Bike knackered??......Loose chain
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MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
Measure chain like this to see how worn it is. There's a good chance you'll need to replace your cassette and chain, and maybe your chainrings as well.
Which LBS did you talk to and did they really tell you to get a new bike? 2-3k (miles or kilometers?) might well wear things enough to require replacement parts but unless the bike is really rubbish to begin with there's no need to replace it. What is the bike?
Matthew
Which LBS did you talk to and did they really tell you to get a new bike? 2-3k (miles or kilometers?) might well wear things enough to require replacement parts but unless the bike is really rubbish to begin with there's no need to replace it. What is the bike?
Matthew
simon_brooke
New Member
- Location
- Auchencairn
geopat said:
The LBS are talking mince if they say you need a new bike. However, depending on how you've maintained your chain, you may well need a new chain, cassette and possibly even chainrings.
As a chain wears out, it also wears the cassette and the chainrings. Typically the cassette wears faster, because fewer teeth are engaged at a time and therefore there is a higher load on them. If you put a new chain on a worn cassette (and/or worn chainrings), it will rapidly damage the new chain. So if a chain has worn past a certain point and caused wear to the cassette, it's often necessary to replace the lot (and that starts to get expensive).
Chains last a lot longer if kept really clean and very lightly lubricated. What causes chains to wear is particles of rock dust getting into the bearing surfaces. Excess lubrication causes dust to adhere to the outside of the chain, from where it works its way in. Oh, and, WD40 is not a lubricant. It's good for cleaning chains, but not for lubricating them.
It's possible that the whole transmission of your bike is worn and does need replacing. If you take better care of your new transmission, it should last a lot longer. Replace your chain before it is worn out (chain gauges which measure the amount of wear on a chain are cheap), and that way your cassette and chainrings should last at least three chain lifetimes. How long is a chain lifetime? Longer if it's kept cleaner, check with your gauge. And better quality chains last longer, too.
If your bike was very cheap then replacing the transmission may cost more than the bike is worth. But with reasonable maintenance a good bike should last a very long time - at least a hundred thousand miles. I've done about quarter of a million miles of cycling; in that time I've had nine bikes. I've had three stolen, given three away, and have three I'm riding now, so that's an average of more than 25,000 miles per bike - and I haven't worn any of them out. At least two of the ones I've given away are still in use.
You can replace your chain, cassette, and (if needed) chainrings yourself; you'll need a chain tool, a chain whip, a cassette tool and a crank puller, so it won't be a lot cheaper the first time than getting the shop to do it. But after that you'll have the tools (and the knowledge of how to use them) so the next time it will be cheaper (although hopefully next time you'll replace the chain before it gets too worn).
OLDSHUNTER
Well-Known Member
- Location
- glesga
Bike shop want's your money.I can sell you ah.....................or i can do you ah............... and you will be needing ah..........................or you could even have an ah......... unless your bike is really past it then from us all it's a big AWE.............With anything your not sure of then research and second opinion's come in useful.Dont no what type of bike shop you where at, as some are so pricey that you need a f...ing mortgage to get thing's .Try teaming up with an experienced member of forum from your area i'm sure there will be a few who could meet you with bike and give advice/opinion on what is needed .YOU DON'T ASK YOU DON'T GET ..........................................
P.S THEN AGAIN SOME OF US DO AND WE STILL DON'T GET
Mr Pig
New Member
- Location
- North Lanarkshire
Mr Pig
New Member
- Location
- North Lanarkshire
Listen mate, I live about thirty minutes away. If you can be bothered sticking the bike in the car and bringing it down I'll tell you what it needs and look up prices for you so that you'll know exactly what it'll cost. Binning a three-year-old bike because the transmission is worn is ridiculous. And I'm happy to fit the bits for you too, no problem.
Of course if you want to buy a new bike that's fair enough, that's your choice. £50 for a new transmission, £400 for a new bike, mmmm tough one....
Of course if you want to buy a new bike that's fair enough, that's your choice. £50 for a new transmission, £400 for a new bike, mmmm tough one....
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
Mr Pig is right.
Even if you don't do the work yourself it won't be all that expensive. The Bicycle Works on Argyle Pl or Bicycle Repairman in Newington won't charge very much for labour.
Matthew
Even if you don't do the work yourself it won't be all that expensive. The Bicycle Works on Argyle Pl or Bicycle Repairman in Newington won't charge very much for labour.
Matthew
lazyfatgit
Guest
- Location
- Lawrence, NSW
Touche said:
Sorry, but i think the OP too vague to start jumping up and down about advice from LBS.
Certainly if the only issues are basic transmision ones then it's a fairly easy fix, and the advice was shite.
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