How much should bike maintenance cost per year?

[lauraelmore1033]

In light of what others have said....You don't have to replace the chain rings every time you replace the cassette. They're usually much slower to wear, and may not need replacement for many, many miles. (Edited to add - looks like you already covered this - posted at the same time).

I'm heavy as well, and still don't have to replace chains that often. Strange.

CA

Yes, very strange. And you do a lot of climbing too! This winter WAS pretty bad as far as wet, nasty, grit on the roads went, though.

[OakLeaf]

I don't know - a tuneup at my Ohio LBS is $100, which includes truing the wheels, fresh grease, cable adjustments and inspection. It's got to be at least an hour and a half work, even with sealed bearings. I get that the sealed-bearing crowd are subsidizing the ball-bearing types with a flat rate, and I do my own cable adjustments, but I still consider that very reasonable.

(On the other end of the spectrum is the Florida LBS where I bought my bike, where you get lifetime free "tune-ups" with a bike purchase, but they're limited to cable adjustments and IMO are just a way to keep the customers ignorant of maintenance and get them in the door.)

[Irulan]

at minimum, you can invest in a chain checker tool, about $12-25 and you can check your own chain wear.

[Grog]

On the "bike cleaning" front...

For some reason this past winter my dear, sweet partner started cleaning his winter bike's drivetrain after every ride. Okay, the bike is perhaps past its prime ((with over 50,000 winter kilometers on it and countless summer kilometers) but I think that the near-daily cleaning has totally ruined the bike. Basically what it did was throw a lot more grit into the moving parts.

I am hesitant on the course of action to recommend, but it would definitely involve only wiping off the bike and parts after every ride, and waiting until it's dry to apply lube, and probably a bit less often than you'd be tempted to.

Maybe if your drivetrain starts complaining after 900 miles it needs a good clean and a tuneup, but a whole new chain? I find it really hard to believe, no matter how heavy you are... Perhaps you could consider examining your riding habits, too? (Having your chain crossed over the gears, shifting under load, etc...) I don't get it!

[lauraelmore1033]

at minimum, you can invest in a chain checker tool, about $12-25 and you can check your own chain wear.

Yeah, I've been meaning to do that. And the replacement chain might be cheaper from Performance too. I'll have to check.

[lauraelmore1033]

Perhaps you could consider examining your riding habits, too? (Having your chain crossed over the gears, shifting under load, etc...) I don't get it!

Hmmm. I don't really cross chain but dh HAS criticized me for sometimes making "hard shifts".
but...
I've noticed on group training rides and organized rides that I don't make as many nasty grindy shifts as the riders around me...

[aicabsolut]

What lube do you use? I find that, depending on the conditions, a lube that is too wet or too dry or too whatever will affect how the drivetrain feels. It will sound and feel like it's skipping, but really it's not. For example: I liked using ProLink because it seemed to get the chain cleaner easier (I don't use a cleaner/degreaser generally, just a cleaning lube, and when in sandy climates, I'll occasionally use mild pressure from a hose). However, in cold dry weather, ProLink worked pretty well. Any other time, the drivetrain felt like crap. A waxier cleaning lube, Rockn'Roll Gold is now my favorite, though it will take a few applications to get the chain very clean. It is thin--much thinner than something like White Lightning, so I do have to use more of it and take care of my chain more often. In addition to wiping down and relubing the chain after most rides, I will take a brush to the cassette and be sure to wipe grit off the rings as more goo gets shed from the chain. I am a lighter weight rider, but I do a variety of shifting over rolling terrain, in traffic, and in races. With this approach, the only skipping or grinding I'll feel is when I need to make a slight cable adjustment or when the chain has gotten noticeably dirty. In fact, I got into my obsessive compulsive drivetrain maintenance after locking up the chainrings a couple of times (chain got wedged) with a mildly dirty chain. I just love how much more smoothly the bike runs. I don't think that proper regular maintenance will destroy your chain. Daily degreasing and using harsher cleaners? Maybe. A cleaning lube? Doubtful. It may appear that more grit is flying around, but really, it's the chain shedding all the grit. Like I said, my chain has survived over 5k miles. I'm getting nervous about it now, but the shop (and my ruler) keep telling me it's ok.

What chain are you using? SRAM makes pretty durable chains. 105 or Ultegra level Shimano chains are also good (what I have). DA ones can be a little more fragile. I just have a hard time believing that your chains are getting that bad after only 1000 miles. I can see that by chain #3 you are starting to do some damage to a couple of cogs in the cassette. But damn, that still seems excessive. I mean, there are plenty of heavy guys out there in the mountains getting a few thousand miles out of their chains.

[KnottedYet]

Boeshield works nicely here in the soggy PNW.

[OakLeaf]

Pedro's Chainj. Vegetable oil-based, no toxic mineral spirits, doesn't attract too much grit and really stays on in the wet.

Easy chain check, no tools required: shift onto the big chainring, grab the chain at the front of the ring and pull the chain away from the chainring. If you can expose a whole tooth, replace the chain.

[tjf9]

My LBS is giving me the 1000 mile guideline for chain replacement as well. The guy at my shop says its the 10 speeds - the narrower chain wears more quickly. My shop measured the chain and said it was getting worn - perhaps their stretch allowance is lower than necessary?

