skipping gears
 

(Forgive me if I don't have all the proper nomenclature down!)

When I would mash on the pedals, if out of the saddle or something, my bike would not hold a gear. It would sort of snap around as if the chain was in between cogs on the cassette, but it would do this repeatedly. If I went up or down a tooth it would still do it, though there are a few gears that are particularly tricky. I took it to the LBS, and the told me I had a bad chain ring. $ 45 bucks later (did I get ripped?) I had a new chain on hoping the problem was fixed.

I found out today that it is still doing it nearly as much as before. What is wrong with my poor bike?

Dax

Could very well be the cassette gears are worn also. A new chain on worn gears will almost always skip.

Seems odd the shop would only recommend changing a chainring when the common culprit is the cassette.

Parts and labor for the CR is about right.

You might want to try a different shop next time, if there is another one close to you. There is a tool that some shops have to measure how worn the gear teeth are.

The other alternative, for the skipping, is that the pawls inside the freehub are worn and not holding. If the gear teeth don't have excessive wear, that would be the next place to look. Trouble is, I don't think freehubs are repairable. But they shouldn't be any where near as expensive as a cassette or a chainring.

I agree that the most likely culprits are the cogs and the chain. If your permit a chain to "stretch" by more than 1/2-percent before replacing it, you may damage your cogs. If skipping is worst in the lower gears, you may have bad freehub pawls; if it is worst in the higher gears, you probably have worn cogs.

What I would do:
1) Assuming the problem is NOT the pawls, replace the chain, if you have not already done so. Make sure you have the appropriate width of chain ("8-speed" or "9-speed").
2) If the chain still jumps, replace the cogs.

If you leave the chain on too long it will wear out and become longer, the cogs wear to fit it. A new chain will not fit the worn cogs and will slip around one cog position under pressure.
Replace the chain before it becomes too worn out and the cogs will be good for a lot longer. In the long run this is cheaper than replacing cogs.

It is more cost effective to use 2 cheaper chains than try and make one premium chain last. Mid-range Sachs chains are effective and good value.