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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Aberystwyth, Wales
    Posts
    659

    Frequency of replacing parts

    My bike is in need of a little tlc, but I'm wondering why I need to replace lots of parts already. Shouldn't things last longer than this? What needs replacing according to the lbs is this:
    Wheels (bearings are worn out)
    Small cog in front (I've got a compact double)
    Cassette and rear derailleur
    Chain

    I'm trying to remember how old all these parts are. The wheels and small front cog are original to the bike which I bought new 3 years ago. The cassette and rear derailleur was new 2 years ago when I decided to get some easier climbing gears. The chain (and large front cog) was switched out a little more recently, maybe 1.5 years ago. It seems a bit excessive to me that it should all be worn out already, or should I be expecting it to? Replacing all these parts will cost me nearly as much as the bike cost in the first place!

    I do ride in all weather, rain snow and even sunshine occasionally, and I have had to ride through flowing rivers a handful of times when the cycle path flooded. I also regularly ride down dirt trails, although most of my riding is on the road. My distance varies, but I do ride pretty much every day. It is how I get to work. Not sure how many miles the bike now has done. Very rough guesstimate would be in the region of 2-3000 (including one ALC)? Oh, and the bike is a Specialized TriCross Sport.
    Specialized Tricross Sport / Specialized Lithia 143

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Off eating cake.
    Posts
    1,700
    Small cog in front (I've got a compact double), Cassette and Chain
    With lots of riding in all weathers, any of these things could need replacing in the timeframes you've given.

    This lot, however, seems a bit less run of the mill...

    Wheels (bearings are worn out)
    If the bearings are worn out, then the hubs should need servicing, not the wheels replacing...
    Rear Derailleur
    What exactly did they say was wrong with it? And have you actually been having trouble with shifting? The jockey wheels on RDs do need replacing from time to time, but the whole unit rarely fails unless it's been knocked hard/crashed.

    My opinion? Get a second opinion, and bear in mind that you could do everything except the hubs by yourself at home with no special tools other than a set of allen keys. And a little patience.
    Drink coffee and do stupid things faster with more energy.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Aberystwyth, Wales
    Posts
    659
    Quote Originally Posted by DirtDiva View Post

    Wheels (bearings are worn out)
    If the bearings are worn out, then the hubs should need servicing, not the wheels replacing...
    Rear Derailleur
    What exactly did they say was wrong with it? And have you actually been having trouble with shifting? The jockey wheels on RDs do need replacing from time to time, but the whole unit rarely fails unless it's been knocked hard/crashed.

    My opinion? Get a second opinion, and bear in mind that you could do everything except the hubs by yourself at home with no special tools other than a set of allen keys. And a little patience.
    The bike shop back in essex had a look at my wheels a couple of months ago and said the bearings and the hubs were worn and it all needed replacing. They tightned things up to last me for a while, but indicated that next time it would need to be replaced. The shifting isn't good, but I think that's mainly due to the stretched chain.

    The guy at the lbs here in Aberystwyth, when he had a look at my bike, jiggled the rear derailleur indicating that it was loose and something wasn't right and that it needed replacing.

    Unfortunately, I now live in a part of the world where second opinions would involve a 3 hour drive over snowy mountains. Not really feasible. But I have found someone with links to the local cycle club so maybe someone there has a mechanical inclination and could have a look.

    And I will do some on-line research for prices too. I'm quite happy to fiddle around with an allan wrench, but I'm afraid I never have any luck adjusting gears, and I have never changed a chain before.
    Last edited by uk elephant; 02-07-2009 at 01:36 PM.
    Specialized Tricross Sport / Specialized Lithia 143

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Uncanny Valley
    Posts
    14,498
    If you rode on the wheels for a while with the bearings loose or with the grease washed out, the races could very well be pitted or scored. I don't know anything about your wheels, but unless they're pretty expensive, it's likely to be cheaper to replace the whole wheelset than to rebuild them with new hubs. BUT, they can't know the condition of the races until they pull the bearings. Have they already done that, and now they're telling you that the races are junk? Or are they just telling you that by external inspection (I wouldn't trust that).

