Swapping chains to increase cassette life???

dazzawazza
dazzawazza Posts: 462
edited February 2009 in Workshop
This is my third failed attempt, because the chain is skipping in certain gears when I stand on the pedals; not good in traffic.
This time I tried after 700 miles from a brand new Ultegra cassette / KMC chain.

So I'm going to refit the old chain and will probably give up trying the next time I have new parts.

Does anyone successfully do this? Should I change the chain much sooner, say 500 miles?

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Is the chain the right length and the gears set up correctly? You should be able to get a few thousand miles out of a chain without any problems, so eliminate other possibilities before switching parts again.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    As Monty says, you should get plenty more life out of the chain. One thing is to clean it often though, one of those chain baths after any ride in wet weather and you can probably double the life of the chain, cassette and chainrings (brush them clean too).
  • Sorry I didn’t make myself clear.
    The original chain that has done 700 miles is working fine.
    I replaced this with a brand new chain, but kept the cassette with 700 miles of wear on the bike. When the new chain has done 1400 miles I was going to put the old chain back on, and so on. I read that this would extend cassette and chain-ring life, but have never been successful because the new chain has always skipped in certain gears.
  • I have to say all this faffing around with chains and cassettes makes me laugh. Chain costs between £10 - £15, cassette between £20 - £30. Just ride them until there knackered and then go and replace both. Before now I've had nearly 20,000 miles out of a chain set. No swapping them about. I just make sure the chain gets cleaned and lubed on a regular basis. Did nearly 4000 miles on summer bike last year and should get another 4000 miles out of it this summer. Had winter bike 2 years chainset still going strong, should get another winter out of it at least.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    I have to say all this faffing around with chains and cassettes makes me laugh. Chain costs between £10 - £15, cassette between £20 - £30. Just ride them until there knackered and then go and replace both. Before now I've had nearly 20,000 miles out of a chain set. No swapping them about. I just make sure the chain gets cleaned and lubed on a regular basis. Did nearly 4000 miles on summer bike last year and should get another 4000 miles out of it this summer. Had winter bike 2 years chainset still going strong, should get another winter out of it at least.


    +1 on the lubing and cleaning on a regular basis. I clean(running the chain through a rag)
    on at least a weekly basis and then re-lube with a some sort of wax stuff. If I've been out in wet weather I clean and re-lube ASAP. I haven't removed a chain for cleaning in years. Nor do I use those "chain clearers" everyone sells. Just a clean rag.
    I don't have problems.

    Dennis Noward
  • spadey
    spadey Posts: 54
    you can't run a new chain on an old cassette or vice versa. Chains and cassettes wear in together and the reason for your skipping is because the cassette is worn in to your old chain.

    You need to replace the chain and cassette at the same time
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    edited February 2009
    dazzawazza wrote:
    Does anyone successfully do this? Should I change the chain much sooner, say 500 miles?

    I've put 3 KMC chains on 1 cassette - no problems - I don't rotate them, just use the chain for 4-6 months then bin it (or keep it as a chain whip or spare), and put a new chain on - once the cassette's had a good innings, it gets replaced aswell - just keep it simple, really.

    (I'm not on 10 speed, so it is cheaper for me)
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    spadey wrote:
    you can't run a new chain on an old cassette or vice versa. Chains and cassettes wear in together and the reason for your skipping is because the cassette is worn in to your old chain.

    You need to replace the chain and cassette at the same time

    They only "wear in together" if you leave a chain on too long, which rapidly wears sprockets. If you replace your chains when they have worn to 1 per cent longer, your sprockets will last for many chains. Chains are cheap and sprocket clusters can be frighteningly expensive these days.
  • Airwave
    Airwave Posts: 483
    When i buy a new cassette i also buy 2-3 chains.I then rotate them every 300-400 miles very simple.You can pick up 3 chains cheaply enough&you get more miles out of the cassette.I also clean&lube the drive train after most rides.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    spadey wrote:
    you can't run a new chain on an old cassette or vice versa. Chains and cassettes wear in together and the reason for your skipping is because the cassette is worn in to your old chain.

    You need to replace the chain and cassette at the same time


    I disagree. I have never done this in all the years I've been riding. I replace either or both
    if and when they are worn.

    Dennis Noward
  • I have to say all this faffing around with chains and cassettes makes me laugh. Chain costs between £10 - £15, cassette between £20 - £30. Just ride them until there knackered and then go and replace both. Before now I've had nearly 20,000 miles out of a chain set. No swapping them about. I just make sure the chain gets cleaned and lubed on a regular basis. Did nearly 4000 miles on summer bike last year and should get another 4000 miles out of it this summer. Had winter bike 2 years chainset still going strong, should get another winter out of it at least.

