Before I had a set of race wheels, I never worried about chains, chainrings, and cogs because they didn’t change between my training and racing setup. Now that I have a set of race wheels, I wonder if there any disadvantages in terms of performance or wear from just slapping on your race wheel with its shiny new cassette when you have a well used chain? Is it better to put your training cassette on your race wheel?
Assuming you take care of your ‘training’ chain, you won’t have any problems with just switching wheels and having a ‘racing’ cogset. If you let your training chain get too worn, then you will have problems. Not only will it not shift right on the less worn racing cassette, but it will accelerate the wear on that cassette and you will have to replace the chain and BOTH cassettes. FWIW, I have training and racing cassettes, and just keep a close watch on my chain.
there are definite disadvantages. Ride the race wheels at least once before any race to check for shifting or noisy chain issues. If either of these occur, you probably need a new chain and a new training cassette… but if you keep up with maintenance, then this shouldn’t happen much. Otherwise as you say, just swap the training cassette over each time, that’s the cheap option, just a PITA to do the swapover every time.
My training wheels have a very slightly different offset on the cassette, just enough that the shifters need adjusting… bah. These days, I leave everything set up for the race wheels, since I usually ride a road bike in training.
If your chain is within tolerances, you should have no problems. The easiest way is to buy a Park Tool chain checker, and check your chain every week or so. If it’s within the chain stretch tolerances it should equally well on any cassette (assuming the cassette’s not toast- which it shouldn’t be if you don’t run chains that are too stetched). I’ve found this to be the easiest and cheapest way to go. This way you’re not guessing when it’s time to replace the chain, and you’re not accidentally trashing your cassette by running a chain that’s stretched.
jkatsoudas,
My experience has been a carbon copy of yours.
Kiwi, the Park Tool chain checker is cheap insurance that you are replacing your chain when it needs to be replaced and not unnecessarily replacing it before it is worn or using it beyond when it should be replaced and consequently causing unnecessary wear to your other drivetrain components. This will maximize the life of your cassettes but it will also maximize the life of your chainrings.
Chainrings tend to be “switched/replaced” far less often than cassettes. One generally does not swap cranks the way one swaps wheels. Chainrings experience wear from a worn out chain the same as a cassette does. And worn chainrings can compromise the performance of newer cassettes.
Best insurance to ensure long life and top performance of your drivetrain? Use the tool the pros use. Don’t use cookie cutter formulas for chain wear and replacement. Every 1,000 miles, every 2,000 miles, or every 3,000 miles. Every rider places different levels of wear and tear on his equipment and every brand of chain as well as every model of chain has different wear and life characteristics.
Why take the risk?
Every rider places different levels of wear and tear on his equipment and every brand of chain as well as every model of chain has different wear and life characteristics.
Yup. I’ve gone as little as 1,000 miles on a chain in the winter or when I’m doing a lot of climbing, and as much as 2,500 in the summer or when most of my riding is in the flats or on the trainer. No way to really tell when the chain needs replacement without measuring.