darkroast

I am a most satisfied owner of the 06 Kona Dr. Dew. However, I do have a question about drive train longevity...

The story starts with some play in my crank set. It turned out that the joint between the drive side crank arm and the spindle had become loose (very rare according to the mechanic at the LBS). Anyhow as the bike is still under warranty, the cranks (arms only) were replaced. At the same time, the mechanic determined that the chain was at the end of its life. So I had the chain replaced. However, according to the mechanic the chainrings and cassette seemed okay. Fair enough... This morning as I started my commute, the chain started to slip (more so under force). My commute route takes me passed the LBS, so I stopped by and explained the situation. It seems that the the chainrings and cassette are sufficiently worn so that the new chain will slip.

I am a little peeved that this could not have been determined when the bike was already with them over the weekend. But ah well... so now I had the drive train replaced. So to the question, I have put in around 3700kms on the bike, since Sep 06, including riding through the rather wet, cruddy winter (Vancouver, BC). Have been pretty good about lubing the chain, etc. Is this the expected longevity of drive train parts? Any tips/recommendation for maintaining the drive train for my primary commuter...?

Thanks.

HardyWeinberg

Seems like not much mileage to burn through the chainrings, but generous for the chain, considering the location, and I wouldn't really think twice about the cassette's lifespan. The crankarm thing was hopefully just a one-time fluke, independent of the general fact of chainwear.

I would like to get a chain to last 2k miles some day. Maybe this summer, if I can get enough miles into a dry spell. Every time I think I'm on pace, something happens (weather changes) and it stretches in a hurry. Only took the cassette with it once, though (1st time).

SDRider

It is if you're riding with a stretched chain. A worn (stretched) chain will wear out your cassette/chainring much faster than normal which is why you should check your chain periodically for stretch and replace it immediately when it goes beyond the specified limit. It's much cheaper to replace a chain than your entire drivetrain. You should expect to get 10-15k miles out of a drivetrain at the minimum.

max-a-mill

sometimes bikes come with a cheap drivetrain. replace your stuff with quality replacement parts (mid level sram or shimano is good) and buy a "chain checker" to check you chain once a week or so.



once the chain goes past the .75" stretch (or even comes close to it) it is time to replace the chain.

one last thing. sometimes a new chain needs a little while to "bed in" to the older rings.... if it doesn't skip wildly i would try to ride it another couple days and see if it doesn't get better. but probably (even if this does work) next time you need a new chain you'll need a new everything....

greenstork

It wouldn't surprise me to hear that your cassette and chain wore out in that timeframe but I would be a little surprised if your front chainrings did as well. As a previous poster said, a worn chain wears out the rest of your drivetrain fast.

How diligent are you about lubing your chain? You live in a region where it is very important that you lube your chain at least once a week, twice a week if it's raining. In wet climates, I would stay away from wax based lubes like White Lightening. Living in Seattle, I'm a big fan of Dumonde Tech and Prolink. Dumonde on my bike for 8 months of the year and Prolink for the wettest 4 months (since it's a little heavier).

Sheldon Brown has an excellent article about proper chain maintenance and wear:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

andymac

I also commute in Vancouver and would suggest that grit that you end up covered with all through a Vancouver winter is like sand paper and chews alloy and plastic pieces up at an alarming rate. As a result I use steel chain rings on my winter bike and replace the jockey wheels on my rear derailleur annually.

There are things (like alternating chains) that can extend the life of your drive train but it is really not that expensive to simply replace the worn pieces after you have the tools to do it. I keep my eyes open for deals on cassettes and chains and pick them up while they are on sale so I have spares around.

caloso

I read somewhere here on BF that it's best to replace the chain and cassette at the same time. A new chain will skip on an old cassette just as badly as an old chain on a new cassette.

greenstork

Yes & no. In my experience, it takes a hundred miles or so for a new chain to settle in to an older cassette.

