Can anyone give an indication of the sort of mileage they get out of consumables on their commuters? Also interested in maintenance you do to keep on top of it

I noticed it looking dirty the other night, cleaned and oiled it, which I hadn’t done in AGES, then thought I’d get the chain wear indicator tool out, the 1.0% bit dropped straight in so definitely time for a change.

So I replaced the chain in my commuter last night. Looks like I last did it in early May, that means I’ve put about 1,500 miles on it, maybe a bit more. That seems like quite a short lifespan…?

I definitely had more mileage out of my previous chain. I don’t remember doing less maintenance on the bike, it was pretty low to start with. I’ve only chain the disc pads in the bike once in the 7k+ miles I’ve had it

It was the cheapest Shimano at the time when I did it earlier this year. I’ve replaced it with another very cheap chain, a Shimano HG54. Do expensive chains make a difference?

For what it’s worth my commuter is an Arkose runnign 1×10, I use the top 7-8 gears the most

5000+ miles. Putoline on the chain and hub gears. Basic shimano chain. I believe the putoline gives my 4 – 6 times the chain life

The drivetrain on my Genesis lasted just under two years and about 5000Km. That drivetrain was 2×9 but the new one is 1×10.

My usual commute is 1/3rd canal towpath but in summer when things are drier I’ll ride the towpath most of the way. Maintenance is clean once a week and lightly oil. I’ll also oil the chain if things get squeaky mid-week.

I did 5000 miles on my commuter with a Shimano 105 drivetrain. The BB was totally shot at the end of that but the rest seemed ok. I’ve never had a chain wear indicator so who knows if it actually needed changing. I used to clean it and lube it every so often when it was sounding particularly rough.

the 1.0% bit dropped straight in so definitely time for a change.

Why change it? If it is that worn, won’t a new cassette soon be required too? I’d run into the ground over the winter and then change both in spring

I tend to get 2000ish miles out of a chain then scrap it before it wrecks the cassette. Works out a bit cheaper that way I think.

I’ve done 4500 miles so far on a Sram drivetrain with 105 cassette, on a second-hand but hardly-used bike. The BB30 bearings started creaking about 1000 miles ago, but they quietened back down after 200 miles or so.

I think I’ve cleaned it once, and even that was a quick one-over with fairy liquid. Going to run it into the ground then change to 1x.

I changed an 11 speed chain at just over 1500 miles, a mix of on/off road/gravel.
Probably erring on the side of caution tbh, but the .75 on the chain wear checker suggested it had stretched enough.

Why change it? If it is that worn, won’t a new cassette soon be required too? I’d run into the ground over the winter and then change both in spring

+1

For commuter stuff just run it into the ground. Shifting does get a little bit worse as it wears but not enough to be a big deal. Maybe I’ll measure the next one I take off but the stretch is clearly visible by eye so pretty significant

Unless something breaks I service mine in spring. Singlespeed so new chainring and sprocket every two years (flip it at one year). New chain each year.

Do something like 4000km a year.

It isn’t a high performance bike, it is a bit crunchy by the end of winter but not needing to keep gears working means there is more tolerance for shonky old drivechains.

‘It depends’

in no particular order on:
– the drivetrain components
– the level of protection the drivetrain has
– the rider and their habits/strength
– the weather conditions
– the particular local geology
– the load being carried
– the maintenance regime

etc. So very hard to compare with other riders unless they are of similar build, use the same components, ride the same routes, carry the same load, and do the same maintenance.

But as another few points of anecdotal data:

SS road bike commuting WITHOUT mudguards and infrequent lubing = 12,000 miles to destruction

IGH commuter, commuting WITH mudguards and infrequent lubing = no idea yet, 5,000 miles in and I’ve had to do the first adjustment to chain tension, no other appreciable wear and I’ve not yet ever cleaned this bike.

Geared (3×9) Sora road/tourer commuting WITH mudguards, slightly more frequent lubing = 2,000 – 3,000 miles between chain replacement, ~6,000+ miles out of a cassette but I use cheap stuff (£10 chain, £20 cassettes) so sometimes jsut run it into the ground and don’t bother with a chain change.

