Time to change chainset or just replace the chain ring?
Discussion
I've gone and bent (and broken the metal around it), one of the teeth on the middle chain ring again. This is the third time in two years I've done it and I'm now wondering if I should try another chainset altogether?
The one I currently have is a Truvativ Stylo that came as stock with my Stumpy FSR. Is it just my misfortune that I've broken the chain ring or is it something to do with the quality of Truvativ and this model?
If I should change the chainset, what's the recommended choice? (I was thinking SLX or XT). I do a lot of pretty tough trails and a lot of climbing. Another question is if I change either, do I also have to change the chain again?
The one I currently have is a Truvativ Stylo that came as stock with my Stumpy FSR. Is it just my misfortune that I've broken the chain ring or is it something to do with the quality of Truvativ and this model?
If I should change the chainset, what's the recommended choice? (I was thinking SLX or XT). I do a lot of pretty tough trails and a lot of climbing. Another question is if I change either, do I also have to change the chain again?
Suggest only change the middle ring.. XT stuff is pretty good. On the chain check how stretched it is using special tool... or if you haven't got one of those, a basic test is how far off the back of the cassette can you pull the chain off? If it moves a mm or two, not a problem. If there is daylight, chain probably needs replacing.
Minnsy said:
Suggest only change the middle ring.. XT stuff is pretty good. On the chain check how stretched it is using special tool... or if you haven't got one of those, a basic test is how far off the back of the cassette can you pull the chain off? If it moves a mm or two, not a problem. If there is daylight, chain probably needs replacing.
So it's not necessary to change the chain then? The last time I replaced the chain ring, the bike stores (I've been to two), have always insisted I change the chain at the same time. I even bought all the gear at Wiggle so it wasn't like he was making any profit out of it either. Just seemed adamant I change the chain if I change any gearing....Just an update. Still thinking about both options as changing the chainset is quite pricey. However I've found it on eBay from a reseller called Merlin Cycles for just £124 which is quite a bit cheaper than Wiggle.
Has anyone used this seller before? They seem pretty good with 14592 in their feedback score!
Also, talking of chains.....Shimano or SRAM. I would be quite happy with an XTR chain however he's raving on about SRAM chains being much better and easier to repair if necessary....opinions on this?
Has anyone used this seller before? They seem pretty good with 14592 in their feedback score!
Also, talking of chains.....Shimano or SRAM. I would be quite happy with an XTR chain however he's raving on about SRAM chains being much better and easier to repair if necessary....opinions on this?
Merlin are these guys
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/
and are very good. Up there with Chain reaction, Wiggle etc.
Hows your bottom brkt running. If it's still smooth I would change the chain rings, chain and if its the original cassette, definitely throw an XT one on. The weight saving and smoothness in shifting is noticeable over the standard lumpy cassette.
As far as chains go. I have always had one of these:-
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/MTB++Parts...
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/
and are very good. Up there with Chain reaction, Wiggle etc.
Hows your bottom brkt running. If it's still smooth I would change the chain rings, chain and if its the original cassette, definitely throw an XT one on. The weight saving and smoothness in shifting is noticeable over the standard lumpy cassette.
As far as chains go. I have always had one of these:-
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/MTB++Parts...
R.P.M said:
Merlin are these guys
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/
and are very good. Up there with Chain reaction, Wiggle etc.
Hows your bottom brkt running. If it's still smooth I would change the chain rings, chain and if its the original cassette, definitely throw an XT one on. The weight saving and smoothness in shifting is noticeable over the standard lumpy cassette.
As far as chains go. I have always had one of these:-
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/MTB++Parts...
My cassette is an XT one already. I upgraded this at the end of 2008 so it's only done one season so far. You're definitely right about the improvement on shifting. I've also got an XTR rear and XT front mech and the chain is an XT one.http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/
and are very good. Up there with Chain reaction, Wiggle etc.
Hows your bottom brkt running. If it's still smooth I would change the chain rings, chain and if its the original cassette, definitely throw an XT one on. The weight saving and smoothness in shifting is noticeable over the standard lumpy cassette.
As far as chains go. I have always had one of these:-
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/MTB++Parts...
As for the bottom bracket, I've got a Hope one fitted with steel bearings. Absolutely superb and pretty much frictionless with complete silky smoothness. I've pretty much got a full XT/XTR groupset bar the chainset. It's also funny you should mention the inner chain ring. It's worn and could do with a replacement but it's not quite there yet. I've been quoted 60eur for both inner and middle plus chain and fitting, so I reckon around 100eur all in for the work.
