atomship47

for those of you who ride, say, 3000+ miles per year, what components/parts wear out most often? for example, how many chains do you go thru per year?

reason i ask is i've got about 1800 miles on my new bike;

-my cheap chain-wear gauge indicates my chain is fine but it looks/sounds/feels like its ready to be replaced.
-my pedals don't have sealed bearings, but they aren't serviceable. they sound and feel like holy hell when i ride.
-my saddle looks "old" and is starting to look worn out.
-i've replaced my bar tape once and its due again.
-my chainrings have marks below the teeth that look like my chain needs to be replaced.

fwiw, when i had my bike at the shop this week, i told the tech how i really "baby" it. he said, "it shows."

what is a typical part-replacement schedule for a road bike that see's that many miles per year?

joejack951

If your chain has a lot of stiff links and you've been riding with it that way for a while, chances are you've at least worn out the cassette too. I'd be surprised if you wore out chainrings that quickly though. I'd look at two options.

1. Remove the chain and clean and oil it thoroughly. Assuming all of the links loosen up, it's probably ok to continue to use it. Put it back on and see if everything shifts ok and sounds better. Keep in mind that if your chain is rubbing due to a derailler adjustment, no amount of cleaning will help it. If everything is ok, you might as well keep riding it.

2. Replace the chain and see if you get any skipping in any gears. If you do, you wore out your cassette using the bad chain and you'll need a new cassette.

I've gotten well over 5000 miles on a chain (actually, the same chain is still in use) and I have almost 10,000 miles on my road bike's cassette and it's still going strong. I've also worn out a cassette in about 2000 miles by using it with a bad chain plus having a bad habit of riding in the 11 and 12 tooth cogs too much (changed my crank to get my gearing adjusted so that I was using the middle of the cassette more).

I've yet to destroy a pedal bearing and any time I've opening mine up to check on them, they haven't needed anything. If yours are as bad as you say they are, just replace them, preferably with something with serviceable bearings.

Bar tape depends on how well it was done originally and how often you drop your bike or scuff the tape against rough surfaces. You probably shouldn't need new tape every 1000 miles unless you are quite clumsy.

As for saddles, I've been using the same one on my road bike (that 10,000 mile bike mentioned earlier) for 3.5 years now and it's still going strong. I don't expect to have to replace it any time soon.

capwater

I'm riding about 10,000 miles per year, but I spread it over a few bikes.

Chains, cassettes and chainrings should be measure/evaluated for wear, forget about a set number of miles. There are just too many factors to be considered; how hard you ride, how steep a grade you ride, etc. I'm not sure what you mean when you say there are marks on the rings. The best indicator is to look for a sharkfin appearance of the teeth, not symmetrical. A good quality chain checker tool (like Park) will be invaluable. I usually clean and relube my chain every couple of weeks. Bar tape usually gets changed when it starts to get slick and lose it's tackiness. Pedals should last indefinitely.

HillRider

I normally change both my chain and cassette together at 5000-6000 mile intervals which is once every year or every two years depending on which bike(s) I ride the most. Chainrings have lasted well over 25,000 miles. I do keep my chains relatively clean and lubed.

BTW, "cheap chain checkers" (or even expensive ones) are not good chain wear indicators. A good ruler used to measure the length of 24 pins is more accurate. A new chain should be right at 12". A measure of 12-1/16" is time for replacement and a measure of 12-1/8" is certain replacement and the cassette too.

I don't know about your pedals but even cheap ones like Wellgos should last a lot more than 1800 miles. I ride Speedplay Frogs and have gotten 30,000+ miles on them before replacement, again, lubing them (they have a grease injection port) every couple of thousand miles. I also have Shimano SPD's on one bike and they are at least 10,000 miles old and run smoothly.

Bar tape depends on how you ride and how you treat the bike. I'll normally change it each year or two which, as noted, is about 5000 miles.

Saddles can last a long time. I had one Avocet O2 for 45,000 miles and the shell was still fine but the leather cover was badly worn.

atomship47

thanks for the info...keep it coming!

just to explain....

my pedals are ritchey spd's ($39 at performance). there is a rubber bushing that covers the bearings. it constantly moves down the spindle towards the crank. i soaked the pedals in wd40 to get rid of debris. however, there's no way to repack the bearings. i put grease on them, but there's no way to use pressure to ensure the bearings are "packed" with grease.

the bar tape from the mfr wasn't wrapped well. it started unwrapping at the drops pretty quickly. i'm a rookie at taping bars. however, the tape just looks dirty. the wrap-job is holding. also, i double-wrap the tops with gel tape....for my cts and because i have big hands....the thicker the tops, the more comfortable for me.

i had a nasty chain suck incident. i removed a couple of links (including one that was damaged by the incident). my chain was a little too long anyway. i suspect that, although i couldn't find other damaged links, there must be some that are damaged but oh-so-subtly. i do regularly clean/lube my chain. i bought an ultegra chain, i'll put it on in the next day or two.

my cassette doesn't have as many miles on it. i bought a new one a couple of months ago because i wanted different gearing for hills. when i clean it, it still looks almost brand new.




how about brake pads? what are signs/symptoms that they need to be replaced?

Zouf

'I soaked the pedals in wd40" = you cleaned all the grease out of the bearings. WD40 is solvent + oil, so the grease is gone. No wonder the bearings are gone too.

Zouf

To check if you have any chain stiff link issues (since you seem to imply this), the best (but not simplest) way is to take the chain off, clean it, then let it hang slack while holding it by both ends. Raise one end while dropping the other, which will make the "U-turn" at the bottom of the chain cycle through the length of the chain. Any stiff links will immediately be visible. The simplest way is to slowly backpedal while watching the chain over the RD pulleys. Most stiff links will cause a jump in the pulleys as they pass through.

HillRider

Most brake pads have > > shaped grooves cut across the short dimension to allow dirt and water an escape channel. When the pads have worn so these grooves are gone, it's a good time to replace them. You certainly don't want to let them wear to the point that the backing plates/holders hit the rims.

I agree that washing out your pedal bearings with WD-40 (basically Kerosene) removed most of the grease and left them nearly dry. If they are still salvagable, pack as much grease into them as you can get and hope for the best.