Ebike cassettes and chains

[kingsknight]

I've been looking at buying some supplies for my bike just in case I need anything I will have to hand.

My question what is the best Ebike cassette + chain combo for long life? I'd rather pay the extra money and get more miles out of my parts.

I've been reading that mid drive motors needs their chains replacing every 500 miles? I'm already at 200 miles lol

 

[Chris.]

I've been looking at buying some supplies for my bike just in case I need anything I will have to hand.

My question what is the best Ebike cassette + chain combo for long life? I'd rather pay the extra money and get more miles out of my parts.

I've been reading that mid drive motors needs their chains replacing every 500 miles? I'm already at 200 miles lol

The best cassette for an ebike are all steel cassetes and there are ebike chains that cost double the amount of some chains. Im not sure how stronger they are than high strenth none ebike chains or if they are worth the extra but high tensile steel is harder than other materials used to make cassettes and chains

 

[Fordulike]

I've just been using KMC chains and low end Shimano cassettes on a BBS02 750w. Cheap as chips to replace. Not sure paying extra on these components is cost effective, as the BBS02 eats through them no matter what.

I usually replace 2 chains to one cassette. It's the 11T cog that usually starts skipping.

 

[kingsknight]

I've just been using KMC chains and low end Shimano cassettes on a BBS02 750w. Cheap as chips to replace. Not sure paying extra on these components is cost effective, as the BBS02 eats through them no matter what.

I usually replace 2 chains to one cassette. It's the 11T cog that usually starts skipping.

What mileage are you getting before needing to replace the chain?

 

[Fordulike]

What mileage are you getting before needing to replace the chain?

IIRC, I get about 1000 miles out of a chain before it gives me problems. I have pretty much maxed out the programming on my BBS02, so the chain gets lots of high torque abuse.

Forum peeps will have different opinions on what lube to use and when, but I apply Finish Line Dry Teflon lube every now and then. I ride very dusty trails and the dust tends to stick less using the dry lube. As I say, peeps will say use this that or the other, but just find a lube that works for your riding conditions.

Oh, and wipe down the chain every now and again. A cheap pack of toothbrushes is great for removing crud too.

 

[kingsknight]

IIRC, I get about 1000 miles out of a chain before it gives me problems. I have pretty much maxed out the programming on my BBS02, so the chain gets lots of high torque abuse.

Forum peeps will have different opinions on what lube to use and when, but I apply Finish Line Dry Teflon lube every now and then. I ride very dusty trails and the dust tends to stick less using the dry lube. As I say, peeps will say use this that or the other, but just find a lube that works for your riding conditions.

Oh, and wipe down the chain every now and again. A cheap pack of toothbrushes is great for removing crud too.

I've put together a chain cleaning kit. degreaser, Chain cleaning brush, 3 in 1 chain spray ( It was recommended to me ) and a bunch of rags to clean it up. I'm planning on cleaning the chain every 100ish miles depending on the weather!

The active line plus isn't that powerful so I'm hoping that I'll get around 1250 /1500 miles per chain. Halfords said that I should get around 5000 miles from the rear cassette.

E-Bikes are really new to me and I keep finding a lot of conflicting information.

I'm under the understanding that as I've got a large crank drive this will lower the wear on the chain? The new active line plus motors do shut off when changing gear to try to help with the wear on the chain now!

 

[Chris.]

I've put together a chain cleaning kit. degreaser, Chain cleaning brush, 3 in 1 chain spray ( It was recommended to me ) and a bunch of rags to clean it up. I'm planning on cleaning the chain every 100ish miles depending on the weather!

The active line plus isn't that powerful so I'm hoping that I'll get around 1250 /1500 miles per chain. Halfords said that I should get around 5000 miles from the rear cassette.

E-Bikes are really new to me and I keep finding a lot of conflicting information.

I'm under the understanding that as I've got a large crank drive this will lower the wear on the chain? The new active line plus motors do shut off when changing gear to try to help with the wear on the chain now!

I'm getting 1000 miles before my smallest tooth is worn but I ride in that tooth most of the time. Not ideal but I'm going to change my largest chainring so I'm comfortable in the middle of my cassette most of the time. If you get 5000 miles that's good I wish I got 2000 miles hopefully I will when I change the chainring

 

[kingsknight]

I'm getting 1000 miles before my smallest tooth is worn but I ride in that tooth most of the time. Not ideal but I'm going to change my largest chainring so I'm comfortable in the middle of my cassette most of the time. If you get 5000 miles that's good I wish I got 2000 miles hopefully I will when I change the chainring

How many miles are you getting out of your chainrings? What motor are you running?

 

[Chris.]

How many miles are you getting out of your chainrings? What motor are you running?

