I regularly use my Turbo Vado 4 about 3x per week and cover an average of 100km per week. I maintain my bike meticulously and in particular look after the drive train making sure it’s clean and lubricated every week. So now that it’s done 2000km in 5 months I see that the chain (KMC e10) has worn by 0.5% but has not reached 0.75% according to the Park tool chain checker. New chain is on order so that the cassette and/or chain ring get some more life. Wondering how many miles others are getting from their chains ? My rides have been predominantly on tarmac roads with no excessive dust/grit.
Turbo Vado 4 Chain Wear
- Thread starter mordase
- Start date
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
The chain wear can happen very fast with mid-drive motor, especially if high assistance is used and/or the cyclist prefers higher gears/slow cadence. Your chain wear/distance ridden is about right. I got obsessed with chain wear on my e-bikes and use digital calliper often to not fall in the trap of worn cassette cogs/chainring. That cost me a lot of money in the past. Better to inspect the chain and replace it in time!
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fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
yes it can vary a lot. on my bosch bike when I was first riding on turbo because I was so sick I got 1200 miles then 2500 then 3000 as I sued less assist and shifted better. I always spun at 80roms.
Sierratim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
I maintain my chains as you do riding mostly on paved streets with some gravel and dirt. Our area is very hilly so I do ride at higher levels of assistance on average. I change my chain every 1,000 miles even though it has never reached the 0.5% wear point. I have not had any shifting problems nor have had to replace any other drive train parts.
Some others have reported waiting until over 2,000 miles or when the chain reaches 0.75% wear. They have had to replace other components to restore shifting performance.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
check your chain if it has not reached .5 in 1000 miles don't waste your money. I change it as soon as .5 and I have over 7000 miles on my drive chain and all is fine.
McCorby
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
When you start off from a stop, do you downshift to a lower gear first?
Edit: If not, it is highly recommended to do so.
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When I come to a stop I usually downshift to a lower gear first. Typically I start from a stop in 3rd or 4th gear. The day the chain failed I was near the top of the hill coming to a red light and coasting to a stop. The light changed to green, and I decided to start peddling and was probably in 7th or even 8th gear when the chain failed. This is a pretty typical use case for me as almost all of my riding is city riding with significant traffic.
I recognize that I ride my bikes hard, but that said, I also own a number of e-bikes and regular bikes, have ridden up and down this hill for years and have never had a chain fail on me like this.
Nxkharra
Well-Known Member
Just noticed the chain was stretched on my 2020 Vado 5 to .5 using Park Tool.
immediately stopped riding and a visit to LBS. They had the KMC chain in stock. Changed the chain and firmware update. I always ask if there is anything else needed so they can do an save me another trip to them.
They assured me erything else was OK. After first ride I heard a familiar chirping noise from the chain ring. This happened last time I changed the chain and ended up with a new chain ring (which of course was back ordered and had to wait couple of weeks).
This time chain ring was in stock and was replaced.
I also asked for a new upgraded XT cassette (my XLS cassette was OK but didn’t want to wait for it to go bad and affect other components). Have a little over 4,000 miles on the bike.
So I have all three new chain, chain ring, and cassette. Wow what a feeling. About US$350 poorer but great ride today. So my experience is by the time you notice the chain is stretched the chain ring is also need replacing. Realize this is my experience with my riding style and yours might be different.
Per @Sierratim don’t wait for the chain to be stretched if you don’t want new chain ring. I think he recommends 1,000 miles. I think mine was about 1,800 miles since my last chain.
Happy riding. San Diego was high of 88” today. No sign of winter.
immediately stopped riding and a visit to LBS. They had the KMC chain in stock. Changed the chain and firmware update. I always ask if there is anything else needed so they can do an save me another trip to them.
They assured me erything else was OK. After first ride I heard a familiar chirping noise from the chain ring. This happened last time I changed the chain and ended up with a new chain ring (which of course was back ordered and had to wait couple of weeks).
This time chain ring was in stock and was replaced.
