Component Longevity and Service Intervals

Levi_501

Guys and Gals, I was just wondering (if you know) how long you get out of components on commuter bikes; and what sort of service intervals you do.

I seem to get about 1,000 miles out of a chain, 2 chains to a cassette, and two cassettes to a pair of chain rings-ish

Although, I have to confess, this last couple of months, what with all the snow, salt and 5h1t on the road, my last chain (replaced yesterday) took a hell of a hammering.

I try to aersol clean the transmission once a week and re-lube. Every six weeks-ish I take the chain off and do a propper clean. I find cleaning the front mech a nightmare.

I am running a 21 (3x7) set up.

No right or wrongs, just wondered what anyone else does.

rolf_f

Hard to say as I use more than one bike but do go out every day so the bikes have to suffer a lot. Probably at least 2500 miles per chain, one cassette in 10,000 miles (every 3 chains - rotated regularly) and very few chainrings.

Do keep things a lot cleaner than you though. Chain bath and lubrication twice a week when it is cacky, chain off at next clean and into a pan of hot degreaser. If I left the chain 6 weeks between proper cleaning it would be a right mess. Tend to wash the bike at least once a week as well.

gbsahne001

Rolf F wrote:

Tend to wash the bike at least once a week as well.

Really, can't recall the last time I washed mine

Rich158

I get about 6 months out a chain and casette, probably about 4-5000 miles, and I've yet to change my chainrings in the last year year although the outer is looking a bit worn now

rolf_f

gbsahne wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Tend to wash the bike at least once a week as well.

Really, can't recall the last time I washed mine

Runs so much nicer after a clean even after only 2 or 3 days of gritty crappy weather.

Levi_501

Rolf F wrote:

gbsahne wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Tend to wash the bike at least once a week as well.

Really, can't recall the last time I washed mine

Runs so much nicer after a clean even after only 2 or 3 days of gritty crappy weather.

It is lovely, runs so much smoother.

So whay am I getting such a short life I wonder ??? Perhaps I change to early.

I was thinking since fitting a new setup recently, perhaps I buy 2 chains (A & ; say run A for 250 miles, then run B for 250 miles, then run A for another 250 miles and so on...

iPete

I did next to sod all maintenance on my last chain, it rusted as I cycled across Europe last summer for 3 weeks & finally gave up after 4500 miles of abuse.

So that makes it nearly 9500 miles in 18 months with 3 chain/cassettes. Swapping the chain over very X miles is way too much effort IMO.

arthur_scrimshaw

Coming up to 3000 miles on
original chain & cassette, although I take the chain off most weeks to clean and lube everything. Use gunky wet lube in the winter & dry lube in the summer months. OP - Maybe you're just putting too much power down!

gbsahne001

iPete wrote:

I did next to sod all maintenance on my last chain, it rusted as I cycled across Europe last summer for 3 weeks & finally gave up after 4500 miles of abuse.

So that makes it nearly 9500 miles in 18 months with 3 chain/cassettes. Swapping the chain over very X miles is way too much effort IMO.

agree, I generally ride a chain until it fails and just renew both chain and cassette; get about 5 months out of a chain / cassette, which is somewhere between 4 - 5000 miles. I clean the chain when it looks / feels as though it needs it.

SickAsAParrot

I only wash mine when it's so caked in mud it's too heavy to pick up.

I find I need to replace BBs more than anything else, probably my immense weight grinding them up prematurely.

rolf_f

iPete wrote:

So that makes it nearly 9500 miles in 18 months with 3 chain/cassettes. Swapping the chain over very X miles is way too much effort IMO.

It's literally no effort at all. Infact, it is less effort than not swapping the chain over

gbsahne wrote:

agree, I generally ride a chain until it fails and just renew both chain and cassette; get about 5 months out of a chain / cassette, which is somewhere between 4 - 5000 miles. I clean the chain when it looks / feels as though it needs it.

If nothing else, this does show how cack modern kit actually is. I took this approach with my old Dawes. I reckon the sprockets and chain lasted about 7500 miles......

antfly

If you replace the chain before it is more than 1/8 inch stretched then the cassettes should last for several chains and chainrings much longer.

vorsprung

On dérailleur bikes I have had 4-5000 miles out of a chain and then replaced the chain and cassette. I would clean that bikes transmission more than the OP

On my old best bike- not the commuter- I had it with 2 stainless steel chains which were rotated every 300 miles or so. This system didn't get to "worn out" as the bike broke before it had done 3000 miles.
Current "best bike" system is to measure the chain for wear with a ruler and replace it when it gets to 1/16" wear. See Sheldon Browns website, I'm tired of posting the link to it

My current commute bike has an Alfine hub gear and uses a 1/8" chain. Typically it gets cleaned once a week, even in bad weather.

