chain & wheels question

mcgratheoin · 14-07-2008 3:06pm #1

Ok folks, I ride a LaPierre road bike and recently I've had a few issues with the chain jumping whenever I try to put serious power down - as you may imagine this is pretty annoying when I'm trying to accelerate and the chain slips a few cogs. I suspect I need to replace the chain - but is there anything else I need to do as well?

Secondly, I'm thinking of getting a new set of not too expensive wheels - any recommendations? Under €200 please.

Thanks

Chips Lovell · 14-07-2008 3:11pm

Check for signs of wear on the cassette teeth too.

Sub €200 are cheap wheels and there's possibly no guarantee that what you'll get is better than what came with the bike. Why do you want to replace them?

mcgratheoin · 14-07-2008 3:27pm

el tonto wrote: »

Sub €200 are cheap wheels and there's possibly no guarantee that what you'll get is better than what came with the bike. Why do you want to replace them?

hit a bump a while ago and got a little warp in one of the wheels - got it mended but obviously not perfect.

Chips Lovell · 14-07-2008 3:44pm

Ah, I see.

For that price, you're talking about Mavic Aksiums, Campagnolo Ventos or Fulcrum Racing 7. All would be known as solid wheels.

blorg · 14-07-2008 3:56pm

Fulcrum Racing 7 - £99.99
Fulcrum Racing 5 - £149.99
Shimano RS20 - £114.99
Mavic Aksium (silver) - £119.99

...all decent entry-level wheels at decent prices from CRC.

If you could stretch it a bit I saw a pair of Ultegra wheels in Joe Daly's for €329 which is a good price, especially for a LBS.

Bear in mind you can replace wheels individually, you don't need to get them in a set (although I can understand if you want them to look the same!)

BH2008 · 14-07-2008 3:59pm

Secondly, I'm thinking of getting a new set of not too expensive wheels - any recommendations? Under €200 please.

Thanks[/quote]

For €200 I would recommend going down the road of handbuilts, for that money you counld get something like a mavic cxp33 on ultegra hubs. imo would be better than a factory build for the same money.

stuf · 14-07-2008 4:55pm

mcgratheoin wrote: »

hit a bump a while ago and got a little warp in one of the wheels - got it mended but obviously not perfect.

probably worth trying a rebuild sometime before going the whole hog on new wheels

mcgratheoin · 15-07-2008 9:24am

BH2008 wrote: »

For €200 I would recommend going down the road of handbuilts, for that money you counld get something like a mavic cxp33 on ultegra hubs. imo would be better than a factory build for the same money.

that sounds interesting - do I just buy the hubs and rims and take them to a bike shop or is there a set procedure (the more time i spend on here the less i seem to know...:o)

blorg · 15-07-2008 10:15am

Ask in your local shop. Generally they will buy all the parts for you. I got a pair of Open Pro rims on Ultegra hubs (32 spoke) from Joe Daly the other day for €240. These were built by the distributor I believe. This is for my touring bike. They weigh 1,800g (1,000g rear, 800g front, without rim tape or skewers) which is very respectable. They are actually lighter than entry-level racing wheels and are meant to be pretty bomb-proof (here's hoping.) This is my weighing them BTW, not claimed weights.

jwwie · 15-07-2008 2:43pm

you should always change the cassette with the chain. also, keep in mind that a rear derailleur that is out of adjustment will cause the chain to skip like that. how many miles do you have on the chain? you can check for wear here . obviously, with the new wheels the cassette will be new anyway. at that point i would purchase a new chain. good luck.

BH2008 · 15-07-2008 2:52pm

mcgratheoin wrote: »

that sounds interesting - do I just buy the hubs and rims and take them to a bike shop or is there a set procedure (the more time i spend on here the less i seem to know...:o)

I wouldn't advise buying parts elsewhere and asking a shop to build wheels for you, it will prob rub them up the wrong way, best do as Blorg recommended and buy it all at a LBS (use the web to make sure their in the same ballpark pricewise). Blorg - hope your handbuilts go as well as I have found mine, very stiff and still as true as when I bought them (after 12 months)

Chips Lovell · 15-07-2008 2:55pm

jwwie wrote: »

you should always change the cassette with the chain.

I've heard this advice before and it's total overkill. In most cases, a chain will wear far quicker than a cassette. I usually go through three chains for every cassette.

jwwie wrote: »

obviously, with the new wheels the cassette will be new anyway.

Wheels don't come with a cassette.

mcgratheoin · 15-07-2008 4:08pm

jwwie wrote: »

how many miles do you have on the chain?

over 2500 km since I bought the bike and haven't changed it - no problems up to recently so never occurred to me.

jwwie · 15-07-2008 4:18pm

el tonto wrote: »

I've heard this advice before and it's total overkill. In most cases, a chain will wear far quicker than a cassette. I usually go through three chains for every cassette.

Wheels don't come with a cassette.

well i think ive made it pretty clear ive never purchased new wheels before...:o

as for the cassette, mine wore down fairly quickly, about 1500miles/2 years (or maybe not, has anyones lasted longer/shorter?) and have also been through 3 chains to date. ive had to have it tightened a few times since it came loose and made noise over bumps. so mine is overdue for a replacement and i was told be my lbs to replace the cassette with it. it may be overkill but im buying it!

blorg · 15-07-2008 4:35pm

jwwie wrote: »

well i think ive made it pretty clear ive never purchased new wheels before...:o

as for the cassette, mine wore down fairly quickly, about 1500miles/2 years (or maybe not, has anyones lasted longer/shorter?) and have also been through 3 chains to date. ive had to have it tightened a few times since it came loose and made noise over bumps. so mine is overdue for a replacement and i was told be my lbs to replace the cassette with it. it may be overkill but im buying it!

Your LBS is probably right- if you leave the chain too long before replacing, it will start to cause damage to the cassette. If you replace the chain on time you will get around three to a cassette as El Tonto says. How well you look after your drivetrain and the conditions you cycle in will also have a massive bearing on this, a chain can last a very short time or a very long time depending on these factors.

The Sheldon link you posted goes over this- you can measure chain wear with an imperial ruler (they are an inch standard.)

The standard way to measure chain wear is with a ruler or steel tape measure. This can be done without removing the chain from the bicycle. The normal technique is to measure a one-foot length, placing an inch mark of the ruler exactly in the middle of one rivet, then looking at the corresponding rivet 12 complete links away. On a new, unworn chain, this rivet will also line up exactly with an inch mark. With a worn chain, the rivet will be past the inch mark.

This gives a direct measurement of the wear to the chain, and an indirect measurement of the wear to the sprockets:

If the rivet is less than 1/16" past the mark, all is well.

If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, you should replace the chain, but the sprockets are probably undamaged.

If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point, without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip, but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear state of the sprockets.

If the rivet is past the 1/8" mark, a new chain will almost certainly skip on the worn sprockets, especially the smaller ones.

chain & wheels question

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