How long should a chain and a cassette last?

[huskerdont]

@lordofthemark 146999 wrote:

Last Sunday, as I rode by Gravelly Point, I happened upon an REI tent – they are doing promotions as the opening of their new store comes upon us. In addition to handing out fliers, and swag (high carb type foods, and little reflective thingies) they were offering free tune ups. Though I get an annual tune up from Bikenetics, I went for it, figuring they could at least fill my likely underinflated tires (though I knew they were least over 50psi, I did not know how much, as I have not yet pulled the trigger on a new gauge/pump) As it happened they were about 60, which made me happy, and they pumped them to 80, which made me more happy.

But perhaps more importantly, and less happily, they pointed out that my chain was stretched beyond – I forget what the standard was. Which meant it needed replacement. And that in all likelihood the cassette did too – and they then showed me the teeth wearing out on some of the gears.

They are original to the bike, which now has about 4300 miles on it. They said that is not a bad life for a chain and cassette.

My questions
1. Is that true? is this about how long a chain and cassette should last?
2. Can I wait till my Bikenetics tuneup to replace them (A. I do that in December, around the anniversary of the purchase, and prior to BAFS. B. I have not had particular problems changing gears, but I suppose it could be smoother)
3. How much is this gonna cost?
4. I presume this is NOT something I want to try doing myself, as a maintenance newb.

That’s decent life, especially if you’re riding in the rain and not keeping your chain and cassette fastidiously clean.

If you aren’t having trouble with the gears shifting and the chain doesn’t skip, you could wait until you do. However, if the chain is worn and the cassette/chain rings still have life on them, the worn chain will wear out those other parts. You’ve said REI showed you the wear on the cassette, so that’s already happening to some extent. Up to you. If the chain starts skipping, it can be a pain, and when under load, can actually be physically painful.

Cost depends a lot on what components you get.

If you don’t feel comfortable doing it and don’t have the tools, yeah, have the shop do it. It’s not that hard if you have the tools, although will possibly involve some mistakes and maybe redos until you learn to get it right. For tools, you need a chain whip, a chain tool, and one of those cassette remover tools to attach a socket wrench. The socket wrench needs to be a torque wrench to keep from overtightening the lock ring.

[Emm]

@lordofthemark 146999 wrote:

My questions
1. Is that true? is this about how long a chain and cassette should last?
2. Can I wait till my Bikenetics tuneup to replace them (A. I do that in December, around the anniversary of the purchase, and prior to BAFS. B. I have not had particular problems changing gears, but I suppose it could be smoother)
3. How much is this gonna cost?
4. I presume this is NOT something I want to try doing myself, as a maintenance newb.

1. I get an average of 2 years out of my commuter chains/cassettes. So ~3K miles typically, but I seem to ride my commuter hard. They last much longer for my weekend-only road bike since it’s abused less. Some of this does with how you ride (do you cross chain alot? If so, that shortens life). Also, if you change your chain early enough, you can keep the cassette. I tend to replace both at once, but I know many people go through many chains for each cassette with no major issues.
2. Probably? Depends on how bad it is, but if you’re not noticing an issue, and are ok changing the cassette at the same time, your probably fine. Just make sure it doesn’t get so worn it affects your chain ring, since replacing that is MUCH more expensive.
3. Depends on the components. Under $100, possibly under $50 for both pieces depending on what you need. It’s often done during your tune up as a service included in the tune up cost, or for not much extra. Have your WABA membership card handy and most shops will give you an extra 10% off the parts. I typically spend ~$75 for 105-level components.
4. Can’t help here. I only do minor maintenance (changing flats, adjusting brakes), so I’d go to the shop personally. Lots of people on here can do this stuff themselves though so it’s definitely do-able.

[Crickey7]

I get around 2500 miles per chain/cassette. I find I get more miles if I’m religious about cleaning them. As repair jobs go, it’s not difficult with the exception of removing the cassette, which can be hard if your removal tool has insufficient leverage. And that’s the rub. You need several new tools and you can’t really skimp on quality here. The only other tip is that you really, really need to make sure the new chain as installed has the exact same length as the old chain.

I’d say you can let it go until you notice a problem.

[EasyRider]

A chain wear indicator costs $10. It’s not a precision instrument, but it beats guessing if your chain is so worn that it has also worn the cassette to the point that a new chain won’t mesh properly. I think it’s worth having one even if you’re not doing your own maintenance because it’ll tell you when it’s time to visit the shop.

Try using a chain wear indicator for a year, making a note of each time you changed the chain. That’ll give you a sense of how often you should change the chain based on your riding, rather than particular number of miles.

A cassette should last for several chains if those chains are changed in a timely fashion.

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

My bike came with a bottom-tier shimano drivetrain, I was not great about keeping it clean and lubed – would go many months between even looking at it… but I changed the chain 3 times over the course of about 6,000 miles. The last time I put a new chain on, the previous chain was so over stretched that it had indeed worn out the teeth on the gears of the cassette that I used most. It made riding in those gears impossible with the new chain. Ended up getting a replacement (upgraded) cassette and chain at Spokes Etc at about 8,000 miles which set me back about $160.

These days I’m trying to be better about not only cleaning off the chain and relubing it more often, but using an old toothbrush to knock off the black gunky stuff that builds up on the derailleur’s pulley wheels and between the gear teeth, cause it seems like that stuff builds up and grinds away at the parts like goopy sandpaper..

