Originally Posted by
hueyhoolihan
IME, there's no reason to believe that replacing chains early saves any wear on a cassette. how could it? the chain is still rubbing on the teeth of the cogs. think about it for a minute or two.
to save money on drivetrain components, clean the chain regularly and buy steel cogged cassettes. not advice i always follow WRT cogs.
Right, but the mismatch in pitch between the elongated chain and standard spaced cogs causes more wear on them than when the fit is perfect. Just to anthropomorphize things a bit think of the chain trying to get comfy as it gets bigger and bigger and has to carve out more space between the cog teeth to sit properly in the groove.