I've worn out another 10sp cassette and chain on my main commuter, a Trek 7.7FX. I'm getting tired of how often I need to replace these parts. Chains every 4 months, cassettes every 8. Since I need a new chain and cassette anyway, I'm thinking of replacing the shifters too and just going 9 speed. My shifters are Shimano R770s with about 15000 miles on them, so they have some wear. I could get 3x9 R440s, which (I think) should be compatible with my R773 FD.

Has anyone here ever downgraded from 10sp to 9 on their commuters? If so, did you find it increased the lifespan of your cassette and chain? The long term savings of buying 9sp parts instead of 10 is attractive, but I'd have to say my main motivation is more durability and less maintenance. I welcome anyone's thoughts on the conversion.

How many miles do you go in four months?

Nine speeds is a lot. I have a 9-speed Tiagra/105 drive train on my commuter, and a 10-speed Ultegra on my road bike. I don't notice a huge difference ... honestly, I'm a little more wary of cross-chaining on the road bike, so I probably have about the same thing. I wouldn't actually go and downgrade this on my road bike, but if the situation found me, I wouldn't lose sleep over it, either. With 15,000 miles on your shifters, the right/rear one is probably getting close to worn out.

Supposedly the thicker cogs and such mean a 9-speed system will generally last longer than a 10-speed one. I'm seeing the opposite between my two bikes, but I think a lot of it comes down to the FSA cranks on my commuter bike not being friendly to chains.

price does go up with the 'speeds' for all those spare parts,
figure out what Ratios you use on your route, you may be easily able to drop one..
9 speed lever has a %of a mm wider spaces to next gear, so swapping that may help..

6 or 7 speeds is plenty for me, and my drivetrain components take years to wear out.

(So, yeah, go with 9 and see how that works for ya.)

You could just change the cassette and chain to 9-speed, then use the alternate routing on the rear derailleur to get the correct 9-speed pull.. Sheldon Brown talks about it.

I'd recommend an IGH conversion, personally. Get rid of the entire front/rear derailleurs, two chainrings, etc.

But I'm weird that way

only 4 months out of a 10 spd chain? how much are you riding in a month? i've got well over 4,000 miles on my first 10 spd chain and she's doing fine. do you remember to clean and relube every 200 miles or so?

In road cassettes around here 9 sp are getting tough to get already.

My commute bike has a 1x8 drivetrain with a bar end friction shifter. I can put 6,7,8 or 9 speed chains and cassettes on it. The 8s tend to be at a good price/quality point so I have been sticking with those. They last a long time.

Thanks for the replies everyone . I get around 2500-3000 miles on my chain before it gets stretched and gritty enough that the shifting becomes imprecise and the chain noisy. I tend to replace it at the lower end of Sheldon's 12-link test rule, mainly because I can't stand the noise when I ride. I do lube the chain a lot (perhaps too much), but cleaning is limited to wiping down with a rag which leaves a lot of grit behind, especially around the bushings. I think about converting to an IGH each time the chain or cassette comes up for replacement, but at the last minute, it's easier and less expensive to just replace the worn out parts (although maybe more expensive in the long run).

CCrew, I wouldn't mind switching to a mountain cassette. I have a spare XT rear derailleur that's still in good shape, so other than shifters, chain, and cassette, I think I'm set. I wonder about my FD since Shimano's site says the R773 (what I have) is only compatible with R770 shifters (also what I have), and that the R440 shifters (the 9sp that I'm considering) is only compatible with R440/R443 FD, but both derailleurs are designed for road triples and seem to have the same shape and cable routing, so I think it would be okay.

OTOH, if going 9sp will not significantly extend the life of these parts, or if there's a way to keep fine oily grit from grinding down the 10sp parts so quickly, then I'm happy to stick with 10. The extra gear with the 10 isn't that important to me, though.

I personally would recommend giving your chain a little more of a thorough cleaning, it may extend the life more. The three suggestions I can make in that regard are either a chain cleaning device (duh) or removing the chain (if it has a quick link) and soaking it in something like mineral spirits for a few hours. The other option is to get some type of spray on degreaser (White Lightning is amazing IMO) and spray the chain down with that every now and then before you clean it with a rag. It has worked great for me.

You'll only need to change the right-hand shifter, and any Shimano 9-speed shifter will work. You may be able to pick one (or even a pair, and only use the RH one) of those up for a lot cheaper than you can find a pair of R440's, which are not as common. Of course, if you want your two shifters to match then the R440's would be best. I'm not sure that you'll notice much of a difference in longevity between the 9-speed and 10-speed stuff, but the 9-speed will be a little cheaper to replace each time.

Thanks again for the replies. I ended up buying another 10sp cassette and chain, a middle chainring (which is worn too), and a good chain cleaning kit w/ degreaser. I'll follow dnuzzomueller's advice and see if more thorough cleaning makes a big difference.

yeah, if you just keep up with the cleaning, your parts should last a lot longer