Just wanted to see how many miles before you change your chain?? How many times do you change your chain before you change cassette and chainrings??Do you use a chain checker or stricktly on mileage?? thx

no chain checker, generally go by overall elongation. 12 links should measure 12", measured with a standard scale (ruler). i'll change a cassette about every 3rd chain, or when the shifting gets sloppy.

some chains, like campy will not elongate much though, the rollers will wear, and the chain needs to be tossed based on roller play.

generally, in semi-dry conditions i'll get 2500 miles out of a chain. less over the winter when its gritty and wet out.

2500 miles for a 10 speed chain sounds about right. As you approach that you should measure it.

As for how many chains before changing a cassette, its hard to say given that I'm changing multiple wheelsets across multiple bikes. But a cassette should last at least 3-4 times as long as a chain.

When you put on a new chain, and it skips with the old cassette, it's time for a new cassette.

As for new chainrings, I don't recall ever replacing a chainring on a road bike due to wear. Unless you're riding in real crap conditions, I'd expect in excess of 25,000 miles out of a chain ring.

The chain gets changed when it starts shifting lousy. Usually twice a year... I don't keep track of mileage.
Cassettes get changed when they start skipping. I spread usage across three sets of wheels, so it would be hard to put a figure on it. Never have replaced chainrings.

Chorus 10 BTW.

About 5 kmiles on a chain and changed based on measuring it with a ruler as above. Cassette/freewheel is changed when it skips upon switching to a new chain - usually after 4 or 5 chain replacements. Last chainring I changed had a little over 90 kmiles on it.

I get about 2,000 miles out of 10-speed chains.

Cassettes seem to last me about 10,000 miles.

I've never really had to replace chainrings.

~4500 miles with 8-speed chain. New chain is good for another 4500 miles. Put the old chain back on and re-use it for another 4000 miles. Do the same with the other chain before I replace the drive train with new chain and cassette.

i was gonna start a thread asking the same questions but found this first. good to know.

one more question, though: how often do you guys change shift / brake cables?

Not often enough since mine usually seem to break before I remember to change them. This once resulted in my having to buy a new shifter. This also once resulted in my having to race with no rear brake. Oops.

I did have to replace my chainring once because it was out of round, and the teeth were starting to get worn down, but that was after a few years and lots of miles in bad conditions. By that point I had also destroyed the BB, so I just replaced the whole thing.

I get about 3500 on my chain but I don't ride in the rain and keep in clean, not bad hills around here and I probably am not hard on them. 10 spd chain

LBS recommended a new chain @ about 2,000 miles. That might be b/c it is a factory chain as apposed to an 'upgraded' one though.
I'm not sure what possible difference there would be between the two, but 2,000 miles seems to be in the ballpark of what others are suggesting so maybe they are on to something.
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Do you all NEVER clean your chains/drivetrains?!?!?! I've gotten about 5,000-6,000 miles (yes, miles) for my last two chains. Used a chain checker frequently, and clean the stuff frequently too. WTF. Only 2,000 miles sounds wasteful.

I'd also guess that you can go 2 chains per cassette, again, if you clean your sh*t frequently.

what drivetrain are you running, 8 and 9 sp chains last way longer than 10 and 11 speed...

I've recently switched bikes, but that was with Dura Ace 7800 (10 speed), on Specialized S-Works crankset. Sram chains/cassettes.

Clean your bikes, it'll work.

I replace chains at 2,500 miles, don't bother measuring. I get lazy about cleaning/lubing and also ride in the rain and crap. I'd much rather buy 1 or 2 extra chains every year rather than spending my time cleaning and measuring.

I change the chain when it starts to perform badly, which typically happens anywhere between 1800 and 2600 miles. I change the cassette when changing the chain doesn't improve the bad performance, which usually works out to around 2 or 3 chains, or 3600 - 6200 miles. I have never changed the chainrings on any of my bikes yet, and I've got over 20,000 miles on most of them.




Edit: an associate of mine who's a kickass mechanic recently suggested that I just change chains every 2 or 3 months, and buy cheap KMC chains. Since they're expendables, he figure's treat 'em as such.

2-3 months? How many miles do you ride per month? FWIW, I get several thousand miles on my KMC chains (cheap and not cheap versions).

I usually need to replace cables about once a year. Last May, I changed the chain and cables. Chain is still good. Cables probably need to be changed in the next month or so.

I think I've worn out one cassette in 4 years because I once waited until about 6500 miles to change the chain and it was a little bit too far gone.

Same here. My hobby is cycling, not cleaning chains.

Chain: about 4-5K miles (10 sp. 105). Cables/housing--once a year whether they need it or not. Chainrings & cassettes: Who knows--I'm always swapping them around, trying new configs, etc.

I'm pretty particular about drivetrain cleaning & lube. I can't stand grit.

Like most questions here, the correct answer is: IT DEPENDS!

Back in the good old days of 6 speed drivetrains, a chain would last 10K miles or longer, even if it was neglected.

The narrower the chain, the faster it will wear. I assume we shall be discussing only 10 speed chains.

I have heard anywhere from 2K to 6K miles. Depends on how often you clean/lube it, how gritty it gets, how hard you ride it, etc.

Most folks get 3-4 cassettes from each chain. YMMV.

Chainrings should last pretty much forever (at least 50K miles), unless seriously abused.

Best solution is to measure your own chain as suggested above rather than go by number of miles.

About 2500 miles and I clean it every 3-4 rides. I switch cassettes a lot so I haven't had one wear away yet. Mostly SRAM Red Powerdomes and a Force one for the really hilly days. GL

I've yet to change housings in 15 years, but will do so when I move from 9 to 10 speeds after wearing out the current cassette since Campagnolo shifters come with cables and the shift housing diameter got smaller.

I usually change the right shift cable when I replace the shifter G-springs every 2-3 years since by that point it has a few broken strands and everything is already apart. I replace the front brake cable at the same time since it's on the right and already out. The rear brake cable gets replaced when something happens like the pads wear out or the return spring fails due to fatigue.

I've replaced the front shift cable when it didn't have a cable cap and the end was frayed but don't remember if it's been replaced for any other reason.

Campagnolo 9 sp, replaced my first chain at 6500 km, 2nd one has 7000 and still going, cassette OK at 13500. Checked it as per Campagnolo specs (measure between rollers).

At 2000 miles I start watching for the so called "stretching".

I notice that no one has had to replace a chain ring...

I'm guilty of having not checked my chain (ever) until a couple of days ago, and its definately stretched. Is it likely that a worn chain can damage a chain ring in the same way that it'll damage the cassette??