Originally Posted by bkaapcke

I have a chain tool, but still change it once a year. I ride about 2400 miles a year and experience has shown that the chain goes bad sometime in the second season. So, I just change it along with the other winter service/upgrades that I do. I've never toasted a casette with this approach. I do use two (recumbent) of SRAMS best chains, and their best 9spd cassette. My ride buddies, who use low end chains & cassettes, find that once a year works for them too.

To me, a bike is a lot closer to a good watch in the watch to industrlal machinery spectrum. They just work better when everything is kept really clean, properly lubed and adjusted. In the case of chains, very lightly lubed. Bikes also work better with high quality components. In partilcular; drivetrain parts and wheels/hubs. The higher you go in quality, the more precision and finicky the parts are. They like maintenance and tuning.

OK, I'm particular. Even to the point of being obsessive. But my stuff works perfectly, all the tilme. I insist on it, and do the necessary work to keep it that way. Here's my touchstone; In perfect tune, and really clean/lubed, SRAM ders/chain/cassettes will pop a 9-1 or 1-9 shift instantly, on the fly. Now, you would never need to make that shift, except to check the status of your equipment. However, I do use other multi-gear shifts fairly often. I think total maintenance is just part of the fun of biking. bk