How many miles before changing chain and Cassette?

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MBosh

Well-Known Member
I did about 700 miles on a chain and found it needed replacing. The guy at Halfords told me that the cassette would need replacing on the 3rd chain change. So does this mean the cassette would need changing every 2100 miles? I'm also curious as to why my chain is wearing out at 700 miles on my Road Bike. I've read that some people are getting 9000 miles out of their chains?

Here is the spec of my Bike. Do you think 700 miles for a chain to wear is about right and should I change the cassette every 2100 miles?

Frame ALUXX -Grade Aluminum
Fork Advanced-Grade Composite, ALUXX OverDrive Steerer
Shock N/A
Handlebar Giant Connect
Stem Giant Sport, ±6 degree rise
Seatpost Giant Sport 30.9mm
Saddle Giant Performance Road
Shifters Shimano Claris 16 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano Claris
Rear Derailleur Shimano Claris
Brakes Tektro TK-R312 Giant Specific, Dual Pivot
Brake Levers Shimano Claris
Cassette SRAM PG 850 11-32
Chain KMC Z7
Crankset FSA Tempo, 34/50
Bottom Bracket Sealed Cartridge
Rims Giant S-R2
Hubs Giant Tracker Sport Road
Spokes Stainless Steel
Tyres Giant S-R4, Flat Guard, front and rear specific, 700x25mm
 

Spiderweb

Not So Special One
Location
North Yorkshire
Your chain requires cleaning and lubing, do this regularly and your chain will last much longer. 700 miles from a decent KMC chain is really poor.
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
I measure how much the chain has stretched with a chain wear tool, and chuck it when the wear is greater than 0.5%. After three chucked chains, I change the cassette. I'm not an aggressive rider and I tend to ride on tarmac. A chain lasts about 3-4 thousand miles for me. Other people will have different experiences but 700 miles seems wrong.
 
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MBosh

Well-Known Member
How often do you lube your chain? I clean and lube my chain once a month atm. Also, is 2100 miles about right before a cassette change?
I use the chain tool and it shows it was worn at 700 miles.
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
How often do you lube your chain? I clean and lube my chain once a month atm. Also, is 2100 miles about right before a cassette change?

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a slob as regards cleaning. I lube the chain when it looks manky! If you ride on tarmac, I would think that you should get a lot more than a couple of thousand miles out of a cassette.

Just my personal opinion.....
 

Spiderweb

Not So Special One
Location
North Yorkshire
How often do you lube your chain? I clean and lube my chain once a month atm. Also, is 2100 miles about right before a cassette change?
I use the chain tool and it shows it was worn at 700 miles.
Depends how much I’m riding but I probably Lube every 12-14 days but wipe the chain with a dry cloth in between the lubes at least once.
Your chain should be lasting much longer than 700 miles, one of my cassettes (SRAM) has clocked up in excess of 10,000 miles and the drivetrain is still running perfectly.
 
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Salty seadog

Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
:eek: I really am a slob!

Ha...... And...... Ha.
 

Spiderweb

Not So Special One
Location
North Yorkshire
@Spiderweb - How many miles do you think I should get out of a chain and cassette?
Really look after your chain and you should easily see 3-4000 miles and well in excess of 10,000 miles per cassette, don’t forget to clean your cassette too.
Dust and crud act like a grinding past which will wear your chain prematurely. Why not get into the habit of wiping and lubing weekly, be meticulous, make sure you blob a bit of lube on each roller, leave for 10 minutes or so, spin the crank a few times and wipe off the excess. It really takes no time at all.
 
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MBosh

Well-Known Member
Yes, I think I'll do that lube it once a week. I cant understand Halfords telling me to change my cassette at every 3rd chain though, or maybe they don't realise I only got 700 miles out of my chain. If the chain has worn at 700 miles like mine has does that affect the cassette too?
 
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I like Skol

A Minging Manc...
I'm not meticulous about chain maintenance but do make sure it is never dry. Commuting in all conditions and typically get about 1500 miles per chain and normally 2 chains per cassette. It always amazes me when people claim chain lives of many times this and makes me think the riders either have really low power output or an unrealistic chain hygiene program? Life is too short to spend prolonged periods of time cleaning a chain. I feel my wear rate strikes a happy medium between utter neglect and anal obsession.

However, not all chains are equal. I did have an OEM factory fitted chain that wore beyond the 0.75% mark within 400 miles! The next chain fitted to the same bike lasted the expected 1.5k
 

Spiderweb

Not So Special One
Location
North Yorkshire
Yes, I think I'll do that lube it once a week. I cant understand Halfords telling me to change my cassette at every 3rd chain though, or maybe they don't realise I only got 700 miles out of my chain. If the chain has worn at 700 miles like mine has does that affect the cassette too?
It is quite common practice to change the cassette every third chain, I don’t follow this, If the drivetrain is running smoothly then I’ll leave my cassette well alone.
 
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