akeelor

What to believe. I have been riding for the past 3 years and steadily increasing my knowledge, but still don't know how to "wrench" much of anything. Here's the scenario:

End of last Fall '06 I bought a 10speed Ultegra Cassette for my Easton wheels. Got it on Ebay for +/- $50.
I have ridden maybe 300 miles on it. About a month ago, it was snowing here like a mother and I decided to bring my bike to the shop for a "tune up". Good for them because they had absolutely no business, good for me because bike would be ready for Spring.

Two days ago I go out for a ride, beautiful weather, and notice that it is upshifting slow and generally not very well. I try to get to the shop, but is was closed. Yesterday, I go out earlier and the shifting is still generally crappy, but this time I make it to the LBS. Guy put it on the rack and starts checking and confirms that it is shifting like crap. So here we go.

Guy tells me that the chain is toast, .175 slack?, and that I need a new one. This chain (Ultegra) has max 1500-2000 miles on it. He says that 10speed bikes have this problem with chains. So I tell him to replace the chain. He agrees, and then informs me that the new chain probably won't work with the cassette and that it is likely I will find myself broken down. He informs me that I will probably need a new cassette.

Ok, so I get the bike "tuned-up" at the LBS and this is what I get. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but.....am I hearing the truth?

Bike: 2005 Giant OCR C2

ri_us

It's hard to say whether or not your LBS is trying to take you for a ride. On the one hand, it is strange that a tune up led ot all this. On the other, 1500-2000 miles is pretty good for some chains and casettes.

cbip

Was the cassette new? Yes, 1500-2000 miles seems to be the norm on an Ultegra chain,although 2000-4000 is not uncommon. Just depends on how you ride. Also, a bad chain will eat up a cassette. Dont let your chain get too stretched out or it could ruin your casstte.

Mcurrier1241

^^^^^Beat me to it..

akeelor

The cassette has maybe 200-300 miles on it. How long will a DuraAce chain hold up? Worth the difference in cost?

BikeWise1

Yeah....generally, old chains do not make beautiful music with new cassettes. You can sometimes, if you aren't a masher, get three chains out of a cassette, but not if you race, or mash on the pedals. Spinners just don't wear out drivetrain parts as quickly....

We would probably have told you the same thing, and sent you home after the repair with a complimentary bottle of ProGold ProLink.

dbduke

a chain checker could save you money here( and determine if the shop is taking you). I know a mechanic who judges a 10 speed chain by how loose the rollers get

https://www.parktool.com/products/det...=5&item=CC%2D2

I have been told that if you let your chain go to far it will destroy your chain rings and cassette. My guess would be if you have worn you cassette prematurely it would show up first in your most commonly used gears, most likely under a heavy load. I would be willing to bet you would be able to make it home just not on the gears preferred.

I am not a mechanic and you might want to take this to their forum and get an opinion.IMHO If you cant afford to get taken, you should learn how to do these things, and keep track of wear.

akeelor

Yes, but would you have charged me for a tune-up and sent me on my merry way (shifting like crap) w/o informing me that the chain was bad and needed to be replaced?

akeelor

I do intend to learn and figured someone would let me have it. Current home situation:

1 Beautiful Wife: For the most part understanding about my cycling 8-10 hrs a week

1 7yr old boy: Demands my attention and I want to give it to him

1 4yr old girl: Ditto

Mcurrier1241

Well you might as well replace the stuff, at pbk you can get a new Shimano Ultegra 10-speed 6600 Cassette and a Dura-ace or ultegra 10-speed chain for sub $100, it would be worth it to me to just replace it and be done with it.

UT_Dude

You might as well do the easy double-check on the LBS... Take a ruler (customary, not metric), and lay it up against the chain. Each link (distance between pins) should be exactly 1/2 inch. Basically, measure the equivalent of 24 links (1 ruler length). If it goes more than 1/16" past the end of the ruler, your chain's bad. You can also buy tools that will check it without having to measure. I'd check that before i'd believe the mechanic... Shifting can go bad just from cable stretching, which is relatively easy and painless to fix.

