flyefisher

Just wondering what people out there are getting for mileage on campy cassettes. I get about 1 year or 7500 miles, with like 3 chains over the course. Perhaps I should get more by replacing chains more frequently.... It just always gets me when I have to replace the cogs and get nailed for $100...

Doctor Morbius

How much mileage one gets from a cassette is going to depend on too many factors to get a straight answer for that question. Things like sandy riding conditions, riding in rain, poor maintenance will significantly shorten a drivetrain's life expectancy. Even heavier riders and mashers can wear out their drivetrain faster than lighter weight riders or spinners. You may get 7,500 miles while others may get only 5,000 or as much as 15,000. There are no set formulae for wear on such components.

If you tend to ride mostly on a couple of cogs (your sweet spot) you could always replace just the worn ones instead of forking over $100 for a new cassette each time.

flyefisher

Hey thanks for that. I know this winter was brutal on the chain and cogs. We've had nonstop snow and I've been riding in it regularly. Lots of salt and sand getting in there. Despite frequent cleaning, this type of weather takes its toll. Sounds like 7500 is not too bad considering the conditions...

Doctor Morbius

No it's not. 3 chains and 1 cassette after 7500 miles in that kind of crap is pretty decent I'd say. To get much better than that you'd probably have to do almost daily cleaning and maintenance. I'd rather buy new.

5 kidney stones? OUCH!!

flyefisher

In my younger years I'd whine at any pain involved in cycling. Now after the unfortunate excrutiating pain of stones, I no longer get fazed by cold, rain, climbing, TT-ing etc. The only thing that compares to the stone pain are some of the nasty climbs in racing. But you always know you can stop and the pain will subside. And victory in cycling is sweeter than some pebble in your hand.

tvphobic

I'm a little surprised that no one mentioned material. Veloce or "loose cog" cassettes, made from steel, are going to last as long as any steel cassette by any manufacturer, for any given cog thickness.* Titanium wears a bit quicker, though they are pretty tough, and "alloy" (Al) will go so quickly I think most amateur riders will want to only swap one in for one summer's worth of races, and train on a "loose cog" OF course YMMV, YMMV, YMMV , this is one case in which I couldn't stand to not type that.



*Meaning a thicker cog (think of 6 speed freewheel cluster) will last longer, but the wear disadvantage of thinner cogs is roughly made up by the fact that there are more of them in a 9 or 10 speed cassette IF as it was mentioned above, you're not sticking disproportianately in one cog. Over the years (and gaining # of sprockets) I do think I end up changing cassettes and chains a little more often.. tant pis.