Originally Posted by
stapfam
1,000 miles-unless you have been offroad a lot- is not much mileage for a chain---unless it was very low spec. in the first place which is a very good possibility on this bike. You caught it well within tolerance so as not to cause any other problems with wear to the cassette or chainrings so no major problems there.
So why change the cassette? You would not notice any difference on performance and it would not improve the Gear selection and there is plenty of life left in that "Low" level SRAM cassette to see you through next season. By then you may decide that you want different ratios on the cassette and that will be the time to change it.
Yes, I thought 1,000 miles was surprisingly short as well... Especially as I have taken pretty good care of the chain. The only 'abuse' it took was me experimenting with different oils and perhaps some of the wax lubes were not working very well to lubricate the chain. Most of the miles were put on using one wax lube and I was experiencing a lot of chain noise -- but the bike was new to me, so I thought it was just way the bike worked. But, when I switched to a wetter lube the noise died down. Now I'm using T-9 and it seems to be working well: not much chain noise and it doesn't pick up a lot of dirt.
And, most people would not consider the chain worn out because the 0.75% only slips through on certain sections of the chain and then, only with a little pressure. But, it's clearly very close -- and time to at least start thinking about it. Actually, I checked it while I was cleaning and lubing it -- so I figure I will change it the next time this one needs service (about 75 or 100 miles if it doesn't get wet first).
But thanks: You and others have said that going from the $25 SRAM PG-950 cassette to a $75 Shimano CS-HG80 won't buy me much. So, perhaps I should buy you all a beer (or a piece of pie!) for saving me $75 from a very limited budget...
But, I'm still puzzled what the difference is between them that would warrant such a drastic price difference.
I hate to price shop using a "More Expensive = Better" because I know it isn't always true. I know computers pretty well and I know it isn't true there -- but with them I can get enough specs to make an informed decision. But with bicycles and bicycle parts it is hard to get enough detailed specifications to make a really informed decision. So I very much value the opinions of you who are far wiser and more experienced than I...