I’m truly sick of going through cassettes and chains every few months. I never used to on my 8 speed setup of yesteryear so is it worth going back??? Or have Shimano et al just made their equipment wear faster for some very strange reason!??!

I have 9 speed shifters, can I set them up okay with just a click that does nothing? Most importantly, will it wear significantly less than what I am now used to?

I don’t know if it lasts that much longer – I didn’t bother going 9s for the same reasons, seems to have less issues with indexing though.

9s shifters will not work – spacing of cogs is different, so you’ll need 8s ones.

doesn’t really have to last significantly longer, but as 8 speed chains and cassettes are significantly cheaper than 9 speed so get yourself a decent 8 speed shifter and you’ll save the cost of it first time you need to replace your cassete/chain.

just buy a chain checker and replace your chain before it wears out – if you do this a cassette will last much much longer – you can basic chain checkers from about 6quid.

screw that go to 7 speed!

actually get a velocopede! no chains needed.

Or walk.

I was hesitant about going to 8 speed back in 1999
I’ve just bought my first new bike since then and I deliberately went for a lower spec model to stay 8 speed.

8 speed pros

lighter, less sprockets(8 and 9 speed sprockets are the same thickness, 9 speed sprockets are just packed closer together requiring a chain with thinner side plates.)

better indexing

8 speed cons

limited shifter choice alivio or XT
very lightweight cassettes with aluminium spiders are getting hard to get hold of.

On my next set of wheels I’m considering getting a Hope trials hub so I can go 6 speed.

Sram shifters accross the range are available as 8 or 9 speed.

Why not go ss even less wear then!!

Hub?

My chain, chainring and sprocket are approaching 3 years old. I commute all year round usually off road. Only maintenance is to wipe the chain occasionally and a spray a bit of GT85 on. When it wears out I’ll reverse the sprocket and chainring and put on another cheap 3 speed chain. I reckon on 5 years with only the purchase of a chain.

“I commute all year round usually off road..
I reckon on 5 years with only the purchase of a chain”.

Well that GT85 must be magic stuff. 😯

ballsofcottonwool – ive gone 6-speed on a hope trials hub, one slight issue was the chain going in the spokes as the stops on the mech (Sram X7) couldnt just be ‘wound in’ due to their design, even with longer screws. My solution was this… (pinch bolt on the cable to stop it pulling too far)

9 speed sprockets and chain tho, never really had a problem with wear, just keep an eye on the chain length and swap before it gets too bad.

Mountaincarrot it may not be the GT85 it may have been the Toyota gear box oil I was using for the first two years! Worked but did pick up a lot of gunk. It may also help that I weigh 60kg so could probably lash up an emergency chain with string. Of course the main benefit is that you don’t have to worry about the chain stretching and you can start with a much stronger chain in the first place, although my current one is just an ordinary 8 speed SRAM. And it doesn’t keep getting pulled from side to side and the chainline is always perfect. The front ring is full height un-ramped teeth and made of steel so again lasts forever. I can’t wait to try a belt drive next and see how long I can get out of that

I like the look of that hub; I don’t use the top couple of cogs on my block. when it says 6 cogs is that 9 speed or 8 speed? I doubt there’s much in it.

phah i use a 10 year old chain / cassette/ chainrings on my commuter and its fine and i hardly ever clean or obsevively maintain my bikes just a good spray of TF2. However, on my new fancy 5spot which has been recieving the same treatment i snapped the chain twice on sunday and its only 5 months old i reckon these new 9speed chains are to thin/ weak myself .

Why not use a sturmey archer 3 speed hub and be done with it?

If you are prepared to run drivetrains into the ground you will get a long time out of them. I ran one on my commuter for years but it of course wrote off the cassette and chainrings and jocksy wheels as well.

Changing chains obsessively when they are only slightly worn means far less wear on cassettes and chainrings – but at a high cost in chains. The advantage is you always have crisp shifting.

I have been experimenting with using motocross solid chain wax and so far it appears both much cheaper (<1/4) of the cost and far better than using cycle chain oils. As a solid grease it presumably takes a bit more effort to move but the chains are remaining well lubricated for far longer, remaining clean as well. Its a real faff to use and its too early to be confident about wear rates

smiffy – there are 6 9speed sprockets on that hub (with associated spacers) and 1 think spacer at the back to take up the little bit of play left (not enough to fit a 7th) so you might be able to get 6 8speed sprockets on but it could be tight. My cassette is actually a combination of sprockets from 2 cassettes to get usable ratios.

i use a chain for 700 miles then put a new chain on, use that for 700 miles, then put the first one back on for 700 miles then the second one again for 700 miles
dont know why i do 700 miles just allways have that way i get 2800 miles out of cassettte and rings and 2 chains

Cheers Stato

9 speed shifters wont shift 8 speed – the cable pull is different.
7 and 8 speed use same spacing and chains – no advantage for 7 speed

Its getting really hard to find good quality stuff for 8 speed – shimano and sram have used 8 speed for cheap stuff for years, i dont think you would see any really significant increase in life with 8 speed anymore.

If you are struggling with short life i would suggest, use steel chainrings (like deore), steel rear cassette (again like deore) with a sram chain, clean your chain after every ride, then GT85 it, and use a decent lube before each ride.

Badger – 7 speed shimano cassette sprocket spacing is 5mm, 8speed is 4.8mm. the same shifter can be used for both but it isn’t ideal.

I didn’t think the cassette and chainring wear was due to poor chain lubrication per se, just that the chain stretched and ate into the chainring and cassette teeth.

Changing chains obsessively when they are only slightly worn means far less wear on cassettes and chainrings – but at a high cost in chains. The advantage is you always have crisp shifting.

I’ve never seen worn chain/cassetes shifting any worse than new (assuming all other components are in reasonable condition)

Screw that, tis a perfect reason to go singlespeed 😀 Think of the cheapness and lack of maintenance 😀

I had a few bad experiences with 9 speed, none with 8 spd so in a huff went back to 8, and I’ve been on it ever since. May have been related to the frame it was on, in hindsight but my perception was that it chainsucked far more easily.

However, just recently I have found it increasingly hard to get decent quality 8 speed stuff, particularly at good prices, and so reluctantly I think that once the existing drivetrain is finished I’ll be going back to 9 speed and hoping I do better this time.

If interested, i have a cheapish (deore I think) 11-30 cassette new and unused, an unused pair of Sram but shimano compatible shifters (not sure Rocket or attack – will check later) and will also have the used but still functional Sram shifters off the bike as well in another couple of months when this set of cassette and chain has reached its lifespan.