# What's the life of a cassette?



## Wood Devil (Apr 30, 2011)

With my mountain bike I've always been told to replace the chain and cassette after 1500 miles. Riding strictly road with it, though, I bought a chain wear indicator and found that even closing in on 3000 miles that chain still had plenty of life left. 

I think because I clean the drivetrain after every ride helps.

But reading some other threads around here, I'm hearing some of you guys are putting 6000 miles on a cassette. Are these road cassettes different from the mountain bike components of which I'm more familiar?

I've got a Shimano Dura Ace 10 speed on my CAAD9. Cleaning after every ride, how much should I conceivably get out of it? While I was told to change a cassette with the chain, are things different on the road bike side of the fence? Should I just be changing the chain when worn and leave the cassette alone unless excessively worn?


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## ezdoesit (Sep 7, 2008)

OK here is my $0.02 worth,
If you keep your cassette and chain clean very clean then who would know how long it would last. Here is a good point my own cassette and chain I changed both of them last March right you heard right March of 2010 and checked my chain two days ago and the chain checker as well as a ruler was dead on and not showing any sign of wear.I finished last year with 4,444.4 miles and now have 1,165 miles so far this year still running the same cassette and chain.-
I am very anal about cleaning my bike and drive train so I don't really think there is a number as far as mileage.
NOW this is my answer to your question and what is working for me which is cleaning the chain at least once a week and a wipe down after every ride.
I hope in some way this helps you out.


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

I'm not really sure about Dura Ace because they've got a few titanium gears (I'm pretty sure) but 6000 is really low. Even if I tried to wear one out in 6K I don't think I could do it. It certainly wouldn't happen with reasonable cleaning and not letting the chain to too far.

Regardless, don't change it on a schedule, change it when you know it's worn out.....whenever that might be.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

I got 3 chains out of one Veloce cassette previously.. so over 9000 miles I believe... I keep a VERY clean drive train though.


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## xjbaylor (Dec 28, 2006)

In most situations a road cassette will last much longer than a mountain cassette simply because of the conditions in which they are used. Mountain drivetrains are constantly dealing with dirt, mud, water, sand, etc. Road bikes obviously are as well, but not to the same extent. 
I do think you can get more than 1500 miles out of a mountain bike cassette with proper maintenance and a good wax lube. In fact, I think you could _easily_ double that in all but the worst conditions.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

How much wood could a Woodchuck chuck?????

Your mileage could vary.

Not including batteries.

Never discard a chain until it is worn out.

Never discard a cassette until it skips on a new chain.


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## PSC (Mar 10, 2004)

Clean drivetrain, I get over 3k miles on chains and well over 10k miles on a cassette.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Hank Stamper said:


> I'm not really sure about Dura Ace because they've got a few titanium gears (I'm pretty sure) but 6000 is really low. Even if I tried to wear one out in 6K I don't think I could do it. It certainly wouldn't happen with reasonable cleaning and not letting the chain to too far.
> 
> Regardless, don't change it on a schedule, change it when you know it's worn out.....whenever that might be.


Those titanium cogs do wear out faster, IME.

Some people report only about 3K on a DA cassette. I think I got about 4K out of mine before I tossed it.


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## cyclesport45 (Dec 10, 2007)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> Never discard a cassette until it skips on a new chain.


I try to replace my cassette after every ride, but sometimes I'm too busy detailing my cable ferrules. . . .


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## Pirx (Aug 9, 2009)

robdamanii said:


> Those titanium cogs do wear out faster, IME.


So I am being told. All I know is that I've got about 4500 miles on my Campy SR cassette (top 6 cogs titanium), and after I cleaned it two weeks ago when swapping wheels, all of the cogs looked almost like new, except for the usual somewhat shinier spots where the chain glides onto/off the cog during shifts. 

I'm not being particularly anal about cleaning, typically put some fresh Chain-L No.5 on the chain every 1500 miles or so. I do, however, rarely ride in the rain, which can make a big difference. That fine silt that gets sprayed into the chain when you ride on wet roads can do quite a job on your equipment fairly quickly.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*a little tip*



> I bought a chain wear indicator


I don't know which of those you bought, but most of them are worthless; or, to be more precise, most of them are less accurate than measuring chain wear with a plain old ruler.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

Ruler is best. Chain wear indicators include roller wear which is almost totally irrelevant.

