Ebike chain/ cassette replacement interval

[Marrduk24]

Hey guys

for those who use mid-drive bikes for commuting (and have derailleur), what’s roughly the interval at which you need to get the cassette and chain changed? A 11 speed SLX cassette, KMC 11 speed channel and labor here in NYC will cost $200. So trying to figure out the interval at which that maintenance needs to happen - assuming one was primarily commute and didn’t bother cleaning/ lubricating at regular interval.

what other maintenance is one looking at?

 

[m@Robertson]

What you start out with makes all the difference. Build it for a mid to start with and you really don't have any extra maintenance. At least I don't and I commute regularly on one of my mid drive bikes. Use lightweight bicycle parts and you could wear stuff out in weeks not months or years.

Steel lasts longer and oddly enough the cheap parts hated by weight weenies are the best for a mid drive often as not as they are steel. A KMC 11-spd 'e' chain is $50 plus but its not going to break (unless you do something boneheaded) and should be good for at least 3000 miles. An alloy cassette body vs. a 30a/1750w BBSHD is going to get bit into pretty bad after about 1500 miles. I have yet to kill a steel one, ever. And about that... the pawls in that cassette body live a life of sorrow. I try and only use ratchet engagement hubs, which means for me DT 350's. The engagement mech is the other half of having nearly unlimited life on the cassette body.

I also have Salsa hubs with a steel cassette body on my Surly and its similarly undamaged after about 1500 hard miles so far. I have no idea about the pawls underneath though.

For a steel 11 spd cluster, I haven't seen any better than the Sunrace CSMS7. I have them on two bikes because they were what I could find to be 1-piece and all steel. Have never worn either out and have 1500 miles (the Surly again) on one of them. I also have one of the SRAM uber clusters made of tool steel on my emtb but the cost of those is nothing short of colossal. I wouldn't do that again.

Chainrings will die young if you don't have good chain alignment. So wear and tear could be a few weeks if you have it bad, and no different than a bicycle if you run it straight back.

Also if you have a manufactured mid drive where they thought thru this stuff already, then you have a lot less to worry about I would think. A BBSHD on full chat is a 160Nm motor. A BBS02 is 120Nm... A Bosch or Shimano motor is waaaay down from that.

 

[Marrduk24]

Thanks

What you start out with makes all the difference. Build it for a mid to start with and you really don't have any extra maintenance. At least I don't and I commute regularly on one of my mid drive bikes. Use lightweight bicycle parts and you could wear stuff out in weeks not months or years.

Steel lasts longer and oddly enough the cheap parts hated by weight weenies are the best for a mid drive often as not as they are steel. A KMC 11-spd 'e' chain is $50 plus but its not going to break (unless you do something boneheaded) and should be good for at least 3000 miles. An alloy cassette body vs. a 30a/1750w BBSHD is going to get bit into pretty bad after about 1500 miles. I have yet to kill a steel one, ever. And about that... the pawls in that cassette body live a life of sorrow. I try and only use ratchet engagement hubs, which means for me DT 350's. The engagement mech is the other half of having nearly unlimited life on the cassette body.

I also have Salsa hubs with a steel cassette body on my Surly and its similarly undamaged after about 1500 hard miles so far. I have no idea about the pawls underneath though.

For a steel 11 spd cluster, I haven't seen any better than the Sunrace CSMS7. I have them on two bikes because they were what I could find to be 1-piece and all steel. Have never worn either out and have 1500 miles (the Surly again) on one of them. I also have one of the SRAM uber clusters made of tool steel on my emtb but the cost of those is nothing short of colossal. I wouldn't do that again.

Chainrings will die young if you don't have good chain alignment. So wear and tear could be a few weeks if you have it bad, and no different than a bicycle if you run it straight back.

thanks a lot. Good to know.
So the motor is Bosch performance speed Gen 4, which has 85nm of torque.
Cassette is Shimano SLX 10-45t. Most of driving will be in gears 12,14,16, 18,21 - these are all steel gears.

chainring is a 38t ethirteen 7050 aluminum.
At this stage I am just trying to get a sense of the future maintenance requirement on the bike. If I am putting 2k miles an year, do I need to get maintenance done once every 6 month, 12 months etc.

 

[m@Robertson]

I've been using ZTTO cog from AliExpress, and the quality seems on par with Shimano.

ZTTO makes hubs with ratchet engagement as well. From what I heard they essentially cloned the DT mechanism once the patents ran out. I've often wondered if they were a safe, less expensive alternative to DT 350's. Thx for passing that along.

do I need to get maintenance done once every 6 month, 12 months etc.

Doesn't sound like you are doing a lot of miles, so ... annually? I'll say this... in the year between now and then you should learn to do some of this maintenance. Its really easy to completely replace this stuff. If that $200 was labor only then thats crazy. We're talking about an hour on a Saturday morning to do a full replacement of cluster, chain and cassette body.

