so, does anyone do this. does it work?
the reason i ask is i was out the other day when someone broke a chain, and luckily someone had a new spare but it/the cassette made horrible banging noises.
so my (E) bike has done around 300 miles, mostly in gritty conditions, and i carry a spare chain. i cannot find a new cassette anywhere (11-52 sram not xd.) so i suppose, is 300 miles on an ebike too many miles to stick a new chain on without making horrible noises (im hoping not) and does using a couple of chains on rotation eek out more cassette life? or, another way of looking at it is, when this chain breaks, the cassette is also useless.
in the meantime i'll carry on looking for a cassette to stick on the shelf
It's been a 'thing' since forever - just with 11/12 speeds you need to swap out at .5 rather than wait for .75 like we did with 10/9 speeds.
I dont rotate my chains on any of my bikes (road,mtb,emtb, gravel)
Most people just keep an eye on the chain wear and fit a new chain at 0.75 wear (although 11 speed chains are meant to be swapped at 0.5 wear but most people get away with 0.75)
I get through 3 chains to one cassette on all my bikes, obviously some wear quicker than others due to conditions and the power going through them (e-mtb)
I just carry a spare split link on rides just in case my chain snaps, that way i can just fit the split link to the broken part of the chain and carry on riding till im home and then fit a new chain
With e-mtb's ive found that the more expensive chains seem to last longer then a cheaper one
I used to run £10 Sram PC1110 chains and they seemed to wear quite quickly, a change to a £30 Sram PCX1 chain and they are lasting much longer
I've never got a new chain to work well on a used cassette so I've long since given up trying to rotate chains. I suspect at 300 miles, you'd be in for a noisy and/or skipping ride.
Broken chain - just fix it. Quick link or remove a link and join carefully using the pins. It's a permanent fix not just a get-you-home one.
Only 300 miles!!? How soft are these chains and cassettes!
That was a fortnights riding for me back in the day.
And you don't need to carry a spare chain - just a few links from an old chain is enough to get you home.
When you say horrible banging noises, do you mean the chain was slipping under load? A new chain on a worn cassette will usually sound and shift fine, but will skip under load in some gears. If that's not it, then is it definitely the right chain width?
As for the original question, keep an eye on chain wear and switch before 0.75% and the cassette should see out multiple chains.
Yes, but mainly because I use Putoline and so I can wax it at my leisure and do a few together, rather than having to take it off/wax/cool/put it straight back on.
I used to run £10 Sram PC1110 chains and they seemed to wear quite quickly
My experience too. Garbage. Moved back to KMC for 11 speed now.
Is your rear mech set-up and shifting properly? If you don't have it spot-on it would try and skip between cogs.
re the banging noises, not me, not my bike or my spare chain. the old chain was properly worn out, the side plates were visibly worn like they had been rubbing on something. the spare chain was a brand new sram 12 sp, still sealed in the box so i assume it was right.
Certain single ring chainrings make terrible graunchy noises on the second chain if the first chain is left to run to .75 wear. Sram chainrings seem bad for this. I tend to accept the noise as an irritation and keep the same chainring for 3 chains worth, but am getting 1200-1400 miles per chain before fear of damaging the stupidly expensive cassette creeps in. (on a 'legacy' 'analogue' bike or whatever)
Up your cleaning and lubing game + if you consider rotating chains then no point in stopping at 2, may as well go for 3-4 then for the initial outlay and hassle you'll go a long way...
Like others have said above I don't really bother with running two+ chains. Again I get a few chains (2-3) to a cassette, hoping it's the same with the 12 speed I've got. Usually try and keep on top of lubing the chain which I think helps. Also I keep any spare links from a new chain to use as spares if needed later and carry a quick link if needed on the trail. 300 miles does not sound a lot to me for a chain. I suspect your riding buddy did not look after the chain or its a really old chain past the 0.75 limit.
I think this is a price you need to pay on ebikes with 12 speed. I've found that even on normal (non-electric) bikes 12 speed chains wear quicker than 11 speed and 10 speed stuff, which is the price you pay for wide range cassettes and close ratio's. Putting an extra 400 Watts through 12 speed chains is going to accelerate wear significantly, so 300 miles doesn't surprise me.
I reckon the new Shimano stuff (heavier, more durable) is the way forward for ebikes.
Cripes that's bonkers. 300 miles for some people would be 1-2 weeks riding, the cost per mile would be extortionate - if this is the mileage you're getting you need to get yourself over to the Putoline thread ASAP...
Covered 150miles on my eeeb with GX 12spd chain/cassette, wen't to put a new chain on and it slipped. SRAM have wheeled out the extra soft brie this year it seems, chain was under 0.5, cassette is shaggged. Now going to run it into the ground.
On 10 speed bikes rotating two or three chains worked brilliantly. On an 11 speed ebike changing chain never seems to work, even if I swap them very early. I like ebikes but I don’t think the chains or cassettes are fit for purpose. I’m convinced the extra torque wears the cassette teeth before the chain itself wears.
I missed the window on my sram eagle, chain at .8 it has done over 1000 miles in all scottish weather's though but i do look after it. Advice is to run it till it snaps and change ring/casette and chain at same time. Hopeful to get to next year on it as i dont have the 500quid or so to replace it all right now!