As for learning to wrench.... This place is a good place to get started:

https://www.parktool.com/repair/

Or buy one of the Zinn and the art of whatever books. That's how I started only 6 months ago, and I already do everything on my bikes for far less time and money than an LBS would want. Higher quality repairs, in my mind, too!

dbduke

I wasn't trying to let you have it. It just always seem that shops could care less about about making sure which parts actually need replacing. If I did it myself I would gauge the play on the teeth. Do a stomp test, and get everything I could out of the cassette. I am very frugal though. Some can afford to just roll with what a shop says. Good on them, and I hope to be there some day. If they replace everything your less likely to come back and complain. Most people don't want to deal with the headache of trial and error. So one could understand why they just replace it all.

Mcurrier1241

Just a quick add on, when you go to measure, hang the chain from a nail against a flat wall, it will get rid of any error that could occur from bending of the chain.

akeelor

It just always seem that shops could care less about about making sure which parts actually need replacing.

The fact that they would charge me for a tune-up and give me the bike knowing that it is shifting improperly leads me to the following conclusion. They're Fired!

PS: Did I mention that I brought two other bikes (wife's hybrid, my hybrid) for tune-ups and they didn't even put air in the tires.

Mcurrier1241

Well based on this, STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT LBS!!! They obviously are not doing a very good job with your bikes so find a new one and solve the problem.

mimis

my experience with ultegra casette is that it lasts flawlessly for 7-8000 miles. i'm a heavy rider 190 lbs. Same line chain should last 2500 miles the least.

dbduke

not necessarily, I had a mtn bike that I tuned up and hung out on the porch. Shifted great when I put it up, but not so good in a couple of months when I finally pulled it down. The cables had oxidized ever so slightly and friction was the culprit.

Cable stretch can occur over time.

Did you do a test ride the day you picked it up?

recneps

I'm not sure if someone has said it yet, but at the bike shop I work at we try to stress, having a cassette with the same wear as the chain.

Having an old cassette with 5,000 miles on it and a brand new chain is going to shift horribly.

Its hard to say, you might do with just a derailur adjustment, but the bike shop is right hes just not explaining it very well.

recneps

Tire pressure is a preferance thing, when the customer comes in I usually ask them how my air they would like in theyre tires, I never do it just assuming. Maybe they forgot it at the last minute?

shabbasuraj

OMG ... an ultegra cassette wil usually last WAY longer than 2-3 chains being changed at a 2000 km interval.

Sure it all depends on your riding style, what gears get the most use) and conditions, but if the cassette was new, then I think it still has a lot of life left.

Grasschopper

Ok sounds to me like the issue is that the chain was never maintained...if that is even remotely correct then 1500-2000 miles is about right for the chain...you want to to last you have to clean and lube it every couple of hundred miles.

It also sounds to me lik emaybe the issue is the new cassette with the old chain...just like a new chain with an old cassette wont shift all that great for the same reason a new cassette with a stretched chain wont shift great. Change the chain before you kill that cassette (yes running a worn chain will ruin a cassette) and give it a shot. If the shifting isn't good you can then change the cassette...it wont take long to figure out that it isn't going to work and in that time you aren't going to hurt the chain.

If you want your bike to shift well all the time clean and lube the chain often...you will be shocked how much of a difference it can make.

spiderbike

that seems to be a awful short life for the cassatte. Did you buy it new? I would be upset if I didn't get a full year (4,000 - 5,000) miles out of the chain.

Look at the cassette, if the teeth haven't worn down to points and still maintian nice flat tops I would just try using the cassette with a new chain and see how it shifts. I would suggest getting a chain measuring tool for the future. This way you know when you need to replace the chain...

I believe that pro riders train on ultegra chain's and cassattes because they are more durable then dura ace.

akeelor

Impossible as there was at least 6 inches of snow on the ground and more was coming.

dbduke

I'm just saying without testing the bike when you pick it up you cant fairly blame them about the shifting.

Do you have a trainer?

where there is a will there is a way

The chain stretch of .175 sounds a bit stretched in itself. assuming this number means approaching 2%. I have never seen a chain with that much stretch and would imagine it would not work(don't know never seen it). This is where a mechanic might help you determine if they are taking you.

The right shop can read a customer and give them the service they require/deserve.

dbduke

I just looked at my checker and 1.0 is the replace number and a new chain reads above .175 so I would be interested to know what that # means.