How long should a cassette last if cleaned after every ride and the chain changed before its ****? (obviously an ambiguous question – but ball park figures please)

Several Peaks rides at least.

Same chain and cassette on my Mr Hyde – and before that my Stumpy – 2 years and still going strong.

I wipe the chain down and lube after every ride, also take the chain off and degrease/re-oil every 3-4 weeks. Also make sure you wipe off the chain rings and cassette as lots of grit gets caught in between the teeth and rings.

what sort of mileage are you talking about tho?

cassette life in days = miles per ride/rides per week x puddles per ride + sheep spotted * the cost of the cassette

Depends on riding conditions. Been through chains in less than 500 miles. Don't think the cleaning has that much to do with it.Cassette will last a bit longer if you are replacing chains at 0.75

since changing to using putoline chain wax instead of finish line I hae gone from 500 – 1000 mile life to several thousands of miles

edit – thats changing them at 0.75% worn so 2 or 3 chains to a cassette

I reckon I get c. 700 miles out of a chain and cassette with a fairly lax cleaning regime but I change them before they wear the chainrings out too much

what sort of mileage are you talking about tho?

It's one of my 2 main bikes, so doing about 80-90 miles a week, split between 2 bikes. That's 40 miles per week, 2000ish miles per year, so 4000 miles? That's pretty good methinks 😀

The chain and cassette are pretty worn – tried a new chain on the cassette a little while back and it skipped merrily, but with the old chain it shifts fine and is causing no problems. Will probably be buying a new cassette in the next month or so though.

Oh, and i do think cleaning makes a difference – I soak the chain in white spirit (filter and reuse the same stuff) and the amount of crap that comes off what looks like a not too dirty chain is amazing, and all that stuff is going to be grinding away inside the links/rollers. Also most people don't clean their cassettes properly – spraying liberally with GT85 and running a cloth between the cogs cleans up a lot of gritty dirt that will add to wear.

i dont oil my chain at all, just clean the lot and when it looks brand new again just leave it all shiny

This time of year I take the chain off every other ride or so. Into White spirits and then a re lube. In winter it shifty conditions I do the same thing after every ride. Chain and cassette last me about 9 months. Ride up to 60 miles a week of road

I change my chain and cassette at the same time, the trigger for the change is the second time that I split the chain cranking it (or when they feel like they are about to). They normally last around 6 months of riding 2 or 3 times a week in the lakes (I ride 4 or 5 times a week but have more than one bike) (when I lived down south and rode mainly in the Peaks and at Cannock and Chicksands it was more like a new chain and cassette every 2 months).

I hose my bike down when I get home, and lube the chain.

since changing to using putoline chain wax instead of finish line I hae gone from 500 – 1000 mile life to several thousands of miles

edit – thats changing them at 0.75% worn so 2 or 3 chains to a cassette

I did this on TJ's recomendation, 1 muddy 25mile ride at Swinley still killed a new chain and cassette enough to stop a new chain shifitng properly, no skipping, just wouldnt shift 🙁