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When do I need new chainrings

Old 09-21-20, 09:51 AM
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msdumo
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When do I need new chainrings

What is the best way to determine that the chainrings need to be replaced?
When is a chain ready for replacement?
Is chain life the only consequence of riding with a bad chainring?
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Old 09-21-20, 10:12 AM
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Oddly enough you're not the first to ask this question. There are probably dozens of threads and hundreds of posts covering chain/chainring/cassette wear. Maybe a little searching would get you the answers you're looking for w/o starting another new thread.

Chainring and cassette cog wear happen because chains become worn. The generally accepted amount of wear for a chain is about 1/16" over 12" of chain. If you replace the chain at this point your rings and cogs will likely get along nicely w/ the new chain. If you go much further than this you'll likely get skipping as the new chain won't fully engage w/ the worn rings/cogs. If you put a new chain on worn rings/cogs and get skipping you know you need to replace them as well. Experienced mechanics can generally tell when chainrings are worn by visual inspection. Cassette cogs are a little harder to judge, but when you compare worn to new you can see the difference.
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Old 09-21-20, 11:40 AM
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It will be okay if you wait till a new chain on your bike shows them as worn out by skipping when you put some muscle into pedaling. While some might argue that a worn ring or rear cog will wear your chain faster and you should always replace them together, that's going a little overboard in preventative maintenance for those of us that don't put in very serious mileage each year. IMO.

With some cranks, you might be better off changing the entire crankset instead of just looking for a ring for it. Might also be a time to consider if your gearing needs improvement that smaller or larger rings might help.
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Old 09-21-20, 12:35 PM
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Originally Posted by msdumo
Is chain life the only consequence of riding with a bad chainring?
I have had chainsuck after putting a new chain on worn chainrings, and you don't want that.
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Old 09-21-20, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by subgrade
I have had chainsuck after putting a new chain on worn chainrings, and you don't want that.
No joke.

If you try to pull the chain away from the chainring it's on, towards the front of the bike, and you see air below the chain, then the ring is worn out.
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Old 09-21-20, 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
It will be okay if you wait till a new chain on your bike shows them as worn out by skipping when you put some muscle into pedaling. While some might argue that a worn ring or rear cog will wear your chain faster and you should always replace them together, that's going a little overboard in preventative maintenance for those of us that don't put in very serious mileage each year. IMO.

With some cranks, you might be better off changing the entire crankset instead of just looking for a ring for it. Might also be a time to consider if your gearing needs improvement that smaller or larger rings might help.
Good advice.
I have a 35 yr old Raleigh MTB with cup and cone BB with pitted cones.
Not ready to spend $100 on it yet but if I do it will be with 2 piece crankset, new chain and hollow shaft BB.
Thanks
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Old 09-21-20, 01:50 PM
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Originally Posted by msdumo
I have a 35 yr old Raleigh MTB with cup and cone BB with pitted cones.
Not ready to spend $100 on it yet but if I do it will be with 2 piece crankset, new chain and hollow shaft BB.
Thanks
Well that describes my Raleigh Comp GS except for it being a little older and a road bike.

It was cup and cone too. Thankfully a BSA threaded BB. I put a RaceFace Cadence crank in it. Which is a two piece crank with external bearing cups. If went on easy and was a very good crank IMO. I also added a freewheel with more speeds since this was a friction shift on the downtube and didn't require a chunk of change or other changes.
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