It's done 7,000 miles since last January. I am on chain #3 but the same sprocket- hub gears are less fussy and the sprocket is thicker than the sprockets on a dérailleur cassette

Mr Plum

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=25059

Cheap 9spd chain for those looking to replace regularly

antfly

What Sheldon Brown says is you should replace it before it gets to an eighth of an inch and when it's over 1/16th of an inch.

desweller

Rolf F wrote:

It's literally no effort at all.

Dictionary fail.

rolf_f

DesWeller wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

It's literally no effort at all.

Dictionary fail.

Really? Don't see that myself but please explain

(explanation: I was emphasising the fact that if you are taking the chain off anyway, then replacing it with a different one rather than the one you took off is, literally, no effort at all. Possibly I should have said 'literally no extra effort at all' but I think that was optional.).

P.S the term 'dictionary fail' is, of course, a 'dictionary fail' in it's own right as well as ugly phraseology!.

Mr Plum

Rolf F wrote:

DesWeller wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

It's literally no effort at all.

Dictionary fail.

Really? Don't see that myself but please explain

(explanation: I was emphasising the fact that if you are taking the chain off anyway, then replacing it with a different one rather than the one you took off is, literally, no effort at all. Possibly I should have said 'literally no extra effort at all' but I think that was optional.).

P.S the term 'dictionary fail' is, of course, a 'dictionary fail' in it's own right as well as ugly phraseology!.

'Literally' means that whatever you're explaining as 'literally happening' is exactly what happened. To say that something takes "literally no effort at all" is wrong because it did take an element of effort, albeit minimal. I think that's what he was getting at anyway...

rolf_f

Mr Plum wrote:

'Literally' means that whatever you're explaining as 'literally happening' is exactly what happened. To say that something takes "literally no effort at all" is wrong because it did take an element of effort, albeit minimal. I think that's what he was getting at anyway...

I think you are probably right in that assumption as to what he was getting at - except that there really is less effort involved in swapping the chains than in not swapping them. The 'literally no effort' relates to the difference in amount of effort involved in changing or not changing them. Swapping the chains overall is a net saving of effort because you don't need to change cassettes or shorten chains so often - though the proviso is that you are actually removing the chain at least every few hundred miles to clean it properly in the first place (which, surely everyone does?!). So there really is, literally, no effort involved at all because you are doing exactly the same thing, albeit less often.

gbsahne001

Rolf F wrote:

iPete wrote:

If nothing else, this does show how cack modern kit actually is. I took this approach with my old Dawes. I reckon the sprockets and chain lasted about 7500 miles......

+1, it's one of my pet peeves, be it hardware, clothes, etc. the bicycle manufacturers seem to think people will only use their kit for popping down to the shop or occassionally commuting to work.

Mr Plum

Rolf F wrote:

Mr Plum wrote:

'Literally' means that whatever you're explaining as 'literally happening' is exactly what happened. To say that something takes "literally no effort at all" is wrong because it did take an element of effort, albeit minimal. I think that's what he was getting at anyway...

...removing the chain at least every few hundred miles to clean it properly in the first place (which, surely everyone does?!).

I think iPete said that this is exactly what he didn't do (?).

Anyway, talking about effort, the standard chains on a lot of sub £800 bikes don't tend to have quick link systems, making it a real effort to remove the chain to clean. This is my experience anyway.

Sewinman

What does this 1/16 of an inch test actually mean? :?

rolf_f

Mr Plum wrote:

Anyway, talking about effort, the standard chains on a lot of sub £800 bikes don't tend to have quick link systems, making it a real effort to remove the chain to clean. This is my experience anyway.

That's actually why I never changed the chain on my Dawes which pre-dated quick links - or rather it was that I couldn't actually source a 7 speed quick link. If they'd had them locally, I'd have bought one. But I wouldn't have been able to find a similar type chain anyway (ie old school, fat links, made to last etc).

antfly

Sewinman wrote:

What does this 1/16 of an inch test actually mean? :?

You measure 12 links of the chain,from the centre of the pins. If it is exactly 12 inches there is no stretch {wear}. 1/16 of an inch over up to an 1/8 is ok but you need to change it soon, basically.

desweller

Adding 'extra' changes the meaning of the sentence completely, so no, it is not optional. The phrase 'literally no effort' is quite explicit in stating that no energy is expended. I was going to type something longer than 'dicitonary fail', but lost interest half way through!