Any recommendations on a good 11spd chain? Currently running a SRAM PC 1110
Covered 150miles on my eeeb with GX 12spd chain/cassette, wen’t to put a new chain on and it slipped.
Why were you putting a new chain on after only 150 miles?
Ebikes, especially on turbo are going to wear a drivetrain out quickly. Something most riders don't consider. A bike mechanic I know said he's seeing ebikes coming in with cassettes that haven't seen any use on the larger sprockets as rider just turbo everywhere.
Something else to think about when buying secondhand.
That sounds like it could get very expensive very quickly… eek
A bike mechanic I know said he’s seeing ebikes coming in with cassettes that haven’t seen any use on the larger sprockets as rider just turbo everywhere.
Must be in not very hilly areas, still need the big ring on an ebike, even in turbo.
Why were you putting a new chain on after only 150 miles?
Based on mates having the same issue, waiting for the chain to get to 0.5 and the chain jumping.
Have an SLX cassette and KMC E-chain, see how that lasts.
Yet again, the owners are doing the testing, as the industry has failed to deliver a product which is correctly designed and tested.
Maybe it's something about the increased likelihood of shifting gears under higher load on an 'e', nipping the edges away from the cassette teeth. I prefer bikes/designs that aren't disposable consumer toys. If drivetrain wear is really that bad then why aren't more bikes using something like a hub gear, pinion type or belt drive system?
I think many people on this thread are not reading the OPs post properly.
OP is asking whether a new chain will skip on a 300 mile old cassette. I think it'll be fine.
Op is not making a statement that after 300 miles it is worn out.
Anyway, after being a serial 'run the whole drivetrain into the ground' kind of guy I am trialling chain rotation on my ebike. However I am doing a constant rotation of 2 chains rather than waiting until chain 1 has got to .75. I believe this will avoid chain slipping risk of new chain on old cassette.
“ Must be in not very hilly areas, still need the big ring on an ebike, even in turbo.”
It depends on how long the ride is. It’s commuting that was killing mine because I could sprint up the hills in turbo like on a singlespeed. Also using turbo to sprint out of corners can’t be good for the small sprockets.
“ However I am doing a constant rotation of 2 chains rather than waiting until chain 1 has got to .75.”
I wasn’t waiting until the chain had worn much but it still sounded bad with the newer chain. Also, how will the quicklink cope with being opened repeatedly?
I tried to rotate GX chains on a GX Eagle cassette. After 6m (probably too late) the new chain slipped on 2 of the smaller cogs.
5cm of round chainsaw file in a drill chuck and a few mins re-profiling the back of the teeth of the offending cogs and it then took the new chain. Had to do the same when putting the old chain back on.
Now covered over 3k miles on that cassette over 3 chains in 26 months. Just as well, as BikeInn have pushed the delivery date of the new cassette back a couple of weeks.
And as for ho many miles it takes to skip. Shirley, that depends on whether those 300 miles were in dry summer or minging winter
how will the quicklink cope with being opened repeatedly?
Absolutely fine IME.
Snapped one quick link whilst riding once. No idea if it was due to reusing them all the time. But I use them repeatedly a lot so that rate of failure is fine for me.
I have a 12sp ebike and I rotate 2 chains, I also have 2 sets of wheels. I use 2 chains primarily so I can have one waxed and ready to go on. I have read a few articles where they say that the more expensive 8100 and 9100 Shimano chains will last a lot longer than the budget ones and so over the life of the chain it works out cheaper. I've just started using 9100 chains for that reason and after 300 miles on each they are still at just above .75
I don't notice any difference when I swap the wheels over (so different cassette) or swap the chains when one needs rewaxing, other than perhaps 2 clicks on the barrel adjuster for the shifter. TBH that's only to get it setup exactly as Shimano recommend (5 clicks back from just touching the next cog up). It still shifts perfectly fine without doing that. In fact with Putoline, 9100 chain and 7100 cassette the shifting is precise, smooth, quiet and fast.
correct, thanks. i have done 300 miles. question is, is this too late to stick a fresh chain on. i just bought a chain measuring thingy so i can see how knackered my chain is.
no idea how many miles this other bike had done on its chain it was a hire bike. seeing how the new chain argued with the old cassette made we wonder if running a couple would extend the life of the cassette. i think i'll carry a magic link to get me home in case of a break rather than a whole chain. i managed to bag a new cassette and mech yesterday. i have a big pot of that chain wax you heat up, and i have a ultrasonic cleaner. i could have one on the bike and one ready to go. just ordered a chain measuring tool so i shall see where i am and go from there.
Cost of Ownership issue, the more expensive and complex the product the higher the cost of ownership over the life of the product.
The current cassette on my Stumpjumper has done in excess of 2,500 miles and is on its second chain. I have a new chain and cassette ready to fit, but I am almost tempted to just change the chain just to see if the old cassette can cope.
Prices have gone up a lot since the last cassette I bought (June 2020) which cost £36, now £56. Similarly the chain was £14 now £18. Brexit or pandemic supply and demand issues or a bit of both plus natural inflation??
3 chains, Putolene, and 100km rotation. This is working well on my trail bike and on my ebike. I have a small whiteboard in the garage and write down the mileages/dates to keep track of it. I don't do rotation on my commuting bike as it has an Alfine so the cost of a new sprocket is less.
On my 2018 ebike I am still on the original cassette. I am on the 3rd motor.