New chain

[Killiekevin]

Got a new chain on my road bike the other day as the old one was showing as being stretched as per my chain wear tool.

Been out on the bike today for the first time and it seems the chain is slipping/skipping on the smaller cogs on the rear cassette (8speed) but is fine on the larger ones. This seems to be the same whether on the big ring or small ring at the front.

I said to the guy in the shop at the time about whether he thought the cassette needing replacing too and he was adamant it didn't.

Is this normal until the chain beds in or does this indicate the cassette should have been replaced too?

 

[Drago]

Is the chain the correct length?

 

[PatrickPending]

as above check its the same length as the old one, could be a worn cassette too...depends on how bad your last chain got...

 

[gbb]

How old is the bike or more importantly how many chains has the current cassette had on it, were any previous chains allowed to wear beyond a reasonable amount ?
In other words, how long is a piece of string .

 

[Tim Hall]

A fiver says it's the cassette needs replacing. How much wear did your chain wear tool show?

 

[Racing roadkill]

You get a 'handshake' between a cassette and chain. If you put a new chain on an old cassette, the 'handshake' is slightly off. It will mesh after a few miles of riding, the best way to prevent or at least reduce this type of chain skipping, is to replace the cassette and chain together. Check that the new chain isn't longer than the one you took off (unless you are planning on going for a much bigger sprocket at the low gear end of the cassette). The shop man was probably right, the old cassette and new chain should mesh / handshake after a few miles. If the cassette is worn too badly, it will be fairly obvious to a trained observer.

 

[alicat]

The guy in the shop was erring on the side of trying to save you money.

The last time I changed a chain the gears skipped in the most used gear. Changing the cassette fixed the problem pronto.

 

[lpretro1]

A fiver says it's the cassette needs replacing. How much wear did your chain wear tool show?

I'd say a £10 Tim!!

 

[ColinJ]

I'd say a £10 Tim!!

I'll put £20 on it!

I've made that mistake twice, once just before a local audax event. I only got 400 metres down the road before the slipping started so I had to dash home and swap bikes.

Which reminds me - I must check the chain on my Cannondale. I know that it isn't that worn but I may replace it soon to protect the rest of the transmission. I will keep it to put on my singlespeed bike at a later date.

 

[Killiekevin]

Thanks for the advice guys. Will take it in and get a new cassette.

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks for the advice guys. Will take it in and get a new cassette.

If you change chains before they are too worn then you can get a lot more life out of the cassette and chainrings. You might get 3 or 4 changes of chain before you need to do the cassette and possibly more for the rings.

For those using cheapish Shimano cassettes, it may not be such a big deal. I use chains costing £10-12 but my Campagnolo cassettes can cost £30-40 so it makes good sense to change the chains sooner rather than later.

I keep my semi-worn chains, rings and cassettes for my knockabout bike and wear them out on that.

 

[Drago]

You're like my mates dad. When he drains the oil out of his car each year, it then gets a second lease of life in his vans engine for another year.

 

[Killiekevin]

£10, new cassette, problem solved. Cheers everyone

 

[Yellow Saddle]

You get a 'handshake' between a cassette and chain. If you put a new chain on an old cassette, the 'handshake' is slightly off. It will mesh after a few miles of riding, the best way to prevent or at least reduce this type of chain skipping, is to replace the cassette and chain together. Check that the new chain isn't longer than the one you took off (unless you are planning on going for a much bigger sprocket at the low gear end of the cassette). The shop man was probably right, the old cassette and new chain should mesh / handshake after a few miles. If the cassette is worn too badly, it will be fairly obvious to a trained observer.

You just made that one up, didn't you?

How do you propose that a used cassette repairs its pitch once it has been eroded away by wear?
As a skilled observer, please tell us how you will notice that a cassette is worn "too badly"?
How do you propose a new chain changes its pitch to mesh with an out-of-pitch sprocket within a few miles?

 

[ColinJ]

You just made that one up, didn't you?

How do you propose that a used cassette repairs it's pitch once it has been eroded away by wear?
As a skilled observer, please tell us how you will notice that a cassette is worn "too badly"?
How do you propose a new chain changes its pitch to mesh with an out-of-pitch sprocket within a few miles?

It entertains you with its constant slipping until it has magically transformed itself into a worn chain like the one it replaced?