Regarding the chain, it's interesting you mention SRAM. What's the benefit against the Shimano XT/XTR?
A few bits of hard earnined wisdom which might help the OP.
My mate has a Stumpy FSR (about '07 or '08 model) and tried to change his chainset (not sure if it was Truvativ) 'on the cheap' rather than as a whole - he had horrendous trouble and, eventually, had to go the whole hog anyway.
The chainset on my '09 Stumpy FSR (Comp) went pear shaped in April and I changed all the relevant bits; chain rings, rear cassette and chain and it;s been fine since. FWIW, my LBS reckoned Race Face chainwheels were good value and slightly harder wearing than the Truvativs. A year is not good life for a chainset, but local riding is very sandy/gritty, I ride all year round and, on a number of occasions have lent bike 9as it's not my only mtb) to friends and relatives - so there may be an element of ill-concieved cog-swapping too.
Out of interest, what year's your STumpy FSR?
HTH
My mate has a Stumpy FSR (about '07 or '08 model) and tried to change his chainset (not sure if it was Truvativ) 'on the cheap' rather than as a whole - he had horrendous trouble and, eventually, had to go the whole hog anyway.
The chainset on my '09 Stumpy FSR (Comp) went pear shaped in April and I changed all the relevant bits; chain rings, rear cassette and chain and it;s been fine since. FWIW, my LBS reckoned Race Face chainwheels were good value and slightly harder wearing than the Truvativs. A year is not good life for a chainset, but local riding is very sandy/gritty, I ride all year round and, on a number of occasions have lent bike 9as it's not my only mtb) to friends and relatives - so there may be an element of ill-concieved cog-swapping too.
Out of interest, what year's your STumpy FSR?
HTH
Digga said:
A few bits of hard earnined wisdom which might help the OP.
My mate has a Stumpy FSR (about '07 or '08 model) and tried to change his chainset (not sure if it was Truvativ) 'on the cheap' rather than as a whole - he had horrendous trouble and, eventually, had to go the whole hog anyway.
The chainset on my '09 Stumpy FSR (Comp) went pear shaped in April and I changed all the relevant bits; chain rings, rear cassette and chain and it;s been fine since. FWIW, my LBS reckoned Race Face chainwheels were good value and slightly harder wearing than the Truvativs. A year is not good life for a chainset, but local riding is very sandy/gritty, I ride all year round and, on a number of occasions have lent bike 9as it's not my only mtb) to friends and relatives - so there may be an element of ill-concieved cog-swapping too.
Out of interest, what year's your STumpy FSR?
HTH
Cheers for the info! Interesting info there. It seems to be an inherent problem with Spesh bikes where unless you get the S-Works, the component set is pretty crap. My Stumpy FSR is an 2006 model so it's getting on a bit but still goes brilliantly. Eventually I'll change! My mate has a Stumpy FSR (about '07 or '08 model) and tried to change his chainset (not sure if it was Truvativ) 'on the cheap' rather than as a whole - he had horrendous trouble and, eventually, had to go the whole hog anyway.
The chainset on my '09 Stumpy FSR (Comp) went pear shaped in April and I changed all the relevant bits; chain rings, rear cassette and chain and it;s been fine since. FWIW, my LBS reckoned Race Face chainwheels were good value and slightly harder wearing than the Truvativs. A year is not good life for a chainset, but local riding is very sandy/gritty, I ride all year round and, on a number of occasions have lent bike 9as it's not my only mtb) to friends and relatives - so there may be an element of ill-concieved cog-swapping too.
Out of interest, what year's your STumpy FSR?
HTH
I've also done a few upgrades including Hope X2 brakes and I've upgraded most of the groupset.
The terrain I do is pretty tough and either very muddy or very dusty. A lot of the damage I've also had has come from branches getting trapped while pedalling so it's hard to avoid.
I also need to service my forks and shock as they're pretty worn and apart from cleaning and oiling after every ride, they've never been serviced.
I'm still pondering on the XT chainset upgrade. Another question I have is regarding my bottom bracket. I upgraded this to a Hope bracket last year but it's been fitted with the Truvativ adapters. Obviously if I go for the Shimano route they'll have to be removed. How easy is this to do (is it even possible), and would I need to replace the bearings?
beanbag said:
So it's not necessary to change the chain then? The last time I replaced the chain ring, the bike stores (I've been to two), have always insisted I change the chain at the same time. I even bought all the gear at Wiggle so it wasn't like he was making any profit out of it either. Just seemed adamant I change the chain if I change any gearing....
