Chain life vs cassette life

I've been doing a bit of reading lately and have seen it suggested that
if the chain's replaced before it reaches 1/16 stretch the cassette's
not affected.

Anyone personal experience of this or is it just hooey?
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

Euan wrote:
I've been doing a bit of reading lately and have seen it suggested that
if the chain's replaced before it reaches 1/16 stretch the cassette's
not affected.

Anyone personal experience of this

Yes, still using the same cassette after 3 chains here.

Euan wrote:
I've been doing a bit of reading lately and have seen it suggested that
if the chain's replaced before it reaches 1/16 stretch the cassette's
not affected.

Anyone personal experience of this or is it just hooey?

Rememeber that the metal chain is in contact with the metal spockets,
so some wear is going to happen but changing a chain frequently will
maximize the cogset's life, no doubt about it.
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

I have just over 2000 miles on my Trek 7200 (approx 1.5 years since
purchase new)....and I was wondering when to begin being concerned about
the remaining life of the chain &/or cassette with respect to eventual
replacement [e.g., stretch, wear, etc.].

Am I overdue to do this ? Have another 1000 miles to go before needing
to check ? 5000 ? 10000 ?

Bike has been kept reasonably clean & lubricated, not abused, indoors
when not in use, etc.

In other words, is there a "typical" lifetime range for the chain,
cassette, and so forth ?

============

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
Euan wrote:

I've been doing a bit of reading lately and have seen it suggested that
if the chain's replaced before it reaches 1/16 stretch the cassette's
not affected.

Anyone personal experience of this or is it just hooey?


Rememeber that the metal chain is in contact with the metal spockets,
so some wear is going to happen but changing a chain frequently will
maximize the cogset's life, no doubt about it.

--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

Justa Lurker wrote:

I have just over 2000 miles on my Trek 7200 (approx 1.5 years since
purchase new)....and I was wondering when to begin being concerned about
the remaining life of the chain &/or cassette with respect to eventual
replacement [e.g., stretch, wear, etc.].

Am I overdue to do this ? Have another 1000 miles to go before needing
to check ? 5000 ? 10000 ?

Bike has been kept reasonably clean & lubricated, not abused, indoors
when not in use, etc.

In other words, is there a "typical" lifetime range for the chain,
cassette, and so forth ?

Definitely worth a check now. Clean the chain then check the length of
12 full links. Under 12 1/16" and it's OK, more than this and you may
need new sprockets.

Lifetime depends on riding conditions, the type of local mud and the
type of lubrication.

Thanks very much...that was the sort of guidance I was looking for :-)
Will follow your suggestion.

==========

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
Justa Lurker wrote:

I have just over 2000 miles on my Trek 7200 (approx 1.5 years since
purchase new)....and I was wondering when to begin being concerned
about the remaining life of the chain &/or cassette with respect to
eventual replacement [e.g., stretch, wear, etc.].

Am I overdue to do this ? Have another 1000 miles to go before
needing to check ? 5000 ? 10000 ?

Bike has been kept reasonably clean & lubricated, not abused, indoors
when not in use, etc.

In other words, is there a "typical" lifetime range for the chain,
cassette, and so forth ?


Definitely worth a check now. Clean the chain then check the length of
12 full links. Under 12 1/16" and it's OK, more than this and you may
need new sprockets.

Lifetime depends on riding conditions, the type of local mud and the
type of lubrication.

Discussed this with my boss last week (he's a keen, high-mileage,
all-weather cyclist). He tends to change chain, sprockets and chainset
together - leaving things until the chain is terminally worn and changing
the lot. Reckons to average 6000 miles from the set doing this.

Alternative approach seems to be to change the chain when its worn - every
1500 - 2000 miles seems achievable before the stretch figure below given
reasonable (grit free) conditions and a bit of care.

I suppose the bottom line is to ask how many chains you can get through
before the sprockets need attention anyway - anyone care to comment? If its
more than 3 or 4 chains you're probably on a winner.


"Euan" wrote in message
...
I've been doing a bit of reading lately and have seen it suggested that
if the chain's replaced before it reaches 1/16 stretch the cassette's
not affected.

Anyone personal experience of this or is it just hooey?
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 11:02:18 GMT, Euan wrote:

I've been doing a bit of reading lately and have seen it suggested that
if the chain's replaced before it reaches 1/16 stretch the cassette's
not affected.

There's certainly no reason for the cassette to only last as long as a
single chain. If you ride permanently on a couple of cogs, those'll wear
out eventually, but it takes much longer than for a chain, if the chain is
replaced soon enough. Basically, for every so much the chain 'elongates',
the cogs wear to a certain extent. If the chain wears too much, the
effective chain pitch increases, and the pitch of the cogs remains the
same -- so what happens is the chain starts creeping up to the tops of the
teeth, rather than riding riding nicely in the valley, which also results
in en effectively longer pitch. That causes bad wear, because the cog
tooth tops are smaller than the bottoms, and it causes wear in a pattern
that results in the new chain not fitting properly. This eventually
happens to chainrings as well, but usually you get skipping rear cogs
before that happens.

So, yes. Replacing the chain 'soon enough' (and exactly how soon is soon
enough and what is 'too late' is a matter of some debate, I've seen
figures from 1/16 to 1/8 per 12 inch) means you don't have to buy a new
cassette.

Incidentally, on utility bikes with 1/8 inch chain, perfect chainline
(more or less), and and a single speed (coaster brake or freewheel) or
hub gear bike, especially with a decent chaincase, the chain and both cogs
will last essentially forever. I've replaced the chain on those once or
twice, but never any cogs (except for the welded on chainwheel when I had
to replace the crank for other reasons). And even the chain only needs to
be replaced when the chaincase is missing and you never grease it, so it
rusts shut. Rub some bearing grease into the chain every couple of months,
and it'll last even in regular rains.


Jasper

On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 16:21:58 +0000 (UTC), "Bob Huntley"
wrote:

Alternative approach seems to be to change the chain when its worn - every
1500 - 2000 miles seems achievable before the stretch figure below given
reasonable (grit free) conditions and a bit of care.

I suppose the bottom line is to ask how many chains you can get through
before the sprockets need attention anyway - anyone care to comment? If its
more than 3 or 4 chains you're probably on a winner.

Chains are *cheap* compared to the cogset, let alone good chainrings. Not
only is it financially attractive, but for the last 2000 of those 6000
miles he's probably already having trouble with chain skip under very high
loads. Not to mention that if you're in the habit of standing on the
pedals, the first time you get chain skip might well mean hospital time.
It's better to replace stuff pre-emptively at half its lifetime than get
it wrong once and have the hospital bill, cause a simple overnight stay
costs more than a Dura-Ace full-carbon bike.

Jasper

Justa Lurker wrote:


In other words, is there a "typical" lifetime range for the chain,
cassette, and so forth ?

I'm getting about 3,000 miles per cheapest SRAM 9 speed chain (1/16in
wear) on the road in often rainy conditions, and I *used* to get 20,000
miles from a cassette and chainrings (early 90s). I just started riding
again recently, but I certainly hope they last that long.

-Ron