Is this possible? Rear sprocket chain damage...

[walm]

After 3,000 miles or so of commuting my trusty MTB was having trouble shifting between sprockets 5-6-7 - the ones I use pretty much all the time.

I tried everything - taking apart the whole rear mech, changing the cables, lubing like a choirboy on his first day etc...

Nothing worked.

Eventually I remembered that chains wear out.
So I bought a new chain, chain breaker and one of those chain wear measuring devices.
The chain was very very worn.
So new chain on (power links are awesome!) - job done.
Not so - now whenever I am in 5,6 or 7 the chain just keeps jumping. I feels like it is trying to jump onto another cog but I have the shifters working perfectly.

Is it possible that my old worn chain has worn the hell out of sprockets 5,6 and 7 such that my spanking new chain simply won't work on them????
Literally the smallest amount of drive from me and the chain skips. It is fine on 4 and 8 which I only rarely used in the past.

Does this mean I need to buy a whole new set of sprockets?

[Fume troll]

Almost certainly, the whole lot wears together.

Cheers,

FT.

[walm]

Thanks chaps.
New cassette appears to be £13 so not the end of the world!
Total mileage was probably closer to 4,000 on the stock chain and cassette so probably well due a little TLC, I just hope the front chain-ring is ok - they seem a little more pricey.

Also the silver lining is that I discovered the Specialized website keeps an archive back to model year 2002 of all their bikes - fantastic for checking that I am replacing like with like!

[neil_bolton]

It's the oldest bike shop query in the world.

Some people (not saying you do) just never get this idea of 'hooking' on the cassette and chainrings when a chain wears.

So when they change and the whole lot goes mental, they come in grumbling.

That's why we always recommend changing your chain often.

The amount of times we heard "Ah yes, but I'm an engineer and I think" was unreal.

[walm]

neil_bolton said:

That's why we always recommend changing your chain often.

I guess I knew it would wear but not to the extent that it is literally undriveable!

Lesson learned - that chain wear checker thing is going to be used A LOT!

[louiebaby]

A good mate told me it was a good idea to change the rear cassette at the same time as the chain.

If you're doing it yourself, keep an eye on the indexing of the gears too. (Lining up the chain with the new cassette in all gears, by adjusting the derailleur.)

[walm]

louiebaby said:

A good mate told me it was a good idea to change the rear cassette at the same time as the chain.

If you're doing it yourself, keep an eye on the indexing of the gears too. (Lining up the chain with the new cassette in all gears, by adjusting the derailleur.)

Trust me, after spending 3 hours or so thinking the indexing was causing the jumping - I am now an expert on indexing!

[snotrag]

neil_bolton said:

It's the oldest bike shop query in the world.

Everyone whos worked in a bike shop will tell you the same.

In fact, they almost know what your gonna say before you've said it.


Best thing to do - change your chain more often, rather than waiting till its completely buggered. Costs less overall.