Rain kills chains. Worn cogs kill chains. Worn chains kill cogs....

Keep track of chain life and if it seems your chains aren't lasting as long as they used to, install a new cassette....perhaps every 4-6 chains.


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## mimason (Oct 7, 2006)

I replace chains at .75 mark on a Parks Tool and have had a cassette (SRAM RED 11-23) on my bike for over two years and a lot of mashing. I do change out wheelsets occasionally, but I estimate over 10k miles and still going.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Pirx said:


> So I am being told. All I know is that I've got about 4500 miles on my Campy SR cassette (top 6 cogs titanium), and after I cleaned it two weeks ago when swapping wheels, all of the cogs looked almost like new, except for the usual somewhat shinier spots where the chain glides onto/off the cog during shifts.
> 
> I'm not being particularly anal about cleaning, typically put some fresh Chain-L No.5 on the chain every 1500 miles or so. I do, however, rarely ride in the rain, which can make a big difference. That fine silt that gets sprayed into the chain when you ride on wet roads can do quite a job on your equipment fairly quickly.


I've wondered how long the Ti cassettes would last now that I switched to Chain-L too. I tend to swap bikes and ride the cross bike in the rain nowadays too, so that might also help.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that the Campy Ti cassettes are better quality than Shimanos.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

PSC said:


> Clean drivetrain, I get over 3k miles on chains and well over 10k miles on a cassette.


+1. I usually get a season (3,000 - 3,500 miles) out of a chain and have yet to pitch a Dura-Ace cassette. I do remove and clean the chain and cassette about every 750 miles in addition to regular lube.


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## andrejj (Oct 1, 2009)

Here is my experience with shimano DA cassettes. I'm using two: one is 11-23 7900 and the other is 12-27 7800. They've done around 35000 km so far and still running well and I do not plan to replace them anytime soon. I do keep them clean and grease the chain regulary.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Maybe I should have been removing the cassettes and cleaning them well every month or so. Or maybe not using crappy lube...

Maybe it IS worth trying another DA cassette with better lube and a more stringent cleaning schedule.


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

robdamanii said:


> Maybe I should have been removing the cassettes and cleaning them well every month or so. Or maybe not using crappy lube...
> 
> Maybe it IS worth trying another DA cassette with better lube and a more stringent cleaning schedule.


No ti will definitely wear out faster than steel no matter how often you clean & lube it. Its metallurgy plain & simple. Chain wear is like your car. Car manufacturers have a recommended car service schedule but that system is overbuilt with a large margin for safety. It really boils down to the type of conditions that you drive in & your driving habits. The same applies to the bike.

Chain wear depends on the rider & how well you take care of your bike. I know guys that like to mash the gears but they also do a lot of cross chaining. Well that will really wear out a drivetrain much faster. Think about it, which one will have more stress & wear on it? 2 riders with the same geared 10spd drive train 12-25 cassette with 53/39 up front. One is riding in a 53-19 and the other in 39-12 and they're both going the same speed. Obviously riding in the 39-12 combo is exerting more wear & tear on the drivetrain. 

That smaller teeth combination means that it has to turn more revolutions than the larger combo at that same speed. More revolutions means faster wearing of the cassette which will lead to premature wear on the chain all things being equal. So for myself as long as I clean & lube my bike regularly, I'll only change the drivetrain when it starts to skip. Why bother taking the chain off & measuring it? What are you trying to prevent? I've had a brand new sram chain that I only got half a season out of when it snapped on me out of the blue. It wasn't even the master link but one of the rivets. Would measuring the chain every week prevented it?? 