SDRider

Assuming you replace your chain before it stretches beyond the acceptable limit you should get many more miles out of your cassette than your chain. You should be able to go through 3-4 chains before you have to think about replacing your cassette.

HardyWeinberg

I've heard variable figures from like 2-7 chains/cassette, depending on weather etc... I think in Pac NW, gritty rainy winters, the trend would be toward the lower end of that range (than say the US SW, maybe gritty, but dry dry dry).

caloso

Yes, you're right. Now that I think about it, my comment was incomplete. If you are changing a worn out cassette, you might as well change out your chain.

ItsJustMe

I get 1800 miles on a chain. If I let it go much longer than that, then I need to replace the cassette too or it skips. The chainring probably doesn't need to be replaced, there are a lot more teeth in contact and it rarely slips there.

Honestly, the only real reason to replace the chain is so that you don't wear down the cassette. Last time I let it go too long, and when I put on the new chain it started skipping. Since the cassette was already worn, I just put the old chain back on again. It runs fine. I've put another 1200 miles on it since then. Eventually I'll replace the chain and the cassette but I'll just keep running this for now.

ItsJustMe

I think I'd get a lot more miles out of my chain except I ride over 8 miles of gravel road every day. If it's dry it's dusty, and if it's wet the chain gets instantly slathered with a layer of fine sand and clay which I can hear grinding away at the drivetrain.

Banzai

That seems excessively quick to me. The bike is an '06 you say? There are X-mart bikes with drivetrains that have greater longevity than that!

Of course, this begs the question: How many miles? But even so, with regular cleaning, my drivetrain was still "like new" after 5,000 miles.

Overlubricating, by the way, can attract a lot of dirt, which can grind down your drivetrain in short order. There is a balancing act to play there.

greenstork

I'm not familiar with overlubricating. Do you mean, applying lube and not wiping off excess? An important step in lubing a chain is thoroughly wiping off excess. And I was under the impression that when thoroughly wiped that it is impossible to overlube (lube too often).

Leiniesred

New chain is too long? I had this happen with 9y.o. rings and a new chain.
Changed the cassette and front rings and it STILL slipped. Set the chain length to MY liking and no more problems.

Think about it. "what changed? what else changed?" Suspect the new chain created the new problem.

davidmcowan

CRAP! So I read this thread and on the way home I bought a chain wear tool (the only one NOT included in the Performance set I bought). My wife's chain is at 1% wear. How can I tell if I need to replace more than the chain?

greenstork

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

davidmcowan

okay...so will I need to replace the front chainrings too or just the back cassette?

darkroast

I got my Dew back and she is butter smooth - no drive train noise, and the shifting is so smooth. So here what was done:

1. New cassette set
2. New middle chainring
3. New pulleys
4. New chain

My original chain had reached the 1.0 mark on the chain measurement tool. It was a relative expensive (CAD$125) lesson to learn: make chain measurement (using the appropriate tool) a regular part of bike maintenance. Thanks to all for your input.

Nicodemus

related question if I may: about replacing the rear cassette - does it always have to be the whole thing, or is it possible to just replace the smallest 2-3 cogs individually? Asking as these are the ones most affected by wear, and the most used in my case.

max-a-mill

you can absolutely take apart cassettes to exchange a worn cog for a less worn one.

my girlfirend for example ride 2 gears most of the the time (same as you). i have changed out those two gears once and the chain 3 times on her current setup. i fear next time it will be the whole deal though as everything is starting to look pretty weathered.

that said i think you'll have to buy a whole new cassette to get those two cogs i think (i had a few old mtb ones laying around for parts).

Nicodemus

huh? If I have to buy a whole new cassette, then how did you manage to change the ladyfriend's gears?

And if I do have to buy a whole new cassette, then.... WTF??

nightc1

I think he means to buy a whole new cassette, then use cogs from it. A whole new cassette can run anywhere from around $15 and up. So if it's on the small end (say a 7 speed cassette) then it's possibly very cheap.

Nicodemus

That's pretty crap IMHO