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When to replace a casette and what to buy?


CJVDM

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Just replace my chain (SLX) after 2500 km's and found this evening that the chain is slipping on my 2 favourite gears on the cassette. 

 

CWC warned me that this could happen in which case i should replace my cassette as well.

 

Question:

1.  Should a chain not last longer than 2500 km's?

2.  I have the SLX cassette, should i replace

- a - with SLX cassette for R580

- b - with XT cassette for R650 (is this better quality worth the R70 difference)?

- c - with XTR cassette for R1450 (only reason i would perhaps choose this option is that it seems that SLX / XT cassette is one unit only while XTR can be split up and suppose i can replace each individual gear seperately if it wears out) is this correct???

 

Comments?

 

 

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New chains take a while to settle.

 

MTB chains wear rather quickly. 2.5Mega meters sound like a good run to me.

 

2 -c- ummm, no I doubt that's the reason XTR can be split... As far as I have it, the cost difference is because of materials used (nickel plated etc) and machining done (cutting and drilling to lighten the cassette) and of coarse; bragging rights.

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to me xt is is the best weight/price/durability compromise - ie. sram pg990 is slightly heavier and more expensive, though you get some red bling and xtr is about 24g lighter but more than x2 the price, eish !

 

With xt the biggest 4 (16-11t) rings are loose and the rest on an alu spider, so I guess these can be seperately replaced.  Dunno if the slx can do this. 

 

XTR has got 3 alu carriers with 2 sprockets each and the last biggest ones are loose Ti sprockets(as I understand it), so maybe you can get these seperately to replace your most used ones instead of the whole cassette, but it might be as expensive or even more than just buying a whole slx one each time, maybe look on crc 
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Chain life depends on how you maintain your chain. It can last 500km or it can last 10000km if you take really good care of it.

 

Don't know the difference between SLX and XT casettes, but the xt casette has about 4/5 fixed "gears", and the other 4/5 gears are removable. Don't think people change out individual gears though. You do that with your chainrings.

 

If you have slx groupset, then xtr would be overkill.  You can also look at SRAM casettes.

 

Oh yeah, make sure that your gears are tuned. Is the new chain the same length as the old one?

 

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Chain life depends on how you maintain your chain. It can last 500km or it can last 10000km if you take really good care of it.

 

Don't know the difference between SLX and XT casettes' date=' but the xt casette has about 4/5 fixed "gears", and the other 4/5 gears are removable. Don't think people change out individual gears though. You do that with your chainrings.

 

If you have slx groupset, then xtr would be overkill.  You can also look at SRAM casettes.

 

Oh yeah, make sure that your gears are tuned. Is the new chain the same length as the old one?

 

[/quote']

 

Dunno abt the chain lenght, i just ride the bike, the LBS does the rest Wink but im sure they would have kept that in mind + they specifically warned me that the slipping could take place as my chain was pretty worn and propably damaged the cassette a bit.

 

Its only my 3rd and 4th gear from the top that slips (my climbing gears), so would be cool to replace them seperately next time.

 

 

 

 

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Can you buy separate cassette sprockets? Never seen them.

 

My LBS also frowned when i asked them today.  But then why market the cassette with 4/5 fixed gears bla bla

 

I think it would make  a lot of sense to buy the gears seperately, theres abt 2 gears i use a LOT and +- 2 i never even touch.  In the long run one could save money this way, but propably not what the manufacturer wants...

 

If i had changed my chain earlier, would that have spared my cassette?  Eg idially how many chains should a cassete take in its lifetime if properly cared and duly replaced?

 

 

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Im unsure how many chains you can run per cassette but yes, chainging the chain often saves the cassette from wearing as well, and that wearing leads to slipping with the new chain.

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I'm on my second chain on my current cassette (PG980) and it's still looking good. Your cassette will deteriorate under both new and old chains but faster under the old/worn chain. As primative as it may be, I just use the Park Tool chain length tool and change when it is just going to 0.75 wear.

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Chain life depends on how you maintain your chain. It can last 500km or it can last 10000km if you take really good care of it.Don't know the difference between SLX and XT casettes' date=' but the xt casette has about 4/5 fixed "gears", and the other 4/5 gears are removable. Don't think people change out individual gears though. You do that with your chainrings.If you have slx groupset, then xtr would be overkill.? You can also look at SRAM casettes.Oh yeah, make sure that your gears are tuned. Is the new chain the same length as the old one?

 

[/quote']Dunno abt the chain lenght, i just ride the bike, the LBS does the rest Wink but im sure they would have kept that in mind + they specifically warned me that the slipping could take place as my chain was pretty worn and propably damaged the cassette a bit.Its only my 3rd and 4th gear from the top that slips (my climbing gears), so would be cool to replace them seperately next time.

 

 

 

You say slipping, do you mean slipping as in shifting where you have problems with 3/4th gear - chain jumps back to 2nd, or you hear it get picked up and dropped again into those gears?

 

 

 

If shifting, I would also look at the rear hanger and have it checked that is not bent!

 

 

 

Also as a quick and dirty trick to see if your teeth are worn, shift into the gear then place a piece of white paper/cardboard behind the gear/chain. You should not be able to a gap between the chain and gear/cassette metal where the chain lies against the cassette.

 

 

 

I find the white paper works best - some people shine a torch behind the chain/cassette but that only works on granny gear.

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