So the thing to do is have a regular maintenance schedule & stick to it. Clean your bike if you ride it regularly every 3 wks. If you ride a lot then every 2 wks. And if you get caught in a downpour, then clean it right after your ride. Stick to that & you should have a trouble free bike.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

gamara said:


> No ti will definitely wear out faster than steel no matter how often you clean & lube it. Its metallurgy plain & simple. Chain wear is like your car. Car manufacturers have a recommended car service schedule but that system is overbuilt with a large margin for safety. It really boils down to the type of conditions that you drive in & your driving habits. The same applies to the bike.
> 
> Chain wear depends on the rider & how well you take care of your bike. I know guys that like to mash the gears but they also do a lot of cross chaining. Well that will really wear out a drivetrain much faster. Think about it, which one will have more stress & wear on it? 2 riders with the same geared 10spd drive train 12-25 cassette with 53/39 up front. One is riding in a 53-19 and the other in 39-12 and they're both going the same speed. Obviously riding in the 39-12 combo is exerting more wear & tear on the drivetrain.
> 
> ...


I've been much better about cleaning the drivetrain (flossing the cogs weekly, wiping the chain weekly, cleaning cassette monthly and then relubing with chain-l every 500 miles.)

Maybe I'd get better life out of a DA cassette now that I'm a stronger rider, not using a compact and spinning small gears all the time. Who knows. Sounds like a good experiment.

Good info though, I hadn't thought of it that way.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

have a 7400 DA cassette that originally came on the mid-90s era bike. it's gotta have at least 30K miles. have had 3 chains in that time.

but, I wipe down and lube every 3rd ride or so and almost never encounter rainy conditions.


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## trunkz22 (Sep 12, 2008)

I'm not very good about maintaining my gear, but at least 8K miles and holding strong still. Replaced a chain and a few tires at this point.


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

It really depends as some say. My SRAM OpenGlide wore in a year of hill repeats under the "skipping with a new chain" premise, yet that was only with the gears used for the hill. Smaller cogs still shift well.


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## twinkles (Apr 23, 2007)

Humor! If I understood or gave a crap about this power rep stuff, i'd certainly provide you some.


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## namillis (Jun 30, 2010)

That's a long time on one chain. I recently changed a chain at about 2800 miles. It measured spot on with no sign of wear but I was in a better safe than sorry mode. I guess riding mountain bikes and replacing so many worn components in the past made me overly cautious.


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## aardvark (Apr 13, 2011)

mr_grumpy said:


> your mileage could vary.
> 
> 
> Never discard a cassette until it skips on a new chain.


^^^
this


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## masfish1967 (Mar 3, 2010)

I have approx. 12,500 miles on a DA 7900. I have replaced the chain about every 2500 miles. With the most recent chain replacement I am getting minor skipping in my favorite 17t, all of the others are ok and not skipping.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Last chance*



masfish1967 said:


> I have approx. 12,500 miles on a DA 7900. I have replaced the chain about every 2500 miles. With the most recent chain replacement I am getting minor skipping in my favorite 17t, all of the others are ok and not skipping.


The next time you will get major skipping on the 17. You can save yourself time and order the replacement cassette and chain now so you have them both on hand.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

cyclesport45 said:


> ... but sometimes I'm too busy detailing my cable ferrules. . . .


Simple green scrub w/ toothbrush, followed by armorall? (for the plastic ones of course). Quick polish for the metal ones? I rarely get a season out of the ferrules until they just don't clean up like they should.

What wax do you use on the cable housings? I use Maguires to polish and then beeswax.


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## Wood Devil (Apr 30, 2011)

Oxtox said:


> have a 7400 DA cassette that originally came on the mid-90s era bike. it's gotta have at least 30K miles. have had 3 chains in that time.
> 
> but, I wipe down and lube every 3rd ride or so and almost never encounter rainy conditions.


Heck I clean and lube after every ride. And I'm talking OCD cleaning, fingering each tooth of the cassette and rings so they're shining. I hate grit. So I'm probably better off than most.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

Wood Devil said:


> Heck I clean and lube after every ride. And I'm talking OCD cleaning, fingering each tooth of the cassette and rings so they're shining. I hate grit. So I'm probably better off than most.


I don't know why you cut corners like that. Just do it right:
(from: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html)


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## mattotoole (Jan 3, 2008)

Not super clean, 3k/chain, 3chains/cassette.


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## satanas (Nov 8, 2002)

Props to cyclesport45 and the late Sheldon Brown. 

