a 7 speed chain with 132 links which should fit.