What's the sweet spot for 11s cassettes and chains?

[NHAero]

If I understand this test correctly, these chains are being run without lubrication. How is that representative of real life? Or am I misunderstanding this testing?

Originally Posted by steelbikerider

comparison of chain life test
https://www.velonews.com/gear/we-wen...what-we-found/

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Smitty2k1

I've got a Shimano 105 R7000 groupset on my Black Mountain Road+. It currently has an 11-30t cassette in the rear but I'm finding myself in the 30t cog for climbing pretty regularly. I think I'd like to move up to an 11-32t cassette on my next chain swap, which should be happening soon.

What do you find to be the sweet spot for cassettes and chains in terms of series/level/cost? Should I just stick with a 105 R7000? Any reason to splurge on an Ultegra or look at SRAM offerings? Any pros or cons to mixing and matching?

Least expensive compatible cogset and chain..They will all work the same and last the same..NO need for big(ger) $ cogsets and chains...

Hard to beat 105 level cogsets and KMC or 105 level chains.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by djg21

Chains and cassettes are consumables. Buy relatively inexpensive ones and then change the chain at regular intervals (1,500 miles or so) so you don’t wear the cassette and chainrings prematurely.

Do you suggest replacement at 1500 miles because you're finding unacceptable elongation and wear at that point?

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by flying

My goodness looking at how soon folks need chains is much different than my experience.

On current Campy Record Chain I have 10,919 miles
No problems no noise, shifts fine & is below Campy's 132.60mm stretch limit

The side plates don't actually 'stretch', the rollers wear out which means on a new chain, not as many cogs are engaged=skip. I'd bet a 'new ' chain would skip but not with an old chain and old cogset

[Dave]

Originally Posted by NHAero

If I understand this test correctly, these chains are being run without lubrication. How is that representative of real life? Or am I misunderstanding this testing?

It clearly states that oil, water and sand are applied to the chains. That's my problem with the test. Unless unusually harsh conditions are created, each chain would have to be run 2-3 times longer, so it's not real life conditions.

I've deliberately run a Campy 10 chain for 6,000 miles or about 350 hours, with lots of climbing and had very little elongation, but by that point the rollers had huge amounts of wear and the side clearance was twice that of a new chain. A new chain skipped on the cassette after that. I found that a chain with only a few hundred miles of use would not skip on the cassette.

Using a chain for 10,000 miles would be ridiculous.

[bicycletricycle]

I buy ultegra cassettes if I can get them cheap but the 105 ones work about the same. I think this is more out of habit than anything else. I like to have a quick link for the chain so I usually buy a cheap SRAM chain.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by palincss

Do you suggest replacement at 1500 miles because you're finding unacceptable elongation and wear at that point?

No. I change chains before they elongate so they don’t wear out the cassette. It’s early, but I don’t use expensive chains and my cassettes, which are relatively expensive, last longer. As I said, it also makes swapping wheels much less problematic.

[Mike Bryant]

I tried a few SRAM cassettes for awhile. They shifted well and worked fine with my Shimano groups, but I didn’t like the 19-22 tooth jump. Shimano typically has 19-21 which works better for me.
KMC chains are good too. Especially the EcoProTeq if you occasionally get caught out in the rain.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AngryScientist]

i am in the djg21 camp. i use cheap KMC chains and change them often. i'd rather change a 20 something dollar chain a few times a year rather than even worry about chainrings or cassettes. my bikes dont stay clean for very long either.

[josephr]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

to answer the original question - i have a bunch of both due to happenstance, i have never noticed one lick of difference operationally between a 105 and ultegra cassette.

i use KMC chains.

+1 --- and ride the crap out of them until worn out, then replace both. Gotten 4-5k miles out of one set.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by josephr

+1 --- and ride the crap out of them until worn out, then replace both. Gotten 4-5k miles out of one set.

That’s great if you use only one set of wheels and never use a different cassette, but you are more likely to have to replace the cassette and chain together, and you also will prematurely wear your chainrings, which can be expensive if you ride a higher-end groupset. Decent chains cost about $25. I like to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish.

[slambers3]

I typically replace around 1500mi but I’m on the bigger side (~80-85kg) and ride pretty hard. Usually they start to feel kinda sloppy when shifting and I know it’s time. $30 on a chain every other month isn’t that big of a deal to me.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by djg21

That’s great if you use only one set of wheels and never use a different cassette, but you are more likely to have to replace the cassette and chain together, and you also will prematurely wear your chainrings, which can be expensive if you ride a higher-end groupset. Decent chains cost about $25. I like to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish.

Is using the chain to the wear specification being pound foolish? Are you saying the specification here on the Park Tool web site for when to replace allows for too much wear before replacement, thereby damaging the rest of the drive train?

[djg21]

Originally Posted by palincss

Is using the chain to the wear specification being pound foolish? Are you saying the specification here on the Park Tool web site for when to replace allows for too much wear before replacement, thereby damaging the rest of the drive train?

If it works for you that’s great. I’ve had different results with various chain wear tools.

[josephr]

Originally Posted by djg21

That’s great if you use only one set of wheels and never use a different cassette, but you are more likely to have to replace the cassette and chain together, and you also will prematurely wear your chainrings, which can be expensive if you ride a higher-end groupset. Decent chains cost about $25. I like to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish.

chain-rings are wear items too....last time I had to change chain-rings, it was about 10-12k miles...and 105 chain-rings run just fine that long...just taking a stab at the math, cassette is $50, chain is $25, and chainrings are another $125 for a total of $350 for 12k miles? Maybe extend your chain-ring life for another 5k miles by switching out a chain sooner, but its not like we're talking mortgage payment sized money here. Just ride.