The key to making them last a long while is keeping them well lubed and clean, and I don’t necessarily mean by cleaning the drivetrain, I mean keeping it clean. By the time the filth is on there it’s causing wear, cleaning it off is all well and good but half the damage is done. Better to have decent guards, with full coverage, rolled edges if possible to keep the water inside, long flap at the front to stop spray on the BB/chainset and decent lube. A full chaincase is even better but not ofetn practical unless you’re using SS/IGH.

Decent protection can literally double the lifespan of the drivetrain IME.

1 chain and 1 sprocket per year on my fixed gear road bike and about 5000 miles. Chain rings would last 2 years.

Shame I’m not commuting by bike now. Bloody car driver following a bad spinal break on way to work.

About 4000 miles on an SRAM rival. This is a mixture of roads and gloopy canal tow paths. Replaced chain and cassette and jockey wheels.

I forgot to mention, I changed the cassette earlier this year. One cassette per year sounds a bit much no? I’m only doing about 3,000 odd miles a year on this bike. I’m hoping a new chain might prolong this cassette a while longer

I should probably have run it into the ground but I’ve already thrown the chain away, I’ll consider this one an experiment

This was a “summer” stint too, the winter stint is coming – when the real filth starts

I probably need to do a bit more maintenance, just CBA…! It’s a bit easier now I have a wheel/floor stand rather than the proper stand. Much quicker and easier to use. No excuse now really

I do have decent full length guards, but the drivechain still gets covered in normal road filth

I recon 3×8 is best for commuting, due to the cheap components. Approx £10 chain, £10 cassette, £30 chainset, means you can change the lot without feeling bad about not maintaining the old stuff properly.

As for distance, that depends on how willing you are to put up with poor performance. Once the chain is worn beyond a certain point you can’t replace chain only without overall performance being much worse. Last time I replaced the chainset on my commuter bike, I’d spend a year avoiding the middle ring, because half the teeth were missing. When I finally replaced the lot, the improvement in efficiency was remarkable.

I do have decent full length guards, but the drivechain still gets covered in normal road filth

😉

Honestly, I get told off for being preachy about guards, especially on the local club runs, but a lot, in fact I’d go so far as to say most guards are pretty woeful, they stop your arse getting wet and reduce spray a bit, but in general they’re pretty crap. For occasional wet use or mild dampness they’re fine, but if you regularly ride on very wet roads, or ride a lot in proper rain their shortcomings become apparent.

It proper set can be a revelation in terms of how much water and filth they actually stop getting on you and your drivetrain. The key bits that are important are:

– flaps, longer that you think, no longer than that, really long. Both on the front guard to stop spray into the BB/chainring and your feet, but also on the front of the rear guard, ie: extend the guard below the BB so that water drips off below the chainrings not into it. You can do this either by rotating the guard a bit further round before bolting it on, or making a custom flap. Oh, and of course on the back for anyone behind you, most guards with flaps are still inadequately short there too.

– rolled edges internally. All old-school steel and alu guards had these, and then when plastic took over it pretty much disappeared, although some still do have a rolled or lipped edge which is good, but they’re rare. This is important as it traps water inside the guard as it goes round, meaning the exit points are the ends, rather than splashing and spraying out the sides in heavy downpour, as this, in conjunction with spray from the front wheel is what gets all over your drive train.
I genuinely didn’t realise what a massive difference this makes until I rode a bike with guards like this, total eye opener!

– external bridges/stays. This one is not essential but does and can make a difference, if the bridge for the stays is inside the guard and horizontally across it (like SKS) then it acts as a dam and pushes water out to the sides of the guard in very wet conditions, this causes water to spray out the side and drip from the stays. This doesn’t happen so much if the guards have rolled edges but it still happens. Guards with externally mounted stays push noticeably less water out the sides.
This is another one of those things I never noticed until I tried the alternative, and then noticed the difference, I can see it just watching as I ride along, or watching clubmates next to me, on wet rides the amount of water pushed out the sides is noticeably different.

