Is this bad?

[keithmac]

We've refused to replace motorcycle tyres before as there was nothing wrong with the originals, he's a regular customer now.

Any decent shop will give you an honest answer. I treat all jobs as they were my own, best way imho.

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

Swapped out the first four gears. 11-14. Shinier than the originals. A little shifting problem that a rear derailleur adjustment should fix.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I hear the sound of the chain in the 12 gear. I think maybe the chain slips a little perhaps.

You need to ride that chain and cassette more. Far too shiny.
The chain is either slipping on one of the sprockets under powahh; or it isn't. No half way 'maybe' or 'think' or 'a little'.
Unlikely to happen first on the smaller sprockets, anyway.

 

[cyclintom]

The reason I ask is that I'm asking is that I'm debating on whether to buy a replacement or not. I'm wondering if it's damaging the chain.

I'm seeing a similar pattern in new cassettes. Perhaps it's not a problem. But I'm thinking of changing my range.

It appears in those photos as if several of the cogs have some pretty serious wear on them. And they are the one's most commonly used. This will probably have worn out the chain as well. I would suggest you replace them with new components and then there is this stuff called Rock n Roll Chain Lube. The night before every third ride you apply if to the chain in the manner described on the label (This stuff is something like 80% degreaser) in a continuous spray while turning the chain over. This will degrease the chain and lubricate it with some sort of Teflon. Then you leave it to dry overnight and so you have a clean lubed chain to ride the next day. I use a clean rag and turn the chain through the rag a couple of times. The lube is supposed to be inside the links and not outside. If the links turn easily it doesn't wear the cogs very rapidly so you get about 4 chains to one cogset.

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

It appears in those photos as if several of the cogs have some pretty serious wear on them. And they are the one's most commonly used. This will probably have worn out the chain as well. I would suggest you replace them with new components and then there is this stuff called Rock n Roll Chain Lube. The night before every third ride you apply if to the chain in the manner described on the label (This stuff is something like 80% degreaser) in a continuous spray while turning the chain over. This will degrease the chain and lubricate it with some sort of Teflon. Then you leave it to dry overnight and so you have a clean lubed chain to ride the next day. I use a clean rag and turn the chain through the rag a couple of times. The lube is supposed to be inside the links and not outside. If the links turn easily it doesn't wear the cogs very rapidly so you get about 4 chains to one cogset.

I like your suggestion about the lube. I have started using Smoove lube over a month ago. I'm thinking of double lubing with another lube as well. Smoove works similar to what described to protect the chain and cogs. As it picks up road debris it becomes a little sticky I noticed so washing every other comes into play. So I did use a oil lube over it and it seemed to work well.

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

You need to ride that chain and cassette more. Far too shiny.
The chain is either slipping on one of the sprockets under powahh; or it isn't. No half way 'maybe' or 'think' or 'a little'.
Unlikely to happen first on the smaller sprockets, anyway.

I appreciate your input. The picture was just after I had the cogs swapped out. The flash from the camera made everything much cleaner than what it actually was. I'm getting it looked at today.

 

[Ajax Bay]

It appears in those photos as if several of the cogs have some pretty serious wear on them. And they are the one's most commonly used. This will probably have worn out the chain as well. I would suggest you replace them with new components and then there is this stuff called Rock n Roll Chain Lube.

You cannot tell by visual inspection whether those sprockets have had 'end-of-life' wear, and certainly not from photos.
Which ones are "most commonly used" btw. Cassettes do not wear out chains (see other thread). If the OP's put sufficient miles on the chain it will have elongated to an extent where replacement is sensible (measure).
Are you an agent for this Rock n Roll stuff, Tom? At about £80 a litre!! Are there data which suggest that this lubrication is better at reducing wear than a normal chain oil? Or indeed the 'Smoove' stuff that the OP uses?

I hear the sound of the chain in the 12 gear.

What do you mean by 'sound' (?chain against FD cage) and to what sprocket do you refer by "12 gear"?
Ride the bike and find an easy hill. Test each sprocket in turn, with power. If it slips on one then test again. Once confirmed: new cassette and chain. Or neither. Measure chain. Oil (any oil - depending on conditions wet/dry) but definitely nothing that you spray on. Ride.

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

You cannot tell by visual inspection whether those sprockets have had 'end-of-life' wear, and certainly not from photos.
Which ones are "most commonly used" btw. Cassettes do not wear out chains (see other thread). If the OP's put sufficient miles on the chain it will have elongated to an extent where replacement is sensible (measure).
Are you an agent for this Rock n Roll stuff, Tom? At about £80 a litre!! Are there data which suggest that this lubrication is better at reducing wear than a normal chain oil? Or indeed the 'Smoove' stuff that the OP uses?
Ride the bike and find an easy hill. Test each sprocket in turn, with power. If it slips on one then test again. Once confirmed: new cassette and chain. Oil (any oil - depending on conditions wet/dry) but definitely nothing that you spray on. Ride.

Price is your argument? The can oil spray my local shop recommends is good stuff but still pricey if looked at per volume. I had been applying the oil based lube after almost every ride. Empirically Smoove does what it's advertised to do.

 

[cyclintom]

I appreciate your input. The picture was just after I had the cogs swapped out. The flash from the camera made everything much cleaner than what it actually was. I'm getting it looked at today.

The chain doesn't "slip". If the derailleur is misadjusted it can try to shift up or down and then move back into the correct gear. This often happens not just with the derailleur misadjusted but from a strike on the derailleur bending the frame mount a little. Right now I have one of these on my Di2 but I have another bike in the work stand at the minute so it will have to wait. I have no idea how the mount was bent, but it requires an alignment tool to reset it properly. Park Tool makes one that works very well. So of course I've lost mine. for that matter, I lost all of my extra fork spacers. Its probably your fault.

 

[Ajax Bay]

The chain doesn't "slip". If the derailleur is misadjusted it can try to shift up or down and then move back into the correct gear. This often happens not just with the derailleur misadjusted but from a strike on the derailleur bending the frame mount a little.

Chains do "slip" when the chain has elongated.
"If the derailleur is misadjusted it can try to shift up or down and then move back into the correct gear." NSS. Index the gears properly and this 'skipping' (ie from one sprocket to another) does not happen.
"This often happens not just with the derailleur misadjusted but from a strike on the derailleur bending the frame mount a little." A "strike" on the hanger (your 'frame mount') doesn't often happen except if the bike falls on it's right side (the derailleur) with any force. But rear mech alignment is, as always, important - and worth checking regularly (in fact I bent one back to vertical yesterday, and the indexing now works correctly).

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

Well I'm just having an experienced person take a look for me. As I said the first 4 cogs were swapped out and I'm finding that the chain is not consistently shifting in that area. I'm wondering if it's the alignment of the teeth or the derailleur needs indexing. Pretty mundane but annoying as I totally expect that result from that shop. Hence I'm following up with an experienced individual.

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

Well I got the bike back and applied Smoove lube to the bike. If you're not familiar with it, the lube goes in the chain and while it's still tacky the chain is used to transfer the lube across the cogs and chain rings. Supposed to help reduce wear and makes the drive components quiet. Dries clear and keeps things clean.

When I was applying it last I finally realized that the chain needs to run over each cog many times to ensure smooth operation.

So riding today was very nice.