I also asked for a new upgraded XT cassette (my XLS cassette was OK but didn’t want to wait for it to go bad and affect other components). Have a little over 4,000 miles on the bike.
So I have all three new chain, chain ring, and cassette. Wow what a feeling. About US$350 poorer but great ride today. So my experience is by the time you notice the chain is stretched the chain ring is also need replacing. Realize this is my experience with my riding style and yours might be different.
Per @Sierratim don’t wait for the chain to be stretched if you don’t want new chain ring. I think he recommends 1,000 miles. I think mine was about 1,800 miles since my last chain.
Happy riding. San Diego was high of 88” today. No sign of winter.
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Sierratim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
88°F in San Diego, wow! It was 64°F here today, beautiful ride in Spring like weather though we should have had a couple of good snow storms and lots more rain by now.
I do replace my chains at ~1,000 miles with regular cleanings between. They're never near the wear limit, but also not $300 to keep the shifting right. Just sayin'.
Nxkharra
Well-Known Member
I must add that XT cassette replacement was not necessary and was my choice to upgrade from SLX. This amounts to almost half of the cost.88°F in San Diego, wow! It was 64°F here today, beautiful ride in Spring like weather though we should have had a couple of good snow storms and lots more rain by now.
I do replace my chains at ~1,000 miles with regular cleanings between. They're never near the wear limit, but also not $300 to keep the shifting right. Just sayin'.
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
@Sierratim: There's a small issue, and perhaps you could have an answer? The cassette in my Vado is sound. The chain is almost new and not stretched at all. The chainring is new. The only issue is the "chirping noise from the chainring" (as Nxkharra has put it) and only in the granny gear! Jacek looked at that and told me it was strange but it looked as if the chain was stiff and didn't like to be bent as much as to co-work smoothly with the chainring on the largest cassette cog. Any ideas? (It is not critical now in the Winter; I just don't use the granny gear now).
Nxkharra
Well-Known Member
@Stefan Mikes how new is chain ring? Both times the chirping disappeared when i replaced the chain ring in my case.
I noticed difference between two chains, kmc and shimano, the kmc is looser in contruction or tolerances, and could twist and put more curve into it. The shimano was a tighter construction.
Look for abnormal wear on the chain ring teeth, where the anodization has wore.
Look for abnormal wear on the chain ring teeth, where the anodization has wore.
Nxkharra
Well-Known Member
Great observation. What do you think this phenomenon can cause? Looser in tolerance and construction vs stiffer Shimano?
I know the original chain on my Vado was Shimano but LBS decided on KMC.
do you think this looser tolerance causes more ware in chain ring??
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
My chainring is as new as the chain itself. The chain has a minimal wear. It might be what Marcela says.
When I installed the KMC on the Sequoia replacing the Shimano after 6 yrs there was a noticeable difference. I don't think the tighter tolerances causes any problem with the chain line. Might be a difference of the lubricant being able to get into the workings. My process is to clean a new chain completely then lube while it is on the bench than a second time shortly after the first ride so I cover any applications missed or insufficient.
But I do know the difference between chains was quite noticeable, wasn't a little, but like wow. This was with a KMC10x and whatever Spec used on the Sequoia when it came out, probably a HS601 or what I have on hand.
And I did put a KMC on the Sequoia but haven't put a lot of miles on it. Prob won't use another though and watching for any excess wear.
I also never do a complete chain cleaning once I put it on, for the most part unless it takes a mud bath. Every time you do a chain bath you remove lubricant from the inside and have to start all over again and make sure it gets into all the nooks and crannies.
But I do know the difference between chains was quite noticeable, wasn't a little, but like wow. This was with a KMC10x and whatever Spec used on the Sequoia when it came out, probably a HS601 or what I have on hand.
And I did put a KMC on the Sequoia but haven't put a lot of miles on it. Prob won't use another though and watching for any excess wear.
I also never do a complete chain cleaning once I put it on, for the most part unless it takes a mud bath. Every time you do a chain bath you remove lubricant from the inside and have to start all over again and make sure it gets into all the nooks and crannies.
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