Anyway, quick links are, what, £3 or £4 each? So you have to factor that into your calculations if that's the route you take. The modern stuff is definitely not as strong, so I run a 8-speed block on the winter bike. The drivetrain on that one is almost at the end of its second winter now.

I find that the bits I replace most often are brake blocks. It's getting near time to replace the back blocks again after only 2 months :? , quicte frustrating, particularly as it's inevitably such a filthy job.

rolf_f

DesWeller wrote:

Adding 'extra' changes the meaning of the sentence completely, so no, it is not optional. The phrase 'literally no effort' is quite explicit in stating that no energy is expended. I was going to type something longer than 'dicitonary fail', but lost interest half way through!

Hmmm, not sure I quite agree with you; the "extra" was implicit. At worst, I wasn't clear enough and that's not taking inot account of how you define 'effort' in the first place. By no means wrong though. TBH, if you are going to be consistent (relative to my comment) in picking up on 'dictionary fails' on internet forums, then you'll need to be typing it pretty much every other post.

On the other hand, Clare Balding the other night was claiming that what was unique about a particular view from a hill in the Welsh Borders was how unchanged it was in 200 years. Now that was spectacularly clumsy. Probably most hilltop views away from the SE don't look much different from 200 years ago unless someones plonked a power station in it.

As to your brake block changes; they would be less grotty if you cleaned the bike more often (which takes us back to the start again )

iPete

Rolf F wrote:

iPete wrote:

So that makes it nearly 9500 miles in 18 months with 3 chain/cassettes. Swapping the chain over very X miles is way too much effort IMO.

It's literally no effort at all. Infact, it is less effort than not swapping the chain over

How is running two chains and swapping them over every 250 miles less effort than only changing them when knackered every 3000+ miles? Have I missed something because I skipped all the posts regarding the use of language...

Canny Jock

Mr Plum wrote:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25059

Cheap 9spd chain for those looking to replace regularly

And back on topic-ish, thanks very much for that. Just about to finish my 9 speed Campag build and that looks ideal. Not sure whether to use it as a commuter or carry on single speed.

Which reminds me - I use a single speed Tricross for commuting, and the main consumable seems to be brake pads. Chains are cheap and last a long time, certainly a couple of thousand miles. Haven't had to replace freewheel sprocket or chain rings yet after that mileage either.

rolf_f

iPete wrote:

How is running two chains and swapping them over every 250 miles less effort than only changing them when knackered every 3000+ miles? Have I missed something because I skipped all the posts regarding the use of language...

Lol! Fair point. Basically, assuming you do remove chains to clean them at least once every 500 miles (probably sufficient - 250 might be excessive) the reasoning is as follows.

You have 2 clean chains and one on the bike. After 500 miles, you remove the one on the bike and clean it. Instead of putting it back on, you put one of the other chains on.

After another 500 miles, you have 2 clean chains and one on the bike. You remove the one on the bike and clean it and put the third chain on the bike.

Note - it takes no more effort to put one of the other chains on the bike than the one you just cleaned (except you don't have to wait for the newly cleaned chain to dry). Obviously, you have had to shorten 3 chains instead of one but you would have had to do that anyway in the long run.

Anyway, you repeat this until your cassette is knackered. The key point though is that the cassette will last longer with the wear shared between 3 gradually wearing chains than if you wear one chain out and then try to put a new chain on the differently worn sprockets. So, it is actually less effort because the process of rotating chains in itself isn't any extra effort, and you have to replace cassettes less often. But if you never take chains off to clean them, the difference is reduced. Depends how long it takes you to swap cassettes over!

petemadoc

I'm about 18 months into my cycling adventure and I think it's shocking how quickly and easily parts wear out.

I don't have to clean my car every time I get back from a drive in the rain.

I've so far gone through 4 chains, two cassettes, my BB is crunching away and needs replacing, I think my chain rings are nearly worn out and the mini V brakes that came with the bike are now so rusty and crappy they need replacing too despite repeated cleaning and re-greasing.

:roll: :roll: :roll:

The level of maintenance the so called "decent" kit needs is ridiculous IMO

Mr Plum

Canny Jock wrote:

Mr Plum wrote:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25059

Cheap 9spd chain for those looking to replace regularly

And back on topic-ish, thanks very much for that. Just about to finish my 9 speed Campag build and that looks ideal. Not sure whether to use it as a commuter or carry on single speed.

I ordered one myself as well. Seems silly to ignore that offer for something that I will inevitability need in the near future. I considered getting a couple actually...