I've not changed my chainrings yet I've done about 2000 miles probably heading for 2500 and my chanrings are fine. My motor is the sync drive sport made by yamaha. I've got a Giant E+1 mainly road use with a bit off road now and again. I've got through two cassettes in that mileage but it's just the first and second smallest teeth. My smallest tooth is worn now second is still good. I would be better suited to the road gearing setup but I love the mountain bike

 

[kingsknight]

That is a very nice sporty motor! You've got 30 Nm more torque than me! I think the Active Line Plus motor is a bit more friendly to the drive system as it's a weaker motor! I love the look of the Giant E+! You've got a nice bike!

I mainly do road riding as well

 

[anotherkiwi]

I've been looking at buying some supplies for my bike just in case I need anything I will have to hand.

My question what is the best Ebike cassette + chain combo for long life? I'd rather pay the extra money and get more miles out of my parts.

I've been reading that mid drive motors needs their chains replacing every 500 miles? I'm already at 200 miles lol

Over 2600 km on my original chain and about 700 km of that was unrestricted... It is a little tired now but will do for another 500 k I think.

 

[Chris.]

That is a very nice sporty motor! You've got 30 Nm more torque than me! I think the Active Line Plus motor is a bit more friendly to the drive system as it's a weaker motor! I love the look of the Giant E+! You've got a nice bike!

I mainly do road riding as well

Thanks the bosh motor looks a good motor too. I have noticed more people seem to go for the bosh systems than the Giant or yamaha motor. What will be interesting is how many miles on average you get out of them in comparison, and who end up the best suppliers of afters sales parts. Giant just upgraded the motors to pro version. They made the mortor slightly smaller but the price is significantly higher for basically the same motor. In my opinion that will slow sales quite a bit until they drop the price

 

[soundwave]

giant use a Yamaha motor with there batt and display but as for motor spares there are non for sale oem part wise.

even after warranty is over bosch want the old motor back b4 you can buy a new one.

Specialized use the brose motor and there own batt and display

 

[Chris.]

giant use a Yamaha motor with there batt and display but as for motor spares there are non for sale oem part wise.

even after warranty is over bosch want the old motor back b4 you can buy a new one.

Specialized use the brose motor and there own batt and display

Yes exactly and the market leader will have to sell parts in my opinion to gain a reputation for looking after customers and not ripping them off. If they don't other company's will start to eventually fill that demand and they will lose aftersales revenue. At the moment they are bringing new motors out each year to try to counteract it

 

[soundwave]

if apple dont give a crap then i dont see it changing any time soon

 

[Chris.]

if apple dont give a crap then i dont see it changing any time soon

I suspect I could get a yamaha motor imported that would fit my bike not been into it but that's why I picked yamaha motor. I suspect they sell one under a different title where they are manufactured. Yamaha sell to there own people and overseas. Giant call it syncdrive I suspect yamaha call it something else. Its there tecnology

 

[Trevormonty]

That is a very nice sporty motor! You've got 30 Nm more torque than me! I think the Active Line Plus motor is a bit more friendly to the drive system as it's a weaker motor! I love the look of the Giant E+! You've got a nice bike!

I mainly do road riding as well

I got 2500km (changed at 0.75 mark) from 9spd chain on STEPs E6000 which is equivalent to activeline plus. Cassette was still OK at 5000kms on 2nd chain.This was commuter doing lot of climbing so cassette wear was spread around. On flat expect lot of wear on gear that used at 25kmh.

I suggest getting chain wear measuring tool and change at 0.75 mark.

If running 11spd chain may not last as long.

 

[soundwave]

you cant mix motors even if there the same make giant have there own software so it will only work with there stuff.

you will also find the connectors are all different so you cant plug them in anyway.

 

[zakventis]

How many miles are you getting out of your chainrings? What motor are you running?

I run a Trek with Performance CX setup. 16 tooth Connex chainring lasts about 2,000 miles then I reverse it for a further 2,000. Chains (KMC X11) last around 2,000 (Smoove every 200 miles) and I'm still on the original M8000 cassette (11-42) although the 13/15/17 rings are looking a bit worn now so will replace it very soon.

Total mileage since buying it in April 2017 - 5,755 and not a fault to be found with the Bosch equipment. In fact, the only other things that have been changed are the front brake rotor @ 4,100 miles and rear wheel bearings. I should point out that 75% of my riding is on roads, the rest on tracks/paths but I keep going all year round and wouldn't be without it - a real life changer!

 

[Deno]

I have a delimited Bosch CX motor and use the bike to commute on roads. Chains last about 2k miles for me. I replace the sprocket, chain and cassette in one go although I have thought of just reversing the sprocket. This was with the standard KMC 10speed chain. The cassette is a shimano HG50 11-36 and I use an 18T front sprocket. I am a bit lax on my cleaning, degreasing maybe every 500mls and using lifeline wet lube. Also I am pretty hard on my gears but I do ease off for gear changes as much as possible.

On the next service I am going to try an ebike rated KMC chain and I am going to replace the derailleur cogs too.