When to change a cassette?

DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
Is there a way to measure cassette wear or is it just a visual thing of when the teeth start to look worn? It's an Eagle GX cassette and has at least 5000km on and is probably getting close to needing it's 3rd chain. A lot of those kms have been in dry, dusty/sandy conditions. It's starting to become difficult (more) to tune for nice shifting...
 
franco cozzo

franco cozzo

Likes Dirt
...i do it after 3 x chains and when i start noticing poor shifting performance. so 4th chain gets a new cassette at the same time....
 
hifiandmtb

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
^^^ Speaketh the truth,

Same with NW chainrings - I'll use one until it won't work with a new chain ('orrible noises & chainsuck) then chuck another on.

Always pays to have a spare chainring & cassette knocking about as a constant spare pool.
 
S

SummitFever

Eats Squid
Also, some people advocate changing the chain much earlier than 0.75 wear or rotating through several chains at the same time and that may make the cassette last longer. I've never put this to the test but it sounds plausible.
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
SummitFever said:
Also, some people advocate changing the chain much earlier than 0.75 wear or rotating through several chains at the same time and that may make the cassette last longer. I've never put this to the test but it sounds plausible.
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Yep, I normally change out a bit earlier otherwise I find I end up doing a new chainring too.... Must be the conditions here grind out the chainrings too.
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
Has anyone tried the NX cassette? I know it's a fair bit heavier but is the shift/performance similar to GX?
 
born-again-biker

born-again-biker

Is looking for a 16" bar
DMan said:
Has anyone tried the NX cassette? I know it's a fair bit heavier but is the shift/performance similar to GX?
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My Process has the NX 12 speed cassette on it.
Shifts nice as long as you tune the cables/b-tension/index accurately. (same as other SRAM d'trains)
But it's over 600g I think. One of the heaviest on the market from any manufacturer.
I'm going to replace mine soon just for weight. I think it would take me 100 years to wear it out.
 
BT180

BT180

Max Pfaff
SummitFever said:
I will change a cassette when a new chain no longer works. That is, you put a new chain on and it skips under pressure on the old cassette.
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This is timely advice. I just replaced the chain on my original GX cassette. It shifts beautifully in the stand, but under load in some of the higher gears it skips. New cassette time?
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
born-again-biker said:
My Process has the NX 12 speed cassette on it.
Shifts nice as long as you tune the cables/b-tension/index accurately. (same as other SRAM d'trains)
But it's over 600g I think. One of the heaviest on the market from any manufacturer.
I'm going to replace mine soon just for weight. I think it would take me 100 years to wear it out.
Click to expand...
Yep, they sure are heavy....
BT180 said:
This is timely advice. I just replaced the chain on my original GX cassette. It shifts beautifully in the stand, but under load in some of the higher gears it skips. New cassette time?
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Sounds like it. Yep, similar issues. It's not skipping, but really hard to tune. Holding up on cogs, epsecially on the larger ones, and not shifting nicely. Either can get it to shift down well, but then not up through the gears or vice versa. The cabling is new..
I'm seriously thinking about switching over to SLX. Less than $200 to fit a SLX derailleur and XT shifter...
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
BT180 said:
Yeah, can only find the other one which appears to be the non-XD
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Bugger. I'd like to try the SLX but the new Micro-spline sucks balls as I'm presently XD.
 
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Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
I usually change them when they slip but I've found that when they get old even if they don't slip under load in the yard, you can make them slip on rough terrain as they seem to jump the teeth on the smaller sprockets and even if you ride in muddy conditions they tend to slip more.
 
gillyske

gillyske

Likes Dirt
BT180 said:
Think i'm going to try the Sunrace 12-speed. Although it's heavier than the GX!
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Have you considered one of the cassettes off aliexpress?

I have a sunshine 11-50t one and it works pretty well, hasn't died yet and only weighs 400g. It's lighter than a GX and only cost me about $120.
 
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