Cassette Upgrade

[StearsOfWar]

I currently run a NX cassette, X01 derailleur and X01 chain, my current chain is 6 months old with about 670 miles on and in excellent condition. I'm about to upgrade the cassette to a X01 cassette (also replacing the hub to XD), is it really necessary to replace the chain?

As the chain is in great condition, regularly cleaned and lubed, it seems a waste to replace it. I do have a new chain in my spares bin and could relegate my current chain as a spare, what's everyone's thoughts?

 

[RustyMTB]

What is the wear on the chain? 0.5? 0.75? 1.0?

 

[Jackware]

What advantage does the X01 cassette have?

 

[MeatBike]

What advantage does the X01 cassette have?

Lower weight, better construction (machined rather than stamped), smoother shifting, looks fancier.

@StearsOfWar If spending that much on a cassette I wouldn't think twice about also replacing the chain so they wear in nicely together.

 

[RustyMTB]

Exactly that. If you're dropping dollar on a cassette, it's a false economy not to use a new chain. The existing chain will have wear & that will in turn, prematurely wear the cassette.

 

[irie]

Always new chain with new cassette.

 

[Rando_12345]

There was a great article comparing wear times on GX vs X01 and XX a while back, but I can't find it anymore. Effectively, X01 costs the same per mile as GX as it wears twice as slowly due to more expensive coating, there is no point in going to XX from a performance point of view.

In my experience, but unscientific, the chain quality is not at all important. I run a $250 cassette (X01 11speed) with a $20 chain (X1), and replace the chain every 6 months. My cassettes last for multiple years despite turbo all the time + big climbing days.

 

[steve_sordy]

Fit a new chain to the new casstte. Fit a chain of the same quality as the cassette. The chain will last longer, be less prone to rust if you delay cleaning the bike after a wet ride. Keep the old chain as a spare; trail incidents can break chains, so at least you can be up and riding again quickly while you wait for the replacement chain to arrive. Then fit the new replacement and restore the old chain to the spares bin.

If you use magic links, keep the link and chain together. When eventually the chain is scrapped, keep the old link in your backpack for free issue to other riders with broken chains, but no means to reconnect them. They will always be grateful, even when you tell them that the link is an old one.

 

[StearsOfWar]

I replace everything in the end, moving from 11/50t with 38t chainring to 10/52t with 34t chainring. I sized the chain based on SRAM's guide, including removing the air from the shock, however it came out the same size as my old chain and looks a bit tighter than the old drive train.

Does this look right, derailleur appears more horizontal in highest gear than it did before, the previous setup seemed to have slightly more slack. When on the largest gear the derailleur is approx between the 5 and 6 position.

 

[steve_sordy]

That does look a bit close to the cassette. The important one is when you are in the largest cassette gear. As long as the lower mech arm is approx 45degrees, you'll be fine. If that is OK and the closeness of the lower mech arm to the cassette is bothering you, experiment with a chain two links (1") shorter. My bike came with a 118 links as standard, but it has been 116 links ever since the emergency purchase chain was 116 and it worked absolutley fine (even with no air in the shock).

 

[StearsOfWar]

This is it on the largest gear, which looks ok. I'm taking it for a spin tomorrow to see how it goes.

 

[RustyMTB]

It's er...not on the largest gear!

Looks ok though, see how it runs I guess, you'll know 90% running it in the stand. If it's ok there, the rest will just be adjustment.

 

[StearsOfWar]

Sorry, didn't realise it was in the wrong gear, this is the right picture.

 

[RustyMTB]

Looks alright, you might have come up a link short by the look of it but see how it rides.

 

[StearsOfWar]

Just rode 16 miles and shifted fine, didn't notice any issues. Hopefully it's OK, adding a link is a pain as it would been add 2 more power links to a new chain.

 

[StearsOfWar]

I think I know where I went wrong, when I sized the chain I let the air out of the shock, but forgot to put at full sag. When I rechecked the chain tonight, this time at full sag, it was a link too short. I've added another link and readjusted the B gap. It now seems smoother going onto the largest gear. Clearly I should have paid more attention during install!

 

[RustyMTB]

Top tip: If your last chain was the right size, just cut the new one at the same point & it will always fit. I've spent good time studying out the methodology for sizing chains on full sus bikes & I cannot be arsed with it & routinely just copy the old chain length onto the new one.

 

[StearsOfWar]

Top tip: If your last chain was the right size, just cut the new one at the same point & it will always fit. I've spent good time studying out the methodology for sizing chains on full sus bikes & I cannot be arsed with it & routinely just copy the old chain length onto the new one.

That's what I usually time, but this time I changed cassette size and chairing size, hence the hassle, next chain will be easier.

 

[TheKaiser]

There was a great article comparing wear times on GX vs X01 and XX a while back, but I can't find it anymore. Effectively, X01 costs the same per mile as GX as it wears twice as slowly due to more expensive coating, there is no point in going to XX from a performance point of view.

In my experience, but unscientific, the chain quality is not at all important. I run a $250 cassette (X01 11speed) with a $20 chain (X1), and replace the chain every 6 months. My cassettes last for multiple years despite turbo all the time + big climbing days.

Here are some charts that were probably the source material for the article you're thinking of. Credit to Zerofrictioncycling.com for their awesome testing. I highly recommend people check out their site for much more in depth info and reports, and also check out their testing on lubes if you are serious about maximizing the lifespan of your drivetrain. Even after picking the best chain, using one of the best vs. worst lubes could mean a 3x or more change in the actual lifespan you get out of it. The TLDR is you should be using either hot melt wax or one of the better wax drip lubes like Squirt, Smoove, Silca, etc...(plus you can combine them, by using hot melt, and then topping up with drip wax between hot melt treatments). Hot melt time requirements can be minimized if you use 3 chains in rotation, although the high end SRAM chains are so damn durable it somewhat lessens the advantage of rotating 3 chains, so just using a good wax drip starts to make more sense on them vs. other brands of chain, in my opinion, unless you are really obsessed with squeezing out those last few % points: