Recommend me a cassette, chain and derailleur for my Aventon ebike

[mohammed]

Hello all! Happy new year!

I bought my Aventon Level V1 over a year ago and it came with some cheap parts which I now want to upgrade.

The Aventon Level V1 came as an 8 speed bike so I'd like to keep it the same.

I'm not looking to spend over the odds but I want something that's reliable. So far I've looked in to the Shimano Altus M310 7/8 speed Rear Derailleur. Reveiws make to look cheap and cheerful. I'm wondering which Shimano Altus HG31 8 Speed MTB Cassette (11-32t or 11-34t) will be compatible.

For the chain I've seen the KMC X8 8 Speed Chain on a good offer.

I've also read from other Aventon ebike owners that a higher teeth chain ring helps with the cadence at higher gears but I'm looking for one with a chain gaurd.

Any ideas or inspiration will be greatly appreciated.

 

[fooferdoggie]

you cant change it from 8 speed and thats the problem. Shimano does not make any good 8 speed parts anymore. the altus wont really be an upgrade unless you have less than Turney. the way to go is to find a used deore xt and the appropriate shifter https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr..._nkw=8+speed+shimano+rear+derailleur&_sacat=0 anything less then this is just a waste of money.

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[Greydog]

I know this is an old topic but if you are still wondering about upgrading you can use a 9 speed derailleur with an 8 speed or 7 speed drive train. Upgrade to an Alivio 9 speed.

https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Unisex-Rd-m3100-derailleur-Standard/dp/B08CGYD213

You can still find Alivio and Acera 8 speed shifters. They are interchangeable.

I would also look at an 11-28 or 11-30 speed cassette unless you are riding in hills then stick with a 12-32 or 11-32 cassette. You can use sram cassettes with shimano

https://www.rei.com/product/698250/sram-pg-850-8-speed-cassette. It is probably way lighter than what you have.

I would also look at carbon fiber seat posts, stem and handlebars to lighten up the bike. I was going to buy an Aventon 500 for my wife and upgrade parts and lighten it. The tires on the bike are very heavy and slow. Consider narrower and lighter tires. Check aliexpress for carbon fiber gear. I have bought plenty of carbon fiber gear from aliexpress without issues.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Sample of one: My rear hub-drive ebike came with a 9-speed Shimano Alivio derailleur and 11-34t cassette. The pantograph bearings wore out in the first 900 miles. The resulting slop in shifting wore out my KMC chain and casette in the same time frame.

In fairness to the derailleur, I ride in a very sandy environment with many short, steep hills — almost always at assist level 1/9. Those factors could have hastened its demise, but in only 900 miles??

Now the bike has a 10-speed Shimano Deore derailleur and 11-42t cassette with an SRAM EX-1 chain. The chain is explicitly for ebikes. Shifting's never been quicker, smoother, or more precise. Fingers crossed on longevity.

 

[gromike]

Yeah, I like the Drift Manic 11-34 freewheel with a Shimano Alivio derailleur on my two Huffy Oslos. You got a hub drive so you want a good climbing gear, and you want a quick road gear also. The more gears in between the better the riding. I do believe that the gear shift system isn't so stressed on a hub motor bike, so just match your derailleur to your cog count. You don't need no state of the art stuff.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I do believe that the gear shift system isn't so stressed on a hub motor bike....

That's the conventional wisdom, and it has to be true on average on mechanical grounds alone. But the untimely demise of my Alivio derailleur occurred on a hub-drive, so it's apparently more complicated than that.

 

[Greydog]

That's the conventional wisdom, and it has to be true on average on mechanical grounds alone. But the untimely demise of my Alivio derailleur occurred on a hub-drive, so it's apparently more complicated than that.

I have a bike with an 8 speed Alivio and it has held up for about 20 years.

 

[m@Robertson]

That's the conventional wisdom, and it has to be true on average on mechanical grounds alone. But the untimely demise of my Alivio derailleur occurred on a hub-drive, so it's apparently more complicated than that.

Yup thats correct. The hub motor propels thru the hub, which in turn lessens or eliminates entirely the stress on the entire drivetrain. Directly in the case of the cluster and the chain, and indirectly on the crankarms and front chainring because the hub rider tends to simply not work as hard mashing on the pedals. This explains why so many hub bikes have such junky drivetrains. Because they can. Cheaper than cheap freewheels (risen from the ash heap of history thanks to ebikes), Tourney and Alivio derailleurs, and crankarms (square taper gets a new lease on life) that would not survive a month on an analog bike.

