Two Chains

njee20

I prefer to just keep on top of changing chains, rather than rotate them. Never bothered until XX/XX1 cassettes, otherwise you just spend shed loads more on chains!

lancew

I was expecting this:



Would that not end up causing shark teeth anyway?

rockmonkeysc

What about cassettes and chaon rings? Surely wear on them will only be slightly reduced.

paulbox

cyd190468 wrote:

In November 2012 I bought a very nice new bike. As it was quite expensive I decided to look after this one so from the start I decided to run two chains through the cassette and rings. The bike came with a KMC X10 and I purchased a sram 1071. I ran the KMC until the first sign of wear then swapped running the sram until equal wear was measured putting the KMC back on. So 16 months and circa 2500ks later I would estimate that I'm still not halfway through the life of this drivetrain. This is much better than I have previously experienced. I think the message is run two chains and change them fairly often. Anyone with similar experience?

I used to do similar and agree that it does extend the overall life of your drivetrain. I used to swap my chain each month, putting the one I'd just taken off through a thorough clean and regrease process while it was hanging about in the garage.

Lately I've been far too lazy to do this and feel like I'm spending considerably more on new chains, casettes and chain rings.

njee20

Before £300 cassettes I used to just ride the transmission for a year, then replace chain/cassette (and rings as necessary), IMO unless you're using said cassettes you just displace the spending onto chains - which are generally only 2-3 times more expensive than an equivalent chain anyway.

paulbox

njee20 wrote:

Before £300 cassettes I used to just ride the transmission for a year, then replace chain/cassette (and rings as necessary), IMO unless you're using said cassettes you just displace the spending onto chains - which are generally only 2-3 times more expensive than an equivalent chain anyway.

Have you actually tried something like this are are you making an assumption?

I ran a Middleburn triple chainset with an XT casette and two decent quality (KMC I think) 9 speed chains for about four years with no issues whatsoever. They are all (well, only one of the chains) still on the bike, I just don't use the bike very often now. This was done with re-useable link pins too, none of your fancy SRAM link things in those days .

Lately I'm having to replace chainrings on my XT chainsets along with the cassettes and chains. Half decent chainrings are £35 - £45 a pop, so that on top of a new cassette and chain you're looking at the best part of £80 - £100 about once a year. I've started just buying things whenever CR have a sale on.

njee20

Have you actually tried something like this are are you making an assumption?

Did you read my post? :?

Lifespan depends entirely on how much/conditions you use the bike, so times for chain life are fairly irrelevant. I've got a 15 year old cassette and chain. I've not used the bike for at least 10 years. My comment was that unless you have a very expensive cassette (or use very cheap chains) you don't save any money by replacing chains.

Real world example for you, you can choose whether you give it any credence.

2010: bike with XX cassette, stayed on top of chain changing, used (IIRC) 4 X10SL chains in just under a year, cassette was fine. Still had to replace (XX) big ring mid way through the year as it was totally trashed.

2011-2013: bike with XTR cassette, changed chain a couple of times early on, then after about 4 months on one chain replaced, but skipped badly on a couple of sprockets. Refitted old chain, used for more than 2 years. Admittedly chain and cassette were utterly trashed after that time, but I'd have potentially gone through about £300 of chains in that period, to preserve a £170 cassette. Had the chain snapped I'd have replace chain and cassette. Chain ring was ti, and lasted fine.

So, personally, I know that I'll go through about 4 chains a year to stay on top of cassette wear, therefore based on rough pricing:

XTR cassette: £170
XT cassette: £50
XX/XX1 cassette: £300
X10SL chain: £35

So... unless I'm running an XX or XX1 cassette it is not cost effective to change chains. That assumes a one year replacement cycle, but as I discovered on the Top Fuel I could eek a cassette out for quite a bit longer than that if necessary.

Only other dimension to consider is residual value. I sold the 2010 bike with the XX cassette and all was fine. I'd have been embarassed to sell the XTR cassette off the last bike as it was so worn.

paulbox

I think, though could be wrong, that the OP was talking about running two chains from new and swapping them over regularly. That's certainly what I was talking about. Where as I think you're talking about is replacing your old chain in a timely fashion so that the cassette isn't too worn and will still accept a new chain.

The benefit of doing what I was talking about is that everything wears at the same time and you can eek out longer from the overall drivetrain. I think mine might have been helped by the cleaning regime that I used to put the chains through, after soaking in a bowl of engine oil for at least a week they used to feel like new when going on the bike.

Re: "Lifespan depends entirely on how much/conditions you use the bike", it's funny you should say that, since the last time I used that particular bike the chain has not worn at all... :P

njee20

PaulBox wrote:

I think, though could be wrong, that the OP was talking about running two chains from new and swapping them over regularly. That's certainly what I was talking about. Where as I think you're talking about is replacing your old chain in a timely fashion so that the cassette isn't too worn and will still accept a new chain.

He was, all the same though. If one chain lasts 3 months then two will last 6ish, alternating doesn't really make any difference. Just means it's longer before you replace, and you probably keep on top of it more, so it seems everything lasts longer.

paulbox

njee20 wrote:

PaulBox wrote:

I think, though could be wrong, that the OP was talking about running two chains from new and swapping them over regularly. That's certainly what I was talking about. Where as I think you're talking about is replacing your old chain in a timely fashion so that the cassette isn't too worn and will still accept a new chain.

He was, all the same though. If one chain lasts 3 months then two will last 6ish, alternating doesn't really make any difference. Just means it's longer before you replace, and you probably keep on top of it more, so it seems everything lasts longer.

It does make a difference, you are sticking a brand new chain on a worn cassette each time you replace the chain. If you alternate them they have more chance to wear at similar rates.

njee20

That's a red herring IME, you're just delaying the inevitable.

It's personal at the end of the day, but I'd sooner just run a drive train into the ground and replace.

paulbox

njee20 wrote:

That's a red herring IME, you're just delaying the inevitable.

It's personal at the end of the day, but I'd sooner just run a drive train into the ground and replace.

But delaying the inevitable is the whole point.

I also agree that it's personal choice, as I can't be @rsed to do it any more either and also replace the whole lot as and when it needs it.

But I do believe that alternating chains, as long as you clean and lube properly, is more cost effective.

Levi_501

On my commuter, I run a chain until it hits .5mm. Then straight away change it for a new one and discard the worn one.

This usually allows me to get four chains or so to a cassette and two cassettes, sometimes three, to a pair of middle and large chain rings.

I have experimented over the years with different ways of running the transmission system and concluded that this is the most economic way for the type of components I buy and run on it.