[lauraelmore1033]

What lube do you use? I find that, depending on the conditions, a lube that is too wet or too dry or too whatever will affect how the drivetrain feels. It will sound and feel like it's skipping, but really it's not. For example: I liked using ProLink because it seemed to get the chain cleaner easier (I don't use a cleaner/degreaser generally, just a cleaning lube, and when in sandy climates, I'll occasionally use mild pressure from a hose). However, in cold dry weather, ProLink worked pretty well. Any other time, the drivetrain felt like crap. A waxier cleaning lube, Rockn'Roll Gold is now my favorite, though it will take a few applications to get the chain very clean. It is thin--much thinner than something like White Lightning, so I do have to use more of it and take care of my chain more often. In addition to wiping down and relubing the chain after most rides, I will take a brush to the cassette and be sure to wipe grit off the rings as more goo gets shed from the chain. I am a lighter weight rider, but I do a variety of shifting over rolling terrain, in traffic, and in races. With this approach, the only skipping or grinding I'll feel is when I need to make a slight cable adjustment or when the chain has gotten noticeably dirty. In fact, I got into my obsessive compulsive drivetrain maintenance after locking up the chainrings a couple of times (chain got wedged) with a mildly dirty chain. I just love how much more smoothly the bike runs. I don't think that proper regular maintenance will destroy your chain. Daily degreasing and using harsher cleaners? Maybe. A cleaning lube? Doubtful. It may appear that more grit is flying around, but really, it's the chain shedding all the grit. Like I said, my chain has survived over 5k miles. I'm getting nervous about it now, but the shop (and my ruler) keep telling me it's ok.

What chain are you using? SRAM makes pretty durable chains. 105 or Ultegra level Shimano chains are also good (what I have). DA ones can be a little more fragile. I just have a hard time believing that your chains are getting that bad after only 1000 miles. I can see that by chain #3 you are starting to do some damage to a couple of cogs in the cassette. But damn, that still seems excessive. I mean, there are plenty of heavy guys out there in the mountains getting a few thousand miles out of their chains.

I've been using Finish Line Dry Teflon Lube for a long time. Probably since it is the most commonly available lube. I guess my track record with chain wear doesn't recommend it. But then again, dh uses it as well, and doesn't experience the same kind of chain wear that I do (he's also at least 70 pounds lighter...). I think the chains I've been using were SRAM (At least, the time I asked them to send me home with a chain, that's what I was given). I suppose I could have erred on the side of over cleaning with this bike, but dang, over the winter, the average ride left a very thick layer of heavy sand and grit over every inch of the bike and nside each chain link --which would not budge with even my most concerted efforts to wipe it off. I did use degreaser (the neon pink bike wash somebody here was just talking about) about once a week.

I'll have to look into the cleaning lube.

[Grog]

Regarding chain and cassette wear, I have found two schools of thought here in Vancouver.

School A
Ride it 'til it skips. Change nothing until you're seriously skipping, then change the chain and cassette (and maybe a chainring). Of course do proper maintenance in the meantime.

School B
Change the chain often to lengthen the life of your cassette.

I am lighter than you are, but I've gotten over 8,000 km with School A, and I'm quite fussy with how well my bike performs. According to the chain-measurer gadget, the chain was overstretched at about 3,000 km. My bike person told me not to worry about it. I'm not racing or anything though, so it's not critical for me. The other thing is that I use my cogs quite evenly. My partner, on the other hand, uses only 2-3 gears at the back, which always get worn quickly.

My bike is all Ultegra 10 speeds, so changing the chain is expensive (used to be around $80, must be much cheaper now). I gave School A a chance and it's been relatively successful. You might want to experiment...

[ridebikeme]

Umm... everyone here has definitely given you LOTS of good advice! I generally replace chain/cassette each season for my customers that ride 3000-5000 miles. As someone else mentioned, the chainrings generally get replaced every 2-3 years... it simply depends on the care of the bike from the customer and the quality of the rings... some people are fortunate to have them last a bit longer. As for tires, it generally depends on what type of tires you run and the mileage that you ride.... perhaps replacing them once a year if you continue riding the amount that you did last year. The rain can definitely have a LOT to do with how everything lasts, be sure to wipe everything done after a wet ride, take a file and file down your brake pads to get any of the debris out etc...

Personally, I haven't changed brake pads in 3-4 years, change the chain every 1500 miles which generally allows me to replace the cassette every other time, tires get replaced a couple of times a year, and the chain rings have nOT been replaced yet.(5 years old)

Good luck with the remainder of the season and hope everyones advice helps!

[OakLeaf]

I would not use a patched tube.

Why not???

I can see not racing on one, as it might throw off the balance of the wheel a little bit. I never noticed any difference in cornering, but that wasn't one of my strong points either. On my old race bike, generally a tube on my "training" wheels got four patches before being replaced (never had a flat on my race wheels). It's the least I can do to not put something totally repairable on the landfill (and buy another thing made of petroleum).

Right now my commuter bike has two patches on the rear tube. The older one is about three years old and maybe 2000 miles. That bike sees daily use in season, but not a lot of mileage.

I wouldn't even know how to count the mileage, but I've been riding on patched tubes my entire lifetime. I probably have more than 30,000 miles on patched tubes on skinny tires, and at least that many again on 25c and wider, and I've never, ever had a patch fail. Back in the day, we never even carried spare tubes, just a patch kit, and repaired the tube on the road. (For comparison, I've had TWO mechanic-installed plugs fail on car tires, and people drive on those all the time.)

[silver]

My LBS is giving me the 1000 mile guideline for chain replacement as well. The guy at my shop says its the 10 speeds - the narrower chain wears more quickly. My shop measured the chain and said it was getting worn - perhaps their stretch allowance is lower than necessary?

I just replaced my first chain on the Madone at 1.5 years and 6,300 miles. It's an Ultegra 10 speed. It was just barely stretched.....I'd been checking it. The cassette and chainrings were fine. Again, another lightweight rider who spins and shifts on the lighter side. Mr. who is heavier and a masher has broken a chain and bent a chainring. I'm also pretty meticulous about keeping my bike clean.