I'm tempted to say that the life of a cassette is "solitary, nasty, brutish and short" but will restrain myself.

BTW, there's one good reason not to keep chains until they get severely worn - they will destroy the chainwheels if things go too far.


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## svard75 (Jun 10, 2011)

For me 3 months on my Mountain Bike so far I haven't had to replace the cassette/chain on my cyclocross and it's been 4 months now. I use a cyclocross for my road rides with a slight reconfig.

I know that both need the be changed together

S


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## Kai Winters (Aug 23, 2009)

I have always replaced my chain every 6 months.
I always replaced the cassette every year or so. I've done this routine for approx. 20 years.

Saying that I decided to conduct an experiment to see how long a chain and cassette will last.
Right now I am into nearly 8 years with the same cassette and chain. I clean them every 2 weeks...thoroughly clean and shiny then lubricated. There is some stretch but not nearly what I expected. The cassette cogs look like new as do the chain rings.

I am using a Campy Chorus cassette, Campy Record chain and the chain rings are Campy Record 50/39.
I have a complete replacement set, sans chain rings, ready to go but I am not going to replace them until they break or I think necessary.

I ride approximately 3000 plus a few miles per year, do not race...any more...and am generally light on a bike...a spinner not a masher...

I'm very surprised the stuff has lasted this long.


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## Poppadaddio (Apr 15, 2007)

*Chain/Cassette LIfe*



masfish1967 said:


> ... replaced the chain about every 2500 miles. ...


This pretty much matches my experience. I have heard recommendations from 1500 to 3000 miles for a chain, and whenever I have replaced a chain with 2500 miles, my reaction starting with my very first shift has been "Ahhhh ... why didn't change that chain sooner!"
Also:

Strictly Shimano. 
I can't tell the difference between D-A and Ultegra as far as performance.
Now for cassettes I still don't know for sure. The new chain generally cures the problem. I have several cassettes and upon close examination, it's darn hard to tell an old one from a new one.


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## StillKeen (Oct 4, 2005)

masfish1967 said:


> I have approx. 12,500 miles on a DA 7900. I have replaced the chain about every 2500 miles. With the most recent chain replacement I am getting minor skipping in my favorite 17t, all of the others are ok and not skipping.


An on thread, but reminded me that I'd seen these last week. I wondered who'd need them, but it looks like it could be you.

SHIMANO Dura-Ace CS-7900 pinion, 17-19 teeth 10-speed at a low price in the online bike shop www.rosebikes.com

SHIMANO pinion Dura-Ace CS-7900, 10-speed, 17-18 teeth at a low price in the online bike shop www.rosebikes.com


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## twinkles (Apr 23, 2007)

I always carry a couple of spare cassettes on rides over 3 miles. I once came across Thurston Howell III with a broken cassette along side the road. He offered me $3 trillion for a cassette, of which I had 2 spares, of course. After weighing things, I decided that I might need my cassettes if I broke a couple on the way home. People have to learn to be self reliant on the road and can't expect me to take care of them.


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

I would say at least 15k miles if not 25k miles. 

I'm on a Deore XT cassette that... well... is really old and worn but doesn't skip or anything else. Never clean it. Just a bit of T9 and I'm good to go.


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## willieboy (Nov 27, 2010)

A friend of mine has just under 25000 on his Campy SR and both are in fine shape. Take care of good stuff and it will take care of you. Both of us are clean freaks but we enjoy it. That's my 2 cents


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*well....*



willieboy said:


> A friend of mine has just under 25000 on his Campy SR and both are in fine shape. Take care of good stuff and it will take care of you. Both of us are clean freaks but we enjoy it. That's my 2 cents


That's truly hard to believe since most of the cogs on an SR 11 cassette are Ti that last about half as long as steel. When I rode Ti cogs in the Colorado mountains, I trashed one in only 4,000 miles. I cleaned my chain often and lubed with homebrew every 50-100 miles. I weigh 135 and spin, not mash.