    A CX bike ought to have hubs that can withstand flowing water you'd think, but I don't know anything about that. In the kind of conditions you ride in, it's a good idea to check all your bearings for tightness every year, and get fresh grease in them every couple of years, or get your LBS to do it.

    Chain, cassette and chainring life depend a lot on the individual. I clean and lube mine very regularly, don't accelerate very hard, try to shift smoothly, and I got 3000 miles out of my last set. Many people have to replace theirs every 1500. Chainrings tend to last longer, but I think if the LBS were really trying to rip you off, they'd tell you to replace both chainrings. They should be able to show you the wear on the cog teeth. That's easy to see, even for an untrained person (you can look it up online).

    I'd be surprised at a derailleur wearing out that quickly. That's what makes me most suspicious. But honestly, if you don't clean and lube it regularly and you do use it a lot, grit can work its way into ANY moving parts and wreck it over time. Again, they should be able to show you the abnormal movement or binding that tells them it needs replacement. That's more a matter of judgment since you yourself might not know what's within normal tolerances and what isn't, but if they hesitate when you ask to see it, that tells you something all by itself.
    Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Aberystwyth, Wales
    Posts
    659
    The shop that looked the the wheels did take them apart which is when they determined that the hubs were worn. They re-packed them with fresh grease and tightened things up, but explained that the hubs were worn and that it would be cheaper to buy new wheels than to replace the hubs.

    If it is normal for cassette to wear out after 3000 miles, then I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I'm not terribly good at cleaning my bike, I'm afraid. It gets a clean once a month maybe. And it does have to cope with a lot of silt, salt and grit.

    I will need to do something as the shifting isn't good, but I think the shifting problems are mainly due to the worn chain. But is it worth changing just the chain for now and putting off the rest for a while longer? Or am I better off just doing the whole job now as it will all need to be done soon anyway? (I realize this is somewhat retorical as you can't see the actual wear on my bike..)
    Specialized Tricross Sport / Specialized Lithia 143

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Off eating cake.
    Posts
    1,700
    My personal record for wearing out a chain and cassette is 3 months, but that was mountain biking in a UK winter...

    It is worth replacing the chain and cassette together - mix worn and new and you won't likely see significant improvement. The other thing you really need to look at for shifting is your cables. If these are pretty new, you probably just need to tighten them via the barrel adjuster (thingy where the cable joins the shifter and/or where the cable meets the derailleur, if you were wondering) - a one minute job worth trying even if they're kinda old.
    Last edited by DirtDiva; 02-07-2009 at 02:26 PM.
    Drink coffee and do stupid things faster with more energy.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Off eating cake.
    Posts
    1,700
    To be honest, I don't know a great deal about hubs, so I can't help you a lot there. A rebuild or a new set won't be super cheap (obviously!), so you could consider fixing up the drivetrain issues and the wheel issues at separate times...

    Replacing a chain is easy, as long as you have a chain breaker. Larger multi-tools often have them, or you can buy a dedicated tool for not too much. If you get in touch with the bike club folk, I'm sure you would find someone with tools they would be willing to lend out (handy, because you can't change a cassette with just allen keys, should you wish to go there). I suggest buying a new chain with a joining link (a la SRAM here) because once it's on, you don't have to have a chain breaker to get the chain off again should you need to (although, to be honest, you do sometimes still need pliers/a large rock/lots of swearwords).

    1) Take a photo of how the chain is supposed to thread through the RD or have another bike on hand to look at to save you minutes/hours of head scratching later on.

    2) Take of the old chain. Even if it has a joining link, it might be quicker to just use the chain breaker if the thing is getting tossed anyway - joining links can get pretty hard to work once the chain is bung.

    3) Count the number of links in your old chain.

    4) Shorten the new chain so it has the same number of links. (This is where you need the chain breaker no mater what.)

    5) Look at that photo you took earlier and thread the chain through likewise.

    6) Fit the joining link. Or the joining pin, if you went old school - look for pictures on the Park Tool website or similar to explain how, because I've never done it this way so I can't tell you anything useful.

    7) Voila! Indulge in celebratory beverage of your choice.
    Last edited by DirtDiva; 02-07-2009 at 02:16 PM.
    Drink coffee and do stupid things faster with more energy.

 

 

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