Quote Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl
Thanks for all the great advice guys! I think I can do this. I am off to buy some new tools. Regarding how frequently to change the chain. Do you change it every 1500-2000 miles regardless of stretch, or do you measure it with one of those stretch rulers, and change it when it enters the high end of the acceptable range? I had forgotton that I used to swap wheels all the time on my old bike between trainer and road, although the casette sizes were identical. Swapping wheels seems like a great way to rapidly modify gearing depending on the planned ride terrain.
It's not so bad for most of us gals - being smaller and lighter than the guys, but my husband destroyed a cog set by waiting until the chain stretch tool told him it was time to change the chain. He's started changing his chain on a strictly time based schedule, figuring its cheaper to change the chain out more than he needs to than to have to buy new rear clusters...