[Subby]

yes yes $83 yes

[vern]

If you look on the interwebs you can find replacement parts at a good discount. In the last two weeks I bought a 10 speed 105 cassette for $32 and a Sram chain for $21, so $53 total. I don’t need the cassette yet – I’ve got at least a couple thousand miles to go on the current one, but I buy them when the price is right. I like to have a spare on hand so that I can swap it out immediately if need be.

[Vicegrip]

How long is like asking how long does a tank of gas last. Depends. How well you care for the chain and the conditions the chain is exposed to matters a lot. I might go a week between oiling and wiping down the chain but always re-oil and wipe down if it gets used in the wet. Rest of the bike might be covered in dried road grit with a dessicated earthworm or 2 stick to the down tube or brake caliper but the chain will be clean. Shorter chain replacement intervals increases cog and chain ring lifespan. I get about 2000 summer and perhaps 1200 or less winter miles per chain

[worktheweb]

My chains usually last 1,000-2,000 miles with the lower number being reached more in the winter when I don’t clean, degrease, and relube the chain as often. Getting a chain checker is a good idea, basically it is a cheap piece of metal that won’t fit in between the links until the chain has stretched (mine is 0.75 in and 1 in on either side).

What’s happening is the bushings in each chain link get worn (and a lot more when there is grit in there) so the tolerances are widened. Each link may only have 1/100th of an inch of wear, but with 100 or so links, it gets big fast. If you catch it when you get to 0.75 in, there is a good chance your cassette and chainwheels are okay, otherwise you’ll probably need to replace the cassette as the gears shark-tooth out and the chainwheels if you really let it go. If you don’t replace a worn cassette, the new chain won’t fit on the cassette since it now “fits” the worn chain. You’ll get a lot of skipping. That’s why a worn drivetrain doesn’t have issues at first, but eventually it will (and when it does, there is a lot more to replace).

I just got a new bike, so my chain and cassette needs are different now (and I fear, more expensive), but on the old one an 8 speed chain cost me about $15 and a new cassette was about $20-25. Depending on what kind of bike and drivetrain you’ve got that’s the low end generally and the sky is the limit. Changing the chain is pretty easy with a chain break tool, and I’d recommend you get a new chain with quick links, so getting it on and off is a lot easier.

Learning to do this makes it easier to do the replacement on your schedule, and makes you less likely to have to replace the cassette every time. Changing a cassette isn’t too hard, you’ll need a lockring tool, a chain whip, and an adjustable wrench. You’ll probably pay for the price of the tools with the first or second replacement. YouTube has a lot of great videos to show you how to do it.

You’ll be amazed by how great a new drivetrain feels.

You can definitely wait if things are worn, but if your cassette gears still look like a trapezoid and not a shark tooth, waiting will make it more expensive.

[TwoWheelsDC]

The LBS devotees may not like this answer, but buying the proper tools and learning to do this type of routine maintenance yourself will save you money in the long run. The tools for changing a cassette may cost roughly the same as having a shop do it once, but those tools will effectively last longer than you will…and, with a bit of planning, you’ll never have to deal with the waiting that inevitably comes with having an LBS work on your bike. I’m currently working on replacing the pressfit bottom brackets on two of my bikes (they both started clicking within a couple days of each other, so I’m taking the opportunity to upgrade from the OEM crap each bike came with), which would cost hundreds of dollars to have an LBS do. Instead, I invested in the tools (which are basically the same for both bikes) to do it myself, which cost maybe about as much as it would for an LBS to fix just one of the bikes. So the tools essentially paid for themselves right out of the box, and I get to learn a new skill.

Of course, if you don’t have the space for tools or to do any work on your bike (or the inclination), that’s one thing, but a cassette change is a really good project for a beginner, since it’s pretty easy and you aren’t likely to kill your bike in the process. Between YouTube and the Park Tool website, there is an instructional video for just about any maintenance scenario you can think of.

[EasyRider]

Agree … but also a question of how much free time one has to do the work themselves, and how much one values it.

[dbb]

A cassette change probably takes less time than driving to the LBS to have it done. Pull the wheel, R&R the cassette, replace the wheel, install a new chain. Maybe 20-30 minutes (including the futzing around time).

[Crickey7]

Servicing the drivetrain is the gateway drug to bike maintenance.

[Judd]

I just started doing a better job of drivetrain care this year. My chains have been all over the place. One is completely shot at less than 2,000. One is not stretched at 3,000 and I somehow got under 5,000 out of another.

Doing yourself is a lot of fun and really isn’t that hard. I’ll bring my chain gauge to the next Crystal City Coffee Club for anyone to try out.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[huskerdont]

The everyday bike’s chain has about 3,000 miles on it, and I replaced it at the lower end of the chain wear indicator, yet it seems to have done the cassette in as usual. This seems to always happen, even using the chain wear indicator–I try to get by with just the chain but it always skips under load. Yet I keep trying. Anyway, the number of miles on your chain seem really good now (updated from my “decent” rating of earlier). So congrats.

The chain on my 11-speed bike that never plays in the rain has about 3,000 on it too and I’m about to replace it to hopefully save the cassette. It’s not even at 0.5 on the chain indicator; I just want to finally replace a chain without killing a fricking cassette.

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