To maximize cog life, you have to change chains with sufficient frequency. A Campy chain may show as little as .15% elongation after 6,000 miles, but it will be shot and most likely wear some of the cogs enough to cause chain skip. My Ti cogs that wore out in 4,000 miles only saw the use on one chain that had less than .15% elongation, but the cogs were still severely worn - much more than the steel cogs on my other bike with 6,000 miles on the cassette.

Rather than toss chains frequently, I alternate the use of 3-4 chains in order to avoid new-chain skip. I can get more use from each chain and never have to worry about chain skip. I expect to get about 12,000 miles from 3 Campy 11 speed chains and one cassette.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I get way over 5,000 miles on my 9-speed Ultegra chains and cassettes. So much that I quit keeping track of the mileage. However, when I was running Campy Chorus 10-speed equipment on one of my bikes, it would start shifting poorly with 2,000 miles or less on chain and cassette. I couldn't afford Campy, so I sold that group and replaced it with 9-speed DA/Ultegra parts and haven't looked back. I keep my chains well-oiled but don't clean them very often, but I'm riding on the road 99.99% of the time.


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## framesti (Jan 26, 2009)

does cleaning the cassette after each ride greatly increase life in your opinion?


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## willieboy (Nov 27, 2010)

C-40 said:


> That's truly hard to believe


Then I must be mistaken. I thought that's what he told me recently. Guess I better get some money together to replace mine  I was hoping to get at least 10k out of my SR11 chain and cassette.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

In the past I didn't keep track of total miles, but figured I was getting multiple thousands of miles on chains and multiple chains before needing to replace cogs or rings. About a year and half ago I got a Garmin and started keeping track, and got a new bike a year ago. So far I have 5000 miles on the chain and it's almost to 1/16" stretch (elongation due to wear between the pin and bushings) over 12". It stretched the first 1/32" after ~1500 miles but the rate of stretched slowed way down from what it was initially. There's no visually discernible wear in the profile of the teeth on the cogs or rings.


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## Clay L (Jul 3, 2010)

How often should I change the air in my tires?


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## cody1 (Jan 28, 2007)

Years ago I took c40's information on rotating chains. On my new ten speed shimano set up I switched between a 1090R and a KMC 10L chain every thousand miles. I now have 15000 miles on complete drive train and it shifts as well as new. If it makes it to 20000, I won't feel as I'm out anything. Even if at that time I end buying all new sprockets and chains.Considering the cost if you bought new chains every 3000 miles and still have no guarantee that you wouldn't still have to buy new sprockets at that mileage . Also at about 13000 miles I had my doubts about my system when poor shifting performance started in middle cogs, only to find shifter cable frayed.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

cody1 said:


> ...I now have 15000 miles on complete drive train and it shifts as well as new. ....


What do the chains measure? Are they still within 12 1/16".


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## cody1 (Jan 28, 2007)

The 1090r measured .060 over and KMC xl10 .070 over. The most wear came right a away and since then slowed quiet a bit.


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## willieboy (Nov 27, 2010)

C-40 said:


> That's truly hard to believe since most of the cogs on an SR 11 cassette are Ti that last about half as long as steel. When I rode Ti cogs in the Colorado mountains, I trashed one in only 4,000 miles. I cleaned my chain often and lubed with homebrew every 50-100 miles. I weigh 135 and spin, not mash.
> 
> To maximize cog life, you have to change chains with sufficient frequency. A Campy chain may show as little as .15% elongation after 6,000 miles, but it will be shot and most likely wear some of the cogs enough to cause chain skip. My Ti cogs that wore out in 4,000 miles only saw the use on one chain that had less than .15% elongation, but the cogs were still severely worn - much more than the steel cogs on my other bike with 6,000 miles on the cassette.
> 
> Rather than toss chains frequently, I alternate the use of 3-4 chains in order to avoid new-chain skip. I can get more use from each chain and never have to worry about chain skip. I expect to get about 12,000 miles from 3 Campy 11 speed chains and one cassette.


Turns out I was mistaken. He has just over 15,000 on his SR11 drive train and it's going strong. No skipping and no problems. I have 3,000 miles on my SR11 and it's dead perfect so far. I do clean and lube more than most as I enjoy maintaining my ride. We will see :thumbsup:


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