Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Well I have finally saved my pennies up and this coming friday my commute bike is going to get a "face lift" as such...replacement parts

I got my bike second hand off a BNA member, so am not sure how many k's the bike had done prior to me, but since getting it I have put around 8300 k's on it. In that time I have not changed any moving parts....aside from tubes and tyres. I think this isnt too bad given that I ride regardless of weather.

With the new parts, I am going to run 2 chains with the intention of replacing each weekend to try and make the chaninrings and cogs last that little bit longer. Is anyone running multiple chains...have you found it helps?

I am hoping my power/performance will improve with the new parts as well, or maybe I just need to dig deeper and harden a touch up.

Guess one point of posting this is to also find out what sort of k's people get out of their moving parts.

Mate I get about 8000kms from a chain and about two chains per rear cassette / freewheel.(3 years with no rotation)

Brake pads front one year (5000km) usually with lots of life left over - rear usually the same but getting low. (I use cartridge pads that are soft but they do brake well in the wet)

As far as other parts I am service hubs every six months and the hubs seem to last "forever" but the axles and balls I change about every five years when they show signs of slight wear. Bottom brackets I use sealed bearing types (Shimano sora / Shimano square taper) and they last about five years with only yearly adjustment. And yes I too ride in all weather conditions and am not very kind to my machines - they are there to do a job rather than go fast.

Are you only getting new chains and a cassette?

My chain, a Shimano 9 speed, lasted about 1500km. But, I was a bad pedal masher so it wasn't surprising. Currently running a KMC, but the new bike will probably mean I won't find out how many k's it lasts with a kinder pedalling technique. Once I changed the chain it did take a couple hundred k's for the chain and cassette to mesh correctly without any jumping.

If you are using a quick link I'm not sure a weekly change is a good idea. I can't back it up with experience, but constantly reusing them may weaken them. With my new bike's 11s chain, you can only use the link once!

Prick of a job mucking around with greasy chains. I just regularly wipe and relube mine. I get over 5000 out of a chain, I dont know exactly how many k's I get but >5000 for $40 odd is pretty good.
+1 on not repetitively undoing joining links. Not designed for it I reckon.

warthog1 wrote:Prick of a job mucking around with greasy chains. I just regularly wipe and relube mine. I get over 5000 out of a chain, I dont know exactly how many k's I get but >5000 for $40 odd is pretty good.
+1 on not repetitively undoing joining links. Not designed for it I reckon.

My purpose behind swapping chains is to try and prolong the life if the chainrings and cogs, try and increase the length of time it takes to turn the teeth into shark fins. I agree the cost of a chain is pretty good at $40, what I am trying to do is reduce how often I have to spend $400 + on other parts

gretaboy wrote:I agree the cost of a chain is pretty good at $40

just bought ultegra chains for $26

5000kms is my limit for chains (well for 105 chains). i tried kwiklinks but getting them off and then having to replace the links (links are single use) = WOFTAM (for me)

I've got a few different cassettes and swap through them regularly.

I rotate chains but only do it roughly every 800km on the road bike and every 500km on the MTB. I swap them more regularly if I have been riding in the wet or mud. On my roadie I got around 18000km out of my cassette and chainrings using this method. I have done over 10000km rotating 2 chains since the last time I fully upgraded the drivetarain and there is no shark fin happening yet. Last time I checked the chains were still OK too, but I probably should check this again. The mountain bike drivetrain only lasted about 6000 km before i had to replace it.

When I had 9 speed on my old mtb I had no issues at all with reusing either the sram or wipperman quicklinks many times. The new sram 10 speed quicklink is single use only though, you cannot undo these once they are on. I have a wipperman quicklink on my 10spd roadie that is fully reusable.

tomness wrote: The new sram 10 speed quicklink is single use only though, you cannot undo these once they are on. I have a wipperman quicklink on my 10spd roadie that is fully reusable.

I've a 10sp quick link (KMC?) which seems to be happily reusable. (It's moved bikes already) It was also cheap, so I bought two - and will carry the spare with me! I never saw a snapped 7sp chain* but 10sp seem to pop apart at the slightest provocation (campy and shimano)

*Ok, once. But it failed due to being rusting up so much it had seized solid.

gretaboy wrote:My purpose behind swapping chains is to try and prolong the life if the chainrings and cogs, try and increase the length of time it takes to turn the teeth into shark fins. I agree the cost of a chain is pretty good at $40, what I am trying to do is reduce how often I have to spend $400 + on other parts

this is unnecessary and will drive you nuts. the chain causes excessive wear to rings and cassette when it itself is excessively worn. to prevent that, all you need to do is replace then chain before it becomes excessively worn. you can monitor that through chain length - 12 links will measure precisely 12 inches on a new chain. once it stretches by 1/16th, it's time to change.

i am too lazy to adhere to that regimen - my chains usually get to 1/8th elongation - and as a result keep having to change cassettes and rings with each chain.