Originally Posted by
downtube42
The quality level of the OEM cog was not (to me) identifiable. The warranty replacement was the higher end cog.
I hear other people's testaments of longevity, but it's going to be a while before I trust this system away from transit or a close friend. I do think the OEM stuff was crap, I'm just not sure how good the high end parts are. One more failure in the next couple years and it will be converted to chain drive.
It's encouraging to hear that the replacement looks to a better quality, but not so encouraging to hear that someone else has had this supposedly reliable chain replacement fail early in its life cycle. Like you, I had been using mine as a short-distance commuter, with access to transit if it failed, but more recently it has become my travel bike as well for any non-camping, on-road trips, so reliability becomes more important. Chain systems fail, too, but usually they wear slowly, and you get a warning, and even if not, they are a lot cheaper to repair. I think I'll leave mine as a chain drive for now.