Darkside – drivetrain longevity

How long should a road cassett and chain last? Mine's on about 2.5k now and it's not as good as new but it's still working pretty well. How long should I expect it to live for?

Just discussing this last week with my riding buddy after I'd just replaced the Campy chain and cassette (both secondhand off eBay) for some news ones after started jumping.

We reckoned it was about 5 years old, with about 5 or 6k miles on it, though I do look after it nicely and there was a quiet gap in the middle due to elbow/arm breakage. Think you're just wearing yours in!

I tend to do mine every year or so, which is about 5000 miles, but mainly because I feel bad for abusing the road bike through winter and never cleaning it!

My chainrings are still original , with at least 15,000 miles on them. Gotta love road bikes!

Had the Campag stuff on for about ten/eleven years before the frame broke. The bike was ridden regularly too, say an average of 100km per week!

Campag does seem to last longer, especially chains and cassettes, saying that i've done over 10 thousand miles on a dura-ace cassette and only changed the chain once, recently. Front chainrings……. never got close to wearing them out.

Well if I went the 'official' route of replacing the chain using a chain checker then aroound 1000 miles on my cx commuter – sometimes I do this though and sometimes I don't. Chainrings last 1000's of miles – changed the front one on my commuter once in around 20k miles, front and rear mech last ages, shifters have lasted 20k miles too so I'm still using the original 105 shifters.. Changed things on the road bike before they've worn out though.

I still have the original chain on my TT bike, which is 12 years old! Mind you it's not actually been out at all this year, and the mileage in general has been pretty low in recent years. Used to do decent miles on it though, due to doing long distance TTs / triathlons and training on it for them, but it tended to be very well looked after.

In answer to the question, it depends on a huge nuber of variables; do you ride in the wet or in winter, how often do you clean, what chain etc. Replace when it's worn out (using a chain gauge or a ruler to check this).

Can't say that I've ever noticed any significant difference in longevity between Shimano and Campag despite Campag's supposedly better wear (I'm a long time Campag user).

Anyway, road stuff last years, particularly if you keep it oiled and not too filthy.

It depends on a lot of factors so hours/miles of use can change. Just change the chain when a chain checker says it is worn/stretched, and change the rings when they don't run properly – the big rings often last a long time, i.e. more than 3 chains, if you keep it clean and lubed.

One thing to bear in mind is that Campag chains supposedly wear out in a slightly different way – ie they don't actually elongate much, which might be a problem with my method of measuring how much the chain has "stretched", though should still show up with a decent chain checker which also checks roller wear. Maybe why some people think Campag chains last better

I Have a 20 year old crank still going strong on original chainrings.

My hack bike has done about 2000 miles on a chain that is massively overstretched and worn. I put a new 9 speed crank on this 7 speed beast and it is has yet to slip and just completed the coast to coast without issue!

Anyone got some definitive research that proves we need to keep changing things rather than manufacturers recomendations that we do …is it not hype /propoganda to get us to keep buying their wares?

I reconed it was about 3k to a chain when used almost exclusively in good weather, replaced the cassette as well just for the sake of it, but that was pre the price rises.

I'm pretty sure that chains don't actually elongate to any significant extent – the strech is just wear between the pin and the roller.

Going to have a look for something to back that up..

EDIT: Sheldon agrees
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#stretch

Cyclists often speak of chain "stretch", as if the side plates of an old chain were pulled out of shape by the repeated stresses of pedaling. This is not actually how chains elongate. The major cause of chain "stretch" is wearing away of the metal where the rivet rotates inside of the bushing (or the "bushing" part of the inside plate) as the chain links flex and straighten as the chain goes onto and off of the sprockets. If you take apart an old, worn out chain, you can easily see the little notches worn into the sides of the rivets by the inside edges of the bushings. With bushingless chains, the inside edge of the side plate hole that rubs against the rivet has a smooth radius instead of a sharp corner. This probably contributes to the greater durability of bushingless chains.

yup, that's one of the joys of road riding.

Every morning i go out to the garage, get on the bike and ride (commute) and put it away every evening and never a problem. The occasional lube of the chain and replace the brake pads every 3 or 4 months.

Armadillo tyres mean I don't get any punctures either.

Compare that to the amount of maintenance required and downtime on the MTB; it's ridiculous.

replace the brake pads every 3 or 4 months.

Blimey, do you do an awful lot of miles? I've done 6000km on my current set of brake pads, that's about a year of riding at my current rate, and I don't need to change the pads yet.

I found that if you ride a chain for 4000km, you need to change the cassette too. When you do change it all, it feels amazing, like a new bike again! I have a chain checker tool, and I'll change it when it wears, hopefully next time I won't have to change cassette, and won't have to have bad shifting for the last month while I get round to buying a new one.

Joe

I replaced the chain on my SRAM drive train after about 1500miles.

It'd have barely been worn in at 1.5k miles!

I wore out a 10 speed 105 chain in 1000 miles.

I am fat though.

Wore out an XTR cassette in <500 miles. My mate wore out his 7/8spd road cassette and chain in about 900 miles.

Sheldon agrees

Actually I don't think he does – he's just shooting down the myth about chains literally stretching. Note his use of the words "This is not actually how chains elongate.", which implies he agrees they do elongate. Anyway empirically I measure wear using a ruler on my chains, and they definitely get longer with wear!

105 cassette in 10,000 Km – I did forget to change the cain however (for 1 year) I think that may have not helped 🙂

Compare that to the amount of maintenance required and downtime on the MTB; it's ridiculous.

Absolutely, totally and utterly, completely, undeniably worth it for the enjoyment I get from riding the MTB.

aracer – I think we're maybe talking at crossed purposes.

We all know that chains get longer but it's not because the side plates actually get stretched – it's because play develops between the pins and rollers so when you tension the chain, the gaps between links gets longer (not between the two link next to each other but rather the next link along). As such, chain stretch isn't actually stretch (since nothing stretched) but really chain wear.

I think we're maybe talking at crossed purposes.

Indeed, given that the only use I made of the word "stretched", I used quoatation marks just like there! I think I confused you by using the word "elongate", which is a valid description for what chains actually do, and is indeed something Campag chains apparently do less (compared to roller wear, which also affects chain pitch).

General rule I work to is that a cassette lasts about 3 chains and the chainrings last about 3 cassettes. Having said that the Dura Ace cassette on my road bike has done over 10000 miles (including a lot of racing) and is only just starting to slip on one cog. Chainrings are still perfect. It does get well looked after though.

General rule I work to is that a cassette lasts about 3 chains and the chainrings last about 3 cassettes.

About the same as me – on and off road. Though to achieve that you have to change the chain before it gets too knackered.

I got at least 10 years out of my last Campy stuff, including the chain!!!!. It was riden and tt on, Also been through the Alpes and Pyrenese twice. I don`t know the milage but one year alone was 3.5k miles!

joemarshall – Member

Blimey, do you do an awful lot of miles?

Covered 2,500 miles since 2nd March and changed brake pads once and expect to change them again in a couple of months so yes, every 4 months is probably correct.

It's commuting in that ole London town place, lots of braking to avoid cars, buses, lorries other riders etc. and obviously for stopping at all those red lights 😉

Actually on my old commute of 15 miles (each way) I used to go through 94 sets of traffic lights (each way). I am now commuting 18 miles each way on a similar route but haven't been arsed to count them so far.

Slight thread hijack but can anyone beat that?

I think in the past there was quite a bit of truth in the saying " campag wears in, shimano wears out" but I think far less nowadays, if at all. Also how long do chains, cassettes etc last, well that really does depend on how well you look after them, lack of maintainance and winter roads can wear things very very quickly.

I just use the whole lot until it's absolutely ruined, then replace it all. Can't be doing with the 'replacing chains before the cassette' thing, a new chain on an old cassette never feels particularly great, even if you 'catch' it in time, plus if you use expensive chains that quickly gets rather costly! Particularly on the MTB, where they're at that point after about 2 months!

@ Clubber, it was worn. Noisy, and the chain checker confirmed it was more or less past it. The drive chain was also kept particually clean and oiled. Rather spend £20 that, over £100 on replacing a cassette/rings.

Oh, and I once got over 8000miles out of a Campagnolo chain, make of that what you will..now running a Shimano chain.. 😐