The reason being that you asked them to fix your bike. If you had only given them a chainring and the worn chain started to slip or suck on the new ring then you'd be in there complaining that the bike wasn't working and it's their fault. So what was a 20 or 30-minute job turns into a ball ache and no matter what the shop do you'll not be happy. Then when they explain that you should have changed the chain and cassette at the same time then you'd be on here saying they're trying to rip you off.The above is just a possible example of what might happen.
I was in a shop once waiting to be served when a bloke came in screaming and shouting that his brake pads had worn out.
On the topic of chains / chain rings.
Over a time a chain, chain rings and block become mated to each other. It is good practice to change your chain regularly to prevent this mating process, because once it has occurred it typically means a new cassette, chain rings, and chain. If you then only change one component, you'll get chain jump. A measure of the level of mating is chain stretch, which can be measured by a simple stretch gauge available from most bike shops.
Now here's the rub. There are two schools of thought. Run the chain, cassette and rings into the ground and replace the lot every couple of years, or swap the chain every couple of months (depends on mileage and where miles are added)
The benefits of the former are that you replace the BB bearings as well, which after a couple of years use may be tired, but obviously is a lot of money it one hit. The benefit of the latter is that it a lower, but more frequent cost.
Personally on my winter bike, I run a Ti chainring which is hard as nails, and just change the cassette and chain when the chain starts jumping.
Over a time a chain, chain rings and block become mated to each other. It is good practice to change your chain regularly to prevent this mating process, because once it has occurred it typically means a new cassette, chain rings, and chain. If you then only change one component, you'll get chain jump. A measure of the level of mating is chain stretch, which can be measured by a simple stretch gauge available from most bike shops.
Now here's the rub. There are two schools of thought. Run the chain, cassette and rings into the ground and replace the lot every couple of years, or swap the chain every couple of months (depends on mileage and where miles are added)
The benefits of the former are that you replace the BB bearings as well, which after a couple of years use may be tired, but obviously is a lot of money it one hit. The benefit of the latter is that it a lower, but more frequent cost.
Personally on my winter bike, I run a Ti chainring which is hard as nails, and just change the cassette and chain when the chain starts jumping.
Edited by rhinochopig on Thursday 29th July 14:18
Intersting... looking at the (very useful) archive of bike specs on the Specialneeds website, your '06 model was the one previous to mine, which makes my mate's bike an '08 model - which means [ih]his[/i] chainset only did 2 yrs.
The '06 Stumpy is a very good bike, as you say - I've ridden with a couple of people who have them and they go well. On paper, I actually think Speciaized do, generally, give a decent component spec for the budget which I think is mainly a corollary for their massive buying power compared to most other manufacturers, but as you have found, it's normally easy to make noticeable upgrades when swapping kit.
The '06 Stumpy is a very good bike, as you say - I've ridden with a couple of people who have them and they go well. On paper, I actually think Speciaized do, generally, give a decent component spec for the budget which I think is mainly a corollary for their massive buying power compared to most other manufacturers, but as you have found, it's normally easy to make noticeable upgrades when swapping kit.
mk1fan said:
beanbag said:
So it's not necessary to change the chain then? The last time I replaced the chain ring, the bike stores (I've been to two), have always insisted I change the chain at the same time. I even bought all the gear at Wiggle so it wasn't like he was making any profit out of it either. Just seemed adamant I change the chain if I change any gearing....
The reason being that you asked them to fix your bike. If you had only given them a chainring and the worn chain started to slip or suck on the new ring then you'd be in there complaining that the bike wasn't working and it's their fault. So what was a 20 or 30-minute job turns into a ball ache and no matter what the shop do you'll not be happy. Then when they explain that you should have changed the chain and cassette at the same time then you'd be on here saying they're trying to rip you off.The above is just a possible example of what might happen.
I was in a shop once waiting to be served when a bloke came in screaming and shouting that his brake pads had worn out.
I've decided to try a SRAM chain this time, mainly for the ease of changing it myself. I do like their PowerLink system
Still pondering on the new chainset......also pondering whether I can remove the Truvativ adapters on my Hope bottom bracket......They look pretty tight in there....maybe a little easier to simply change the bearings but that means even more $$$....
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