 

[Marrduk24]

ZTTO makes hubs with ratchet engagement as well. From what I heard they essentially cloned the DT mechanism once the patents ran out. I've often wondered if they were a safe, less expensive alternative to DT 350's. Thx for passing that along.

Doesn't sound like you are doing a lot of miles, so ... annually? I'll say this... in the year between now and then you should learn to do some of this maintenance. Its really easy to completely replace this stuff. If that $200 was labor only then thats crazy. We're talking about an hour on a Saturday morning to do a full replacement of cluster, chain and cassette body.

I should clarify. Labor was only $45. $100 was Shimano 12 speed cassette, $45 was KMC chain and $45 was labor.

annually is not that bad. I had heard stories about people needing chain replacement every 750 miles. My driving is by enlarge going to be for commuting & over flat terrain.

 

[Luto]

I would say 4-5 years. If you keep it clean. Grime will wear things down. Using Turbo (max assist) and the lowest gear will try to stretch the chain. Keep a high cadence and be gentle and I bet you could get 10 years.

BTW: Chain (50.00) and the quick link tool (15.00), chain measuring tool (15.00), is all you need. Oh and a rag or 3 and some lube and cleaner.

The only thing I would do is clean the chain, and the teeth on the cog, derailleur and chainring. When? When you see build up or it no longer purrs silently.

I got a similar setup and 2000 miles. Only thing that has happened is things are smoother. I did my first FULL clean at 1700 miles and 5-7 quick cleans and lubes before that. I ride chip seal and gravel too.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Buy a chain gauge: https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-CC...s=bike+chain+wear+gauge&qid=1617496094&sr=8-2

When your chain stretches to 0.75 (see Youtube videos on how to use this gauge) replace it.
My local bike shop told me that I should be able to go through two chains, using the 075 replacement rule, before I have to replace the cassette.

Edit: and keep your chain and cassette clean.

 

[m@Robertson]

I should clarify. Labor was only $45. $100 was Shimano 12 speed cassette, $45 was KMC chain and $45 was labor.

annually is not that bad. I had heard stories about people needing chain replacement every 750 miles. My driving is by enlarge going to be for commuting & over flat terrain.

When I said annually I was thinking more along the lines of checking things (take the cluster off and look at the cassette body, in particular). I think thats the thing thats going to go first assuming an alloy body.

At $45 they are not quoting a KMC e11 which is $55+ on sale. $45 is probably an x11. A good chain but get the 'e' version that is meant for mids. A Sunrace 11-40 1-pc steel cluster is $65 on Fleabay. The way it is constructed it'll be easier on your cassette body. If you were doing a 9-speed I'd say do a Shimano HG-400 as they are perfect for mids, and cheap.

It REALLY helps as Luto said to keep a high cadence and just let the motor spin. Plus you are not riding a high power motor.

How To Ride a Mid Drive Ebike Without Breaking It

If you can ride a bicycle you already know how to ride a hub drive ebike. Not so a mid drive. Particularly a powerful one that can tear your chain apart. Fear not. The rules are simple.

talesontwowheels.com

 

[rich c]

I ride two Bosch powered Haibikes. Replaced chains on both at 2,500 miles, cassettes looked great. The Trekking now has 5,800 and will replace the chain very soon. Cassette still doesn't look bad, but may change it as I have new cassettes on the shelf. Full Seven now has 3,700 miles and not nearly ready for drivetrain service.

 

[Marrduk24]

This is great to know. Seems like I was way exaggerating in my mind frequency at which chain & cassette may need service. Obviously it’s all a function of how you ride. But I don’t expect my riding style to be aggressive. Plus I am unlikely to be riding during rain etc. Though to offset the positives, I am unlikely to be cleaning/ lubricating on a regular basis too.

 

[m@Robertson]

This is great to know. Seems like I was way exaggerating in my mind frequency at which chain & cassette may need service. Obviously it’s all a function of how you ride. But I don’t expect my riding style to be aggressive. Plus I am unlikely to be riding during rain etc. Though to offset the positives, I am unlikely to be cleaning/ lubricating on a regular basis too.

I ride mine daily and when it starts talking or I run in the rain, I detour into a park the next day, pull up to a bench, then use a rag and some Rock And Roll to clean the chain up. I keep it in a ziploc that sits in my garage otherwise. 10 peaceful zen minutes later I'm done, stuff the rag into the ziploc, wave off the ducks looking for a handout and I'm off for another few weeks. I'm not the guy who does an ultrasonic clean, waxes the chain and then mails it off to get blessed by the Pope. Just do some basics and keep riding. Replace cluster and chain together every couple-three thousand miles and the front chainring when you don't like the looks of the worn down wide teeth. Not the most precise method but good enough for me.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I can't understand why someone would replace their chain solely based on mileage. It's very inaccurate and can end up costing more than it should.
One of the guys I ride with has 5000km on his ebike's chain, while I had to replace the chain on my (now sold, thankfully) Pedego Ridgerider at 1600km. Meanwhile, I have 3500km on my new ebike and the chain is fine.
A chain stretch guage is what should be the determiner when it comes to chain replacement.