Chain Replacement on MTB

[slabs]

I have just gone through an expensive exercise in replacing my chain, rear cassette and two of the front chain rings. When doing so I heard it is a good idea to replace your chain every 1500 km, becuase then the cassette and rings will last longer. Cost then R300 to R400 in stead of over R2K!

 

Anyone with comments or similar experience?

slabs2009-05-22 00:01:24

[GTRacing]

been there, done that....

[Mr Mulebar]

Distance is not the best way to gauge chain wear.If you really want to run a couple of chains on a cassette before changing cassette as well buy a PARKTOOL Chain Checker and replace chain accordingly.

 

 

 

Best way to do it!

[singletrack]

Chainwear/drivetrain wear is not only related to the distance covered but it plays a biggish role.
The conditions you ride in (mud/dust) and how you ride, do you ride like Jan Ulrich using heavy gear (low cadance) when climbing or LanceA using a higher cadence and how often you clean your chain, all of these factors in with the lifespan of the chain. Oh yes, and the chain lube you use as well. Do you use a wax-based lube(that will shed the grit off the chain but have a shorter lifespan) or a wet lube (holds the grit-and-grime on the chain causing a nice paste for grinding the chain). My chain only lasted 800km in the wet weather conditions.

What I recommend is the following...
1. get a BBB/Parktool chain checker and check your chains regularly.
2. Start using 2 chains on a rotational basis, swop the chains every month. this will help in prolonging the wear on the drivetrain and chains as the 2 chains will wear relatively equally and you will not experience the chain slipping when peddling.

The cost of one chain is better than replacing the complete drivetrain

 

Just a thought

[Sacrosanct]

What I recommend is the following...
1. get a BBB/Parktool chain checker and check your chains regularly.
2. Start using 2 chains on a rotational basis' date=' swop the chains every month. this will help in prolonging the wear on the drivetrain and chains as the 2 chains will wear relatively equally and you will not experience the chain slipping when peddling.

The cost of one chain is better than replacing the complete drivetrain

 

[/quote']

 

I second this! You can even swop chains every week!

[Gravity]

That is a good idea......Thanks for that tip.

SingleTrack should submit that to bicycling mag.

I have a bad habit of leaving the chain on too long.

had to replace rear cluster & chain on my road bike a year ago - coz of that.

Did i learn .......... NO.

 

Mtb is in the shop now having the same thing done..........I hope i learn this time.

 

I will get a second chain when i pick the bike up - thanks again. 

[sss000sss]

What is the best way to fix/connect the chain after swopping it?

 

Use one of the SRAM connectors or just break it on any pin and fix the pin in again?

 

[AndreZA]

Quicklink. Not even debatable.

 

 

 

 

[singletrack]

quicklink/speedlinks without a doubt.

If you continuously brake the chain to get it off it is going to weaken the chain and it will break sooner rather than later. The chain is only as strong as it's weakest link! Just make sure you get the correct ones (8 or 9 speed)

I like the SRAM ones (but this is where personal preference comes in)

If you dont like haging dirty/greasy/oily hands while working with chains then one thing that I can also recommend , if you can get your hands on a broken spoke /strong piece of wire bend it  to create a shape like

 

          *                 *

       *                       *

         *                   *

           *               *

              *         *

                *    *

                   *

Here you can hook the chain on both sides and have both hands free to do whatever you need to ie; reconnect the speedlink or even breaking the chain. Works like a charm and if you are a weight weenie, there is basically no weight to speak of as it is a short piece of wire and can fit into the saddlebag/camelback and take up no space.

[NotSoBigBen]

And people ask me why I have so many bikes ......... I don't have to swop those dirtypesky chains around. Just 'rotate' the whole bike!

[AndreZA]

Singletrack, you do not break a chain where it has been fixed, you remove another link. If you do it correctly then your new pins should be just as strong as the factory ones but your chain would cost 10 times that of a new one. A quicklink is the best/cheaper option.

[splat]

I made my chain holder out of a wire coat hanger. So simple and so useful. One in my tool box and the other in my Camelbak.

[CaptainDura]

I have 2 chains for my mtb. 

 

I change the chains after every ride.

 

That also means that i have to wash/clean the chain and relube after every ride.

 

This is a bit of a pain, but the little effort goes a long way to ensure that your casettes and chainrings last a very long time indeed.

 

As an example i have been riding the same 2 chains for the last 8 months since october 2008.  

 

This included all my training for the epic on the mtb, and all the races in preparation. The casettes, chainrings and 2 chains are still 100 persent. I checked them just before the epic and they were not elongated at all. not even in the slightest.

 

So this goes to show that if you use a bit of elbowgrease to clean and change the chains after every ride, you will save yourself a lot of money over time.

 

Oh and yes, i do use squirt on my chains only.

 

 

[Red Zone]

I dont see the advantage in rotating your chain, why not use one chain until it is time to replace and then get a new one. Foe Fighter2009-05-22 02:47:29

[CaptainDura]

I dont see the advantage in rotating your chain' date=' why not use one chain until it is time to replace and then get a new one. [/quote']

 

if you ride a lot of consequtive days, two chains save you a lot of time.

 

for instance, you ride a multistage 2 day event.

 

you finish day one, are tired and dont wanna wash your bike. just slap on your second clean lubricated chain and you are ready to roll.

 

all you really need is a clean drivetrain/chain to ride. nothing else really have to be clean.

 

This happens a lot over normal weekends as well if you dont wanna wash your bike after saterdays mud and want to ride sunday as well. just slap on the clean chain and go ride.

 

sunday you can then wash the bike and clean and lube both chains again and be ready for another weekend.

 

this WILL save your casette, chain and chainrings from alot of premature wear .

 

you could also just clean and lube your single chain the whole time, but who wants to do that ?

 

lastly, you need to take the chain off and properly clean it, otherwise the gunk and grinding paste will kill it on the inside where it matters.

 

use the method described by JohanBornman. use prepsol and a bucket/bottle to clean it porperly.

 

believe me, your wallet will thank you.

 

[singletrack]

Singletrack' date=' you do not break a chain where it has been fixed, you remove another link. If you do it correctly then your new pins should be just as strong as the factory ones but your chain would cost 10 times that of a new one. A quicklink is the best/cheaper option.[/quote']

 

Mampara:

From the get-go I use a quicklink.

Comes from LBS, Cleans the Chain, Put on MTB and connect with quicklink. It makes things so much easier.

In 6 years I have only broken 3 chains, which I fixed with a quicklink and off I went. Never gave me any hassles. 

The funny thing is, I always broke the chains at the point they were connected/previously broken when not using a quicklink. The reason I know this is I used to put a little black metal paint on the side of the link to indicate the links used to reconnect the chain. I have those pins that comes with the chain as well, but them I dont like using that much for obvious reasons.