@Jeremy McCreary somewhere in some other thread you asked someone how they got their drivetrains to survive in a sandy environment. I meant to chime in, forgot to and now I remember . Here's what I do: Take a Home Depot cheapie hand-pump bug sprayer, filled with water. Its always sitting in the garage. When I get in, I spray over the bike with the bug spray set to mist. This is as important to get the invisible salt spray residue off as it is to remove the fine dusting of sand on the bike. It looks like dust but I have to believe its quite a bit grittier.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have a bike with an 8 speed Alivio and it has held up for about 20 years.

that hardware is far different the it is now.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I have a bike with an 8 speed Alivio and it has held up for about 20 years.

Hmmm, sample of two with very different outcomes. My bike's never been dropped or hit, but a defective Alivio derailleur could explain my experience.

 

[m@Robertson]

Getting back to @mohammed 's question, I think the best cassette you can get for an 8 speed is the one you listed. The low end Shimanos tend to be steel and pinned together. Steel is not great for weight but very good for ebikes, as is a pinned-together cassette that distributes force across the entire cassette body so as not to dig a groove in. In your case since its a hub motor the benefit is limited. I would go with the max size one of 11-34.

You probably picked a good chain as well. KMC is tough to beat and at an 8s width that chain will be pretty inexpensive. You can get a real strong SRAM EX1 that will work fine with 8s, but the reduced price they were available at for several months appears to be over.

I have had REALLY good results with Microshift derailleurs as low cost alternatives. In this case an 8s Microshift Acolyte would be the more expensive option (and needs its own shifter) but the two Shimano choices are essentially bottom of the barrel.

This is the Microshift Acolyte page on Amazon. Scroll down a little and look at the bundle for shifter, KMC chain and derailleur. $77 for all three.

https://amzn.to/4303F4L

If I had my druthers, personally, I would do a Microshift Advent, which is 9s. Derailleur, cassette and shifter are $120. Add a KMC chain and you are into it for about $145-ish. This would be a budget setup but very high end compared to what you have.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

@Jeremy McCreary somewhere in some other thread you asked someone how they got their drivetrains to survive in a sandy environment. I meant to chime in, forgot to and now I remember . Here's what I do: Take a Home Depot cheapie hand-pump bug sprayer, filled with water. Its always sitting in the garage. When I get in, I spray over the bike with the bug spray set to mist. This is as important to get the invisible salt spray residue off as it is to remove the fine dusting of sand on the bike. It looks like dust but I have to believe its quite a bit grittier.
View attachment 153791

Thanks! I'll try the bug sprayer. You also spray down the chain, right?

Bought a set of wire brushes for chain cleaning on a recommendation in another thread. Between major chain cleanings, Plan A is to give the chain a quick brushing after every sandy ride.

Funny you should mention a bug sprayer for sand and salt management. At one point, I was considering a small one to keep in the car for the dog. When we get back to the car after a stint at an off-leash dog beach, she's full of sand and saltwater. Inevitably, sand in car = sand in house.

Every paradise has its sand.

 

[m@Robertson]

You also spray down the chain, right?

Yes the entire drivetrain. I have also sprayed the rear cluster with wd40-brand aerosol ptfe dry lube but I can't say for sure it does any good.

Bought a set of wire brushes for chain cleaning on a recommendation in another thread. Between major chain cleanings, Plan A is to give the chain a quick brushing after every sandy ride.

I would not do that. All of the gadgets associated chain cleaning are unnecessary. Here's my chain regimen: First of all, I use Rock and Roll. Its a combination solvent and lubricant, so you apply it and it cleans the chain, and the residue after you wipe it off is the lubricant. It comes in a squirt bottle. Keeping the rear wheel off the ground a little (my dual kickstand gets two hockey pucks underneath to give the bike some space), with a rag under the area I am about to squirt, I squirt carefully (not overdoing it) over the top of the chain for about a 10 to 15-link length. Then I take the rag that soaked up the oversquirt from the top and use it to wipe the chain I just squirted over, taking care to wipe the side plates. Move the chain back forward another 10-15 links (you can see where the clean part stops) and repeat for a full revolution.

Thats it. I get no less than 3000 miles on a mid drive chain doing just this for maintenance. And its sandy here as noted. 215 links on this chain. 1672 miles on it so far and you can see the wear indicator showing effectively no measurable wear.

 

[Greydog]

that hardware is far different the it is now.

