Wear and tear

[EddiePJ]

After last weeks ride, I noticed that there was significant movement in the rear cassette of the Neo Xtrem and thought that I'd get it checked over whilst the new forks were being replaced today. As I kind of already knew, the cassette turned out to be worth nothing more than scrap value. Sadly the motor has also been getting noisy of late, and the free wheel hasn't exactly been at it's best. My riding has punished the bike big time, and in the 780miles of ownership, it's now had a chain, a rear cassette, the free wheel stripped and cleaned, a set of brake pads, a new rear gear change cable and eaten a set of OE tyres.
I blame all of this on myself and the hard use/life that I give the bike, and items such as above are going to suffer on any make of bike when used off road, in wet muddy conditions, then cleaned afterwards. Water and fine grit being the enemy. Whilst I don't like this situation, I accept it and reluctantly will either have to change my riding habits which I don't want to do, or just put up with regular maintenance costs. Roll on summer, then I'll have wear and tear issues caused through dust to contend with!

I'm guessing that not many are going to need the above parts replaced that frequently, but how does your own experiences of general wear and tear add up?

 

[flecc]

Purely road use no problems, even when using cheap Shimano freewheels on a rear hub motor, over 6000 miles commonly without changing anything on the transmission.

On a Lafree bike with an original 2003 Panasonic unit, so motor and pedalling though the transmission, the chain, rear and motor sprockets needed changing on one occasion at just over 3000 miles. Of course more recent crank drive units including from Panasonic are more powerful so will produce more rapid wear.

 

[Emo Rider]

Way back when I purchased a road bike, I joined a triathelon club and started the level of ridership that goes with the training and races. It was a 14 speed entry level bike with a basic shimano and chain setup. I had the bike for 5 years before purchasing a Merida Road Race. When I sold the bkke it still had its original drive train.

Like eddiepj said, the type use and care will determine the life of your kit. Nothing beats regular cleaning and maintenance to make your purchases go farther.

 

[Alan Quay]

I ride mainly road/farm track, and a bit of beach. I never clean/lube after use, but I do add a bit of 'whatever' lube/oil/grease when I remember. I got about 1000 miles from the chain and cassette (shimano) with front wheel drive motor.

Since it only cost £30 to replace chain/sprocket I'm happy with my preventitive maintenance schedule.

 

[Croxden]

One of the reasons I chose a NuVinci drive and Gates carbon belt was the lack of maintenance requirement. Still seems a good idea to me.

 

[RobF]

I think Eddie is being a bit too understanding.

Would, say, a £750 mountain bike given similar use need the same number of bits changing?

I doubt it.

 

[El Champiero]

In my long years of mountain biking I can say that cassettes outlast standard screw on freewheels in terms of the internal bearings by a long way. As for chain replacement, tyres etc it all depends on so many variables it makes it very hard to make a standard approximation of how fast things will wear out. I often go riding on the road and in the wet and winter on both my mountain bike and electric bike. The mountain bike gets to see off road action about once a fortnight - more in the summer months .

The black gunk from the road does nasty things to the chain - hence the need to keep it clean more often. The fine silica particles in mud do a bloody good job of knackering the drivetrain too - especially the chain and cassette. It also depends on how hard you push the bike - i.e. how many hills you sprint up, the torque through the chain and the rest

 

[El Champiero]

Ill also be very lucky if I can get the chain on my Scott e bike lasting anything over 9 months being used 3-4 times per week on a 26 mile total daily commute. Usually I replace it every 6 months which gives me a few months extra life on the cassette. I also replaced my alloy 44T chainring with a standard Deore steel chainring after it got totally shot prior to 18 months of usage. I think the steel chainring should last significantly longer.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I think a rear hub-motor is better for commuting on a bike that distance. It takes all the stress off the drive-train and off you. In my 6000 miles of ebiking, I've never had to change anything in the drive train other than upgrading the crank-set to stop creaking and cranks coming loose. A nice "250w" 500w Bafang CST makes a journey like that a breeze. It's a shame that we don't see more bikes with that motor.

 

[El Champiero]

I like the workout on the legs with the crank drive - makes you feel you are doing something. I found when I had a hub motor my legs got out of shape a bit if I rode the e bike for too many dates in a row. A new chain costs about £10 and a new cassette (not always required) costs about £30. I can settle for that.

Hub motors certainly do put much less strain on the drive chain though. I guess if my legs were not in shape then I might go for a hub drive.

A crank drive bike tends to handle better too - I ride my e bike hard and like to jump it off things and flip it around corners without the back end feeling too heavy - makes the ride into work a bit more interesting.

 

[EddiePJ]

Out of interest are crank drive motors better sealed against water ingress than hub drives?

Thanks for the kind words Rob, and whilst I'm sure that component and bearing quality etc must make undoubtedly make a difference in relation to wear and tear, it's been commented on several occasions that I am asking a lot from my bike in relation to the often harsh conditions that I love riding it in so much. I can see that, and totally agree with the comments, but I'm also actually a very fussy git when it comes to looking after things, and yesterday as trivial as it may seem, knocked me sideways to the extent that I haven't even been out on the bike today. That is something that has not previously happened. I'm just frustrated with my self for not having spotted signs sooner and acted upon them.
Even in respect of the motor getting louder, I had stupidly convinced my self that it was just in my head, and that the noise was just being amplified by the aluminium frame. This was despite the fact that people walkers were starting to look around as I approached, where as no one previously had. The issue with motor is very kindly being dealt with.

 

[flecc]

Out of interest are crank drive motors better sealed against water ingress than hub drives?

Yes, the best ones are vastly better and in my experience will stand almost any amount of water, both unit and handlebar controls being well sealed.

In a major test of a Kalkhoff Agattu with a Panasonic unit in December 2007 I rode it through a flooded road with the unit submerged without the slightest ill-effect then or later. I wouldn't dare do similar with any hub motor e-bike.

 

[RobF]

. The issue with motor is very kindly being dealt with.

Oh dear, has the motor conked out now as well?

Not that I would expect any hub motor to tolerate being submerged in mud or water.

 

[EddiePJ]

Oh dear, has the motor conked out now as well?

Not that I would expect any hub motor to tolerate being submerged in mud or water.

Lets just say that it isn't as quiet as it first was.

Don't know why I put the smile in.