Don’t post much in this section but would appreciate advice. Got a Giant Talon 2.5 last Sept and thought it might be a good thing to get it serviced especially as I have a 36 mile off road event next month. The LBS guy took a look at it & said I’ve got a bit of chin stretch & need a new chain & cassette. Now being a newb at this I thought this seemed a bit much as I probably haven’t ridden it more than once a week over the year on average, however that’s all off road. The bike is running fine & I have no problems with gear selection or a slipping chain. What should I do keep riding intil I get a problem or have the work done? Should this happen so quickly?

Yep, I usualy replace mine arround easter time as they wear less in the ‘dry’ summer months, over the winter they can go from new to trashed in a ride so pointless fiting new ones then.

Depends how long the rides are, how muddy they were etc over the past year, 36miles isn’t much to some people so if you’re weekly rides have been shorter then odds are you’ll get some more miles out of the chain/cassette. Just remember to replace them as a pair.

Options:

1. Keep it all, degrease, lube etc but has in increased risk of jumping and chain sucking on your ride.

2. Change chain and expect to jump on the back and suck front

3. Change chain and cassette and poss suck front

4. Change the whole lot.

If you do want to do something I would prob choose no 2 and then try it on a short ride and see if you get away with it – prob not – and prob end up going choice 3 or 4.

Once a week for a year in dirty condition prob would at least stretch the chain and if its more than .75 % stretched then it will abnormally wear the rest of the drive chain:

http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/features/maintenance/chain-maintenance.htm

You can limit chainring and cassette wear by changing chains regulalry (or rotating 3), but unless your kit is new (and it not from you post) I’d wait until it dies than mess with it now. I tend to find the chain will start snapping before I get cassette slippage, but even then I’d change the front chain rings along with everything else.

This year I managed to just sneak into ‘spring/summer’ using a complete knackered set of gears that chain sucked if mud looked at them. With the dry weather (weve missed all the rain everyone else has seen) I’ve continued happily to run it without issue (have had new kit waiting to be fitted since march!) & only expect to need to change it when the mud start to kick in again.

PS: Sounds like the LBS is druming up business to me, bit like kwik fit and there “your brake pads are low” rubbish…

Worth measuring the chain yourself first, just to make sure the LBS isn’t ripping you off. Chains are one inch per full link, so measure out twelve full links and it should be one foot. If its more than one percent over this then yes, technically it’s stretched. But, you normally replace a stretched chain at 0.75% wear to prevent it damaging the cassette. If LBS says your cassette is already worn by the chain, and you’re not experiencing any ill effects, then you may as well run them both into the ground until you do, and then replace them IMHO.

+1 perthmtb 🙂

thanx everyone for the advice..reckon I’ll keep on riding until the wheels fall off then!

Might be worth going to another good LBS, and asking them to look at it. See if the 1st lot are yanking your chain. (see what I did there?)

APF

As Perth says. You can either change stuff or run it into the ground. If things are working then just keep going and get hold of the bits and change rings, casette and chain in April when the winter is over.

jonb +1
after rotating three chains etc etc got fed up .I know run my drive train for a year, then swap the lot when the idea of the chain snapping intrudes too much (steel front slx back )thats riding three or four times a week in the calderdale grit triangle. keeping it clean and lubed seems to prevent most suckage (?)