Yep, it is better. I put a newer alivo on another bike and it shifts better and seems better built. Trickle down technology.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Yep, it is better. I put a newer alivo on another bike and it shifts better and seems better built. Trickle down technology.

the shifting is better because of the design but don't expect it to hold up for 20 years even 5 if you shift on a regular basis would be pushing it

 

[stanmiller]

If I had my druthers, personally, I would do a Microshift Advent, which is 9s. Derailleur, cassette and shifter are $120. Add a KMC chain and you are into it for about $145-ish. This would be a budget setup but very high end compared to what you have.

I second the Microshift Advent. I have over 8000 miles on mine. Paired with the matching ball-bearing shifter, 11-42 cassette, and a KMC chain. This is on my Bafang hub-driven Mongoose Envoy cargo bike. I've only replaced the chain and cassette once over those miles.

 

[juggernaut]

I have a bike with an 8 speed Alivio and it has held up for about 20 years.

Yep, same on my analogue Scott Sportster bike which is 15 years old.

9 speed steel HG 11-32 cassette, Alivio and KMC E9 chain on my new ebike.

 

[TrevorB]

I second the Microshift Advent. I have over 8000 miles on mine. Paired with the matching ball-bearing shifter, 11-42 cassette, and a KMC chain. This is on my Bafang hub-driven Mongoose Envoy cargo bike. I've only replaced the chain and cassette once over those miles.

A few quality ebikes are now bring supplied with Microshift instead of Shimano 9spd. Might of be supply chain issues, even so the bike manufacturers would've done their homework.

MicroShift vs Shimano: Who Has The Best Value Groupsets?

In this article we talk about what MicroShift’s products have to offer compared to similar ones from Shimano.

biketestreviews.com

My quick google on Aliexpress had Deore 10spd groupset with 11-42t cassette 30% cheaper than Microshift with 11-48t. Shimano may still be cheaper in some cases.

 

[Greydog]

My LBS does not like Microshift. I had a nice conversation with one of the mechanics and he stated that the quality is inconsistent and that many of the microshift drivetrains that they have worked on fall out of adjustment quickly of they don't adjust well. I have no experience with Microshift though.

 

[m@Robertson]

I second the Microshift Advent. I have over 8000 miles on mine. Paired with the matching ball-bearing shifter, 11-42 cassette, and a KMC chain. This is on my Bafang hub-driven Mongoose Envoy cargo bike. I've only replaced the chain and cassette once over those miles.

I remember that bike. It stuck out because my Advent drivetrain - with the 11-46T steel cluster - is on my own Mongoose Envoy. I did the long cage version of the derailleur. It works splendidly... but you know that for yourself .

Not so long ago I scored an 11-48T steel Advent X system on clearance at California Ebike (they are still on sale there). I ended up replacing my 12-50T Box 2 XW derailleur on my Bullitt and I actually get better performance out of it than the much more-expensive Box system (with a Box 1 shifter no less). On a tip from a Youtuber I put an 11s chain on that 10s system and it worked beautifully. 11s chains are the same width internally but a hair narrower externally. The idea is they run silently and when I put it on it was like a minor miracle. I never realized how much chain noise there normally is until I did this (its been awhile since I had a Gates belt so I'd forgotten that part).

My LBS does not like Microshift. I had a nice conversation with one of the mechanics and he stated that the quality is inconsistent and that many of the microshift drivetrains that they have worked on fall out of adjustment quickly of they don't adjust well

In the last few years Microshift has made a concerted effort to leave their old reputation behind. It started with the 9s Advent system, and continued with the Advent X. Both my Advent and Advent X were super easy to adjust at install and neither has needed any further tinkering. It helped maybe to use the Microshift install videos which have very different - but really easy - derailleur adjustment instructions.

Their clusters are a marvel for mid drive durability. 1-pc steel if you want that version. Pinned together all over the place so no worries about tacos, with bolsters in between the big ones to further brace them. Even the two smallest cogs are steel which is unusual. In the pics below, the first one is 10s Advent X and the second is 9s Advent. These are like $39 cassettes too so MUCH better choice than Shimano HG400 for example, which used to be my favorite 9s mid-drive cluster.

My Advent X experience is not a knock on Box Components. I have several Box 2 setups and the only reason it didn't work on my new Bullitt is its super short chainstays coupled to a BBSHD. Not enough room to maneuver, and I gained a couple extra usable gears thanks to the slightly different teeth and closer cog spacing. Box would be overkill by a wide margin for an Aventon.