There are different schools of thought on replacing components, so you have to figure out what camp you belong to. Some people want to get every last inch out of their components and are perfectly willing to keep them going even if the performance drops off a bit. Then, the other camp wants things to operate perfectly and they replace components before their performance goes downhill one bit.
In my life in cycling, I believe there are a lot more people who try to keep components going than there are those who replace them before they’re truly worn out. But, in that smaller camp are really serious riders who rely on perfect performance, like racers.
Lots of cyclists actually enjoy working on their bikes and solving mechanical problems on the road. And they’d rather ride their bikes than work on them as often as maybe they should. That’s the old, “don’t patch the roof if it’s not raining” theory.
So, I think it really comes down to your personality. The good thing is that even the cheapest bike parts last a long, long time, and even with pretty sloppy maintenance. And they also function pretty well even poorly maintained. So, the average rider often has no idea that his chain and cogs are completely worn out. He just keeps happily pedaling away, just like the newbie riding on a dry chain – squeak, squeak, squeak. They don’t even hear it. They only notice the difference when their bike is fixed.
Still, if you wanted to make a timeline of when parts should be replaced, you could do that, but to be accurate it would need to be based on your actual experiences with the parts factoring in the way you ride, the conditions, and where you ride, too. The “guidelines” and “rules” we mechanics give out are really just ballpark, not accurate for every rider. And bikes have improved a lot, so they require less maintenance than they used to, which is a great thing.
I’m of the “make it last” school, but I also believe that you can determine when to replace things with simple inspections. I’m always annoyed with people who hold slavishly to some unmeasured guideline without ever taking to logical step of simply examining the condition of the component in question.
make it last
not only am i lazy but also cheap
the perfect combo.
wle
ditto
use it up
wear it out
make it do
or do without
a yankee hill farmer’s credo
My 11 sp drivetrain is 10 years old. Average 9000 miles a year. Everything works as well as it did new. Replace chain whenever my chain checker says to. If chain jumps with new chain I replace worn cassette. When chain ring teeth wear to point that they are sharp I replace. (About 25000 miles average) Cables and housing every other year. Agree this all depends on care taken to clean and lubricate as required. Joe D
Le hago un mantenimiento anual a cargo de un especialista, los rodamientos de la dirección duran 2 años hasta que tienen juego, normalmente es una bola rota, 14.000 km más o meno., Los rodamientos de las bielas duran un par de años como mucho, aunque lso sustituyo al año para evitar problemas en una salida larga. La cadena se sustituye cuando se alarga y eso lo dice el medidor de cadenas, al primer sintoma la cambio porque es una pieza básica de mi bici y por el precio que tiene una buena cadena no merece la pena correr el riesgo de rotura a 100 km de casa. las cubiertas las cambio cuando lo necesitan y no espero a ver los hilos del interior. Si ha habido un pinchazo grande la cambio inmediatamente. Ahora llevo tubeless y la trasera se esta quedando cuadrada, por lo que la cambiaré en enero cuando empieza mi temporada. casette y platos llevan unos 10.000 km y los cambié por necesidades de personalizar el desarrollo. Los rodamientos de las ruedas espero que no necesite cambiarlos , DT Swiss 270, creo, estancos, no creo que con 7000 km se hayan deteriorado, pero aún así los comprabaré y tal vez los sustituya por cerámicos, preguntaré en la tienda que siempre me han dado buenos consejos sonre material y no siempre los más caros. La limpieza y engrase de cadena los hago yo practicamente todas las semanas (+-200 km) y en mi zona no suele llover mucho al año, si hay que salir con lluvia o hay peligro de ella, le monto los guardabarros que compré para este fin.
I’m happy with the 3×9 Ultegra drivetrain on my road bike; it works for me, and I see no need to “improve” on it. However, it came to my attention that the crankset is “Octalink V1”, which seems to be long gone. So I located and stockpiled a new bottom bracket cartridge, which seems like the only component I might be in trouble without. This bike and its drivetrain will now probably outlive me!