Chains and chain swapping

[ourclarioncall]

What’s the whole deal with swapping chains ? And some people keep the chain and put it in again after a certain amount of time? I really don’t understand this

Help please !

So far I like the sound of chain and chainglider with good metal mudguard and long flaps with helicopter tape over some or all of the frame . Prevention better than the cure

I hear it’s good to just put the chain on with its oil that it came with and not add anything , just run it as it comes inside the chainglider

What will be the next steps ? What is going to wear out and in what order ? Cogs? Chains ? Bearings ? Tyres ? Brake pads ?  I would like to have some sort of pre- arranged maintenance method /plan long in advance

[martinf]

What’s the whole deal with swapping chains ? And some people keep the chain and put it in again after a certain amount of time?

The idea is to replace a chain before it starts wearing the sprocket and chainring. Chains are generally relatively cheap compared to chainrings, so this usually makes financial sense. Sprockets can range from dirt cheap (Sturmey and Shimano hub gear sprockets), through moderately expensive (Rohloff) to very expensive (high end 11 speed derailleur cassettes).

It can make sense to run several chains in alternance on a single set of sprockets/chainrings. For example:

start with Chain 1, take this off after 300 - 800 kms, clean sprockets/chainrings and fit Chain 2.
after another 300 - 800 kms, remove Chain 2, clean sprockets/chainrings and fit Chain 3.
clean and relubricate Chains 1 and 2. Doing this properly is relatively time consuming.
after another 300 - 800 kms, remove Chain 3, clean sprockets/chainrings and fit Chain 2.

I find this useful for derailleur bikes (only 1 left now) and Bromptons, where I can't fit Chaingliders.

Another approach (that I haven't tried) would be to use chains, chainrings and sprockets that are supposed to last much longer than standard components. KMC make chain, chainring and sprocket sets that are supposed to last 10,000 kms, but, as for the Chainglider, only a few combinations are possible. These are probably not compatible with a Chainglider, but if the durability claims are true that might not matter.

https://www.kmcchain.eu/10000km

[PH]

In my opinion it's a lot less critical on a hub gear bike than a derailleur one, the latter suffers more wear and the quality of the shifting deteriorates with it.
I agree with the opinions expressed in the "Living with a Rohloff" PDF (pg 37, I've just re-read it) That is - Quality chain, minimal maintenance (just wipe and oil), wear all the drive out, replace or flip as needed.  I dislike maintenance, so follow a service routine, I may replace the chain and change/flip the sprocket and chainring before needed, if it looks like they might not last till the next service.  I know, I know, how wasteful... even so I don't think I've ever had a decent chain last less than 10,000 miles and it's sometimes considerably more than that.   I have in the past changed chain, flipped sprocket and got away without doing anything on the chainring, now I don't even bother trying that.  I have also tried cheaper chains, but what you save on them you end up spending on the rest, I have also tried really cheap chains (Three for a tenner) with the intention of chucking them frequently, but you only need to get that wrong once to ruin the rest.
The best quality KMC chain plus the half-life of sprocket and chainring costs £47.
£47 every 10,000+ miles.  That's the figure you're trying to economise on.  I'm not criticising what anyone does to reduce that, I'm not recommending what you should do, I am suggesting that you put it in perspective and decide for yourself if the effort is worth the return.

On the subject of wear, there is this theory from Sheldon Brown that it can be considerably extended, I've known about it for a decade and have yet to try it out...
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chain-life.html

[steve216c]

I’ve got bikes with plastic and others with metal. Both can be long-lived. I recently replaced my son’s guards from metal to plastic. The metal is robust but rattles eventually and can break from metal fatigue or rust. But his guard life was extended with some clever use of baked bean tins...
Plastic are generally lighter. No rust to worry about but they can also break. Quieter than metal IMHO.
As guards are relatively cheap, as long as they are good fitting to frame/wheels I’d probably go for plastic personally.

I only have rim brakes on all my bikes. I bought my Rohloff 2nd hand and would have preferred disc brakes although these are not without their own foibles with cons as well as pros.

My Magura HS11 hydraulic brakes are brilliant though. They brake more evenly than V or cantilever brakes and the pads seem to wear down slower in my experience. On V brakes I felt I was changing pads approx every 2000km. On the Magura pads I am getting 3000+ per pair. I’m using generic fit pads from AliExpress too which surprises me with longevity and price.

I believe the Chainglider will extend your chain life by keeping dirt from chain and preventing water contact. I’m using Connex 808 chain which last me around 6000km on derailleur and have already exceeded this on my Rohloff. Chainglider was added after over 5000km without. So far chain and sprocket are meshing smoothly and I hope to reach 10,000+. You could change chain regularly, but given the cost of rear sprocket and chain being relatively modest vs lost time effort swapping chains every month, I’ll lose on wear saved by chain swapping but win on time lost chain swapping regularly.

As for tyres, it is a false economy to buy cheap tyres. Decent tyres with puncture protection (eg Schwalbe marathon) wear better, roll better and last longer and in the end will save you money  on repairs or early replacement of cheapo tyres. I just fitted winter spike tyres to my bike and on removing the marathon tyres found I’d been riding with a fairly large shard of glass lodged into the tread that had not broken the puncture protective layer. A lesser tyre would have probably seen me pushing my bike home or paying for a taxi.

Bearings can last longer than the other components. But given that not all shimano favourites are in stock all the time, getting a spare Bottom Bracket to keep as home stock is not a bad idea. But if your BB does start to creak, it can usually still be risen for a few hundred km more if you don’t mind the bearing creaks.

[Andre Jute]

My Magura HS11 hydraulic brakes are brilliant though.

+1

[UKTony]

I tend to agree with PH on this. On my Mk3** Nomad bought new I’ve got through two KMC x1 chains and one rear 17T double sided sprocket over 10500 miles in 6 years. That’s less than £100 in total or less than 1 penny per mile. Even adding cost of sundries and tyres etcthat’s cheap entertainment. All the old metal has gone to recycling.

The square taper Shimano BB is still going strong. It’ll tell me when it’s had enough. I’m told that external BBs don’t always give a warning when [before] they fail.

** should read ‘ Mk2’

[steve216c]

The OP didn't mention which bearings- but pedal bearings are the quickest wearing for me. But even these can be maintained by hobby mechanic with replacement bearings and grease a fairly easy job. With relative cheap price of pedals many would rather purchase new than repair.