How to prolong gears/chain lifespan?

milan_ns

I've just serviced my Specialized Allez 2009 (tiagra/sora) at the cost of cca £190 (£70 for labour) :S

Shop mechanic replaced the chain, rear cassette, cables and the front middle chainring and few other bits. I have no reason to doubt the mechanic as a friend sort of a predicted that these parts may need replacing when I explained the symptoms over the phone.

I was a bit surprised that I've managed to ruin all these things in a year (5-6k miles, in all sorts of weather).

Is this normal lifespan of these components?

Mind you I've cleaned the gears maybe 3-4 times in 12 months and greased the chain every week or so.

What kind of a maintenance should I do to prolong the life of the components?

Thanks

mf5

To keep a chain and cassette for a year is quite good. Just keep it clean and greased, always clean off the old grease before you put more grease on the chain.

wgwarburton

I think these components are designed for sports/recreational use rather than for utility.

You can prolong their life with frequent maintenance- keep 'em clean, dry and lubed and they'll last longer, but if you want longevity you probably need chunkier parts.

I recently switched to a steel chainring, I'm hoping it'll last better than its alloy predecessors. It's 3/32" one, though. I'm on the lookout for 1/8"...

Cheers,
W.

wgwarburton

mf5 wrote:

To keep a chain and cassette for a year is quite good. Just keep it clean and greased, always clean off the old grease before you put more grease on the chain.

Do you really mean grease? How would you get grease inside the links..Melt it? Like paraffin wax?

Cheers,
W.

ride_whenever

steel runs better but basically a drivetrain wears as soon as you turn the cranks.

If you use it all thoroughly then you can run the whole lot into the ground without it slipping. Slipping occurs because you tend to wear some gears more than others, if you keep it all wearing at the same rate then you can use it waaaaaay past what should be possible.

SimonLyons

One tip I have seen is to get three chains at the same time and use them for ~300miles before swapping to the next - I think this was in a cycling plus article. I don't do this myself.

Personally I don't think cassettes need changing as often as the chain.

The one I am using currently has done 5000 miles. (Shimano 105 equip)
Changed chain at ~3900 miles - chain was slipping off the big ring- should have replaced this earlier.
Gear changes aren't perfect but they are good enough and its not as though I am racing.
+clean chain + cassette regularly (depending on weather ~ once a month)

rhext

I regularly clean and lubricate the chain: quick whizz with a chain-cleaner full of degreaser, wait a couple of minutes (you can clean the cassette with a bit more degreaser while you're waiting), then refill the chain cleaner with hot soapy water and keep refilling until the water looks clean(ish). Dry thoroughly, spray with GT-85 to disperse any remaining water and then relube.

I've got about 6,000 miles out of the current chain/cassette, 10,000 out of the chainrings and jockey wheels (yes, I know i've overdone it - the chain wear is off the scale). I was planning to replace chain/cassette/chainrings as a routine service, but I've now decided to keep going until I actually feel some deterioration in performance (presumably chainslip). All the advice seems to be to replace a chain as soon as it's showing 75% worn, because then you can save the cassette and the chainring......but I reckon that it might be cheaper in the long run to run the whole lot for as long as you can and then replace it all at once. Since I've already gone past the point where replacing the chain is likely to save my cassette and chainring, I might as well see how far I get......

Nigel Bennett

Biggest help I've found is to keep road pooh from landing on the transmission in the first place. I've califudged chainguards to do that - and it makes a big difference in transmission longevity. It's not a very recent photo, and you can hardly see the bits, but their effect is quite visible:

mf5

Sorry, i mean a sort of chain lube, i would recommend a wet ride one[/quote]

Radioactiveman

I would recommend keeping the chain cleaned regularly and check for chain stretch with a chain stretch gauge like this http://www.parktool.com/products/detail ... &item=CC-3

If you change the chain before it stretches excessively the drivetrain will last longer. If you leave it too long the drivetrain wears to match the lerger gaps in the chain and when a new chain is fitted it skips on the cassette.

Mike400

My biggest mistake is not changing the chain until it breaks by which stage ive wrecked the cassette too....

Learning my lesson, but how often do you guys change chains? If I changed my chain every 300 miles I would be doing it every fortnight, two chains a month is a bit daft??

In 5000 miles ive used two cassettes and two chains. Guess I cant complain.

Radioactiveman

Get a chain stretch gauge. see the post above

Mike400

Radioactiveman wrote:

Get a chain stretch gauge. see the post above

Have heard they arent very accurate though? stories of brand new chains appearing worn according to the chain tool?

If you replaced your chain regularly, does it follow that your cassette should last a lot longer?

Radioactiveman

The cassette wears to the chain, so when you put a new chain on after running a chain too long the cassette skips. The one I have is a park go/no go and is perfectly fine. The only reason it will go is if the chain is stretched.

I think park advise replacement between 0.75% and 1%.

aukray

Starting with a new cassette and 3 or 4 chains, use each of the chains initially for 500 miles. After this first 'rotation' use each chain in turn for 1000mls, cleaning them after each swap. I'm not pedantic about cleaning - spray on GT85 or WD40 and rub them thoroughly with a cloth until they are clear of crud and look bright-ish. While the chain is off it's relatively easy to clean the cassette, too. This system does require that you keep a fairly accurate check on mileage intervals, and that you store the chains in numbered boxes/bags to avoid confusion, of course, but I've found that it ensures that the chains don't get neglected for months on end.

Although I tend to compare chains roughly for length at each swap, mainly out of curiosity, I don't use a chain-checker or steel rule, but simply buy a new cassette and set of chains when they get noisy or start to slip. Last years this way - many thousands of miles. As for chainrings, I replace these as and when they wear out/become hooked.

This regime applies to road bikes. Can't advise about off-road use.

jthef

Hi
I have a 105 set up and cleaned my chain every 1 to 2 weeks dependant on weather etc.
Ened up useing a finish line oil.
in that time basical used 1 cassett and 3 chains.
After 9000 miles the chain rings have worn too much so over the winter I just wore them all out.
So now have a new chain, crank set and cassett and all feels better.
Also just trying a new lube called squrt http://www.squirtlube.com/products/index.php and seams better.

Mike400

Radioactiveman wrote:

The cassette wears to the chain, so when you put a new chain on after running a chain too long the cassette skips. The one I have is a park go/no go and is perfectly fine. The only reason it will go is if the chain is stretched.

I think park advise replacement between 0.75% and 1%.

Ill maybe pick one up then cheers

aukray wrote:

stuff he said

So once you hit the 1000 mile mark and change to a different chain, it meshes fine with the cassette? no skipping etc?

aukray

Mike400 wrote:

So once you hit the 1000 mile mark and change to a different chain, it meshes fine with the cassette? no skipping etc?

I've been doing this for 12 yrs now on 3 different bikes, and never had a problem. Eventually, of course, the parts wear so much that you get slippage or chattering - then it's time to buy new. This has only happened a couple of times over the years. Although I've never logged the miles per cassette, it is certainly considerably more than 10,000 miles.

Mike400

aukray wrote:

Although I've never logged the miles per cassette, it is certainly considerably more than 10,000 miles.

:shock:

Time to buy some chains and emulate you methinks!!