Monday, September 14, 2009

Bicycle maintenance

I don't seem to be disciplined enough to log everything promptly, but from partial records I can see that the chain on my Trek 5200 lasted from April to September, approximately 2400 miles. This seems to be roughly typical for Ultegra chains, although there is wide variation depending on conditions. I ride this bike in good weather, but I like to climb (and do a lot of grindy climbs on training rides), so I shouldn't be disappointed. Chain before that one was late July of the year before, so I guess I'm looking at a bit less than two chains per year on this bike.

The chain on my Salsa was replaced in March, and seems to have lasted about half a year (based on the bike being built in October 2008). That's a rain and winter bike, so it won't be surprising if I go through chains a little faster, even though I put less total miles on the bike. In March I also got a new cassette on the Salsa, but that was replacing a cassette that came from my earlier Trek 5200 destroyed by a car in 2006.

When bike maintenance starts seeming expensive, I remind myself how much more expensive it would be to maintain a car (we get by on one car for the family).

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