Originally Posted by
Kindaslow
OP, Kickstart and I live and ride the same area, same conditions. He does commute more than I do. I do not clean my chain until it makes some noise or I have some vacation days. I used to clean my chains and lube them regularly. I slowly decreased to this. And, I have not noticed any increase in needing to replace chains or cassettes. I have my bikes maintained by a pro a couple of times per year, and he has not noticed any big difference.
That's interesting, The reason I became diligent about chain maintenance is because I was going through chains and components too quickly.
I wounder where the difference is. Maybe because I'm a heavier rider on heavier bikes, maybe because I use lower end chains and components, maybe some of the roads I ride are in worse condition, maybe because I'm careless about cross chaining, maybe all of them?