The difference in filth levels on the drive train is huge, to the point that I’ve only washed my wet weather road bike once in 18 months, and the drivetrain is still cleaner than my friends was after one wet ride with Raceblades.

chainrings always seem to go before the chain and then the chain does not sit nicely on the new rings..

I’ve done 3,900km (2,400 miles) on my commuter since getting it. I’ve not done anything other than oil the chain and fix one puncture; and washed it once. It was second hand when I got it, so no idea how far the chain/cogs have done in total.

+1 for everything amedias said. Flaps so long they almost drag the ground, and then just run everything into the ground. My last drivetrain lasted around 12000km until it annoyed me enough to need changed (it turned out the graunch that had been annoying me was actually the pedal bearings anyway, my bike hates me).

I change the chain and rear cogs on my Brompton every 3 years or so. So about 7,000-10,000 miles. Brakes blocks are replaced at least once a year as they wear the most.

– the maintenance regime

This.I was riding 1100-1200 miles a month (90% on the training bike) and was suprised how little wear the drivetrain had (less than 0.5%) after 4 months (11 speed ultegra).But running an Lbs workshop meant it got lubed every day and cleaned in the parts washer at least once a week.

5000km on sram rival and its basically shot but still functioning 🙂

i’m approx 3500miles on a 9speed Sram chain, I jizer it every few weeks (but give it a good wipe down with a piece of foam every few days) then give it a good blast of industrial chain and wire lube that I have kicking around at work.

@amedias – OK, i thought they were decent, they’re clearly not! They’re SKS P45 chromoplastics. Better than anything I’ve had in the past but I don’t think they have the rolled edges etc

as above, around 5,000 miles (I think it was about 8,000 on the last one before it started skipping horribly), generally replace the chain, chainring (large only, which I do >99% of my riding on) and cassette all together at the same time when the weather has got better in the spring. 2×10 (but only 1 chainring replaced) so costs about £50.

no maintenance at other times other than a drop of wet lube if its making a load of noise (often after a really wet day)

Cassette, chain and he big chainring changed approximately a year, about 2000 miles on a mixed route involving a muddy/dusty farm track and dirty roads.

chain is wiped down and lubed once a week or so.

The route is flat so the small chainring is never used on the commute. The small chainring lasts a few years.

9 speed, so cheap bits.

my commuter (also ridden for fun occasionally) is 9.5 years old. I’ve got 11000 km logged on strava (last 8 years only) so its probably done ~ 13000 km.

It’s on it’s 3rd drivetrain: which has plenty of life left. Changing ratios killed the first (worn chain, new sprocket). Stripped a pedal thread and the crappy chainring was almost gone, so treated it to a brand new drive train for the last one. It’s fixed; its previosuly been used SS. Last freewheel lasted <3 months so it went back to fixed.

@amedias – OK, i thought they were decent, they’re clearly not! They’re SKS P45 chromoplastics. Better than anything I’ve had in the past but I don’t think they have the rolled edges etc

SKS Chromos are not bad guards, especially for the money, and they are normally reasonably robust, and they’re one of the better ones for length/flap at the front, but they could be so much better if SKS put some more effort in 🙁

You can’t fix the lack of rolled edges on those guards, but you can add extended flaps, and a common mod with those is to drill the rivets holding the stay bridge to the guard, and move the bridge to the outside (re-rivet or bolts) which will stop some of the water dripping but I can understand not everyone wants to start modding them.

the sks mods you mention take them back to how they used to be ESGEs?

anyway, OP, put a 48/18 with a Rust Buster SS chain on back in 2008 – still going. did drip some oil on it a year or so ago.
that whole time it lives outside all day, ridden on average 3 times a week and zero maintenance. The thread on here the other day reminded me that I don’t carry a pump/patch anymore

next time its daylight I will grab a pic.