    I completely admit I am the faffinator when it comes to bike maintenance and a lot of other things. My chainset was expensive and If I can keep the costs down by swapping components then I will do it.
    I have never been able to get anywhere near 20k miles from a chainset, even with routine cleaning.
    On the ride home from work I had no chain skip, however I was being very careful. Should I leave it for now and continue with the new chain or swap back?
  • Buy yourself a Park chain checker for £7.Replace cahin before it gets to 1% stretch.Simple.
    2006 Giant XTC
    2010 Giant Defy Advanced
    2016 Boardman Pro 29er
    2016 Pinnacle Lithium 4
    2017 Canondale Supersix Evo
  • andrew_s
    andrew_s Posts: 2,511
    Chain and cassette wear is very variable.
    9 or 10 speed chains & cassettes wear much faster than 5 or 6 speed
    Dirty chains wear faster than clean ones
    Wet and muddy winter riding wears stuff much faster than clean and dry summer riding
    hilly riding wears things faster than flat riding

    I've had a new chain on an old cassette slip after as little as 600 miles (age of cassette), and not slip after as much as 2500 miles

    If you can be bothered with the faff, it's probably best to get 3 or 4 chains for a new cassette, and swap them in rotation every 500 miles or so, keeping going until things don't work any more.

    I will admit I can't be bothered, and just use the same chain and cassette until it stops working properly. This is generally at about the 7-8000 mile mark.
  • If you are rotating chains you need to swap them fairly regularly at first. As they wear it becomes less critical and you can leave it longer.

    I have had a new chain slip a bit when the one before it had only done 300 miles. If this happens it will soon bed in.

    Best to make a habit of swapping the chain every time you clean your bike.
  • I'm going to keep the new chain on for another commute to see if it beds in. If it's still skipping after that I'll swap back to the old chain and run that for another few thousand miles.
    How will I know when to change the chain and cassette so not to cause unnecessary wear to the chainrings? I don't want to too soon as the cassettes are quite expensive.
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    dazzawazza wrote:
    I'm going to keep the new chain on for another commute to see if it beds in. If it's still skipping after that I'll swap back to the old chain and run that for another few thousand miles.
    How will I know when to change the chain and cassette so not to cause unnecessary wear to the chainrings? I don't want to too soon as the cassettes are quite expensive.

    Your cassette is worn, and needs to be replaced. It is probably only a couple of sprockets but they are not individually replaceable. Use you new chain with the new cassette.

    Your chainrings will be fine for a long time. They wear much more slowly and can be used even when quite worn for ages without causing problems elsewhere.

    The rule is: worn chains wreck sprockets. A dedicated chain wear tool will give you an approximate idea of chain wear. A 50p ruler - the precision instrument, in this case - will tell you exactly. When the distance between 12 pins is 12 and a sixteenth inches, it should be replaced.
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    When the distance between 12 pins is 12 and a sixteenth inches, it should be replaced.
    When this is so the chain is very worn indeed. You mean 12 full links.
    After only 700 miles the cassette should not be worn. My winter one has now done over 2000 miles and is only part way through its second chain. I expect the ones on my summer bike to do far more. Unless the OP rides in one gear nearly all the time and has worn one cog out his problem is far more likely sticking or tight links.
  • spadey wrote:
    you can't run a new chain on an old cassette or vice versa. Chains and cassettes wear in together and the reason for your skipping is because the cassette is worn in to your old chain.

    You need to replace the chain and cassette at the same time

    this is a bit of a myth, a good cassette should i think take a good few chains but obviously if the cassette is worn the chain should be replaced, i have had three chains on a sram 8 speed cassette on my winter bike, shifts fine!
    Carbon fibre, it's all nonsense. Drink beer. Ride a steel bike. Don't be a ponce.
  • It is worth persevering with rotating your chains. If you get into the habbit of rotating chains at every opportunity they will last ages.

    Try rotating every time you clean your bike. You will find that popping the chain off before cleaning your bike makes the cleaning process much easier. Give the chain a wipe, put it away and pop on the next one when you have finished.

    You can get at all the grubby bits much easier, and you dont get you chain wet.

    You might find it saves you time.
  • passout
    passout Posts: 4,425
    I'd just ride, clean, lube until it stops working.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.