Worn sprockets

[taximan]

I have just had to change the freewheel & sprockets on my bike.The thing is I have only done about 600 miles with it from new. Is this normal wear? I have recently returned to cycling after an absense of 30 years or more and I seem to remember the freewheels going on for ever. I live in a very hilly area so I need to do a lot of climbing. Most of my cycling is on roads with perhaps 15% on an abandoned railway, (Whitby to Scarborough line) and perhaps another 10% or so off road, on bridleways etc. Any thoughts would be welcome.

 

[Noodley]

This topic has been moved to Know How by the admin team.

 

[Red Light]

Bit more info needed. Was it a new chain when it was new? What was it that made you decide it was worn and needed changing? Is the soil around you particularly abrasive - gritstone or similar.

A new cassette with an old worn chain for example will quickly wear to the same state as the old cassette the chain was on. I notice you said you've changed the cassette but not the chain this time.

 

[taximan]

Bit more info needed. Was it a new chain when it was new? What was it that made you decide it was worn and needed changing? Is the soil around you particularly abrasive - gritstone or similar.

A new cassette with an old worn chain for example will quickly wear to the same state as the old cassette the chain was on. I notice you said you've changed the cassette but not the chain this time.

It was a new bike in January! Having said that the origional chain broke about a month ago when I was climbing a not very steep hill. I replaced this with a new one of better quality.

As for the soil in the area, I don't think its any worse than anywhere else but the old Railway line to scarborough is known localy as the cinder track. whenever I use this route I clean off all the muck and relubricate before I use the bike again.

 

[Moodyman]

No. Your cassette should not ear out in 600 miles unless all these miles were in the sand on Scarborough beach.

 

[dellzeqq]

No. Your cassette should not ear out in 600 miles unless all these miles were in the sand on Scarborough beach.

quite so.

You mention freewheel and sprockets. What was wrong with the freewheel? What type of freewheel and sprockets are we talking about?

 

[Red Light]

It was a new bike in January! Having said that the origional chain broke about a month ago when I was climbing a not very steep hill. I replaced this with a new one of better quality.

As for the soil in the area, I don't think its any worse than anywhere else but the old Railway line to scarborough is known localy as the cinder track. whenever I use this route I clean off all the muck and relubricate before I use the bike again.

You still don't say what made you think it was worn and needed replacing. If you replaced the chain a month ago and it didn't slip when you pedalled then it tends to indicate the cassette was not that worn.

 

[Red Light]

No. Your cassette should not ear out in 600 miles unless all these miles were in the sand on Scarborough beach.

Or on Yorkshire gritstone. I've known people go through two sets of rim brake blocks or one set of disk brake pads in a single off-road ride on Yorkshire gritstone.

 

[taximan]

You still don't say what made you think it was worn and needed replacing. If you replaced the chain a month ago and it didn't slip when you pedalled then it tends to indicate the cassette was not that worn.

Sorry about the delay in replying.

The sprocket did not look too bad to me but a friend said he thought it looked worn, & when I took it to the LBS the mechanic picked up on it straight away (without any prompting from me or my friend).

What actualy prompted me to replace the freewheel was not the wear, imagined or otherwise on the teeth, it was the fact that the freewheel was not functioning as it should. If I stopped peddaling it continued to turn with the wheel. I have had a problem with a knocking sound from the back end for some time, (see post "help i've got a clunker") It seems replacing the freewheel has cured this

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

All should have been done under warranty. Even the chain that snapped.
The only thing that perhaps you could have had to pay for was the second chain AFTER 600 miles, ie, not when it snapped after a month.