# Ultegra 10 sp cassette and chain - How many miles?



## tibianchidave (Sep 25, 2011)

Just curious, I am new to Shimano drivetrains. Any idea how many miles I can expect to get out of my Ultegra cassette/chain before they will need to be replaced? Thanks.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Varies widely depending on riding habits, environment and maintenance. But if all these conditions are average, a 10-speed chain should last around 3,000 miles, with the cassette also ready for replacement at the time you install the third chain.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I think I kill my chains a bit faster. Which is not to contradict wim, but to support his statement that riding habits and environment are a big part of it. All my bikes are rain bikes too, or they'd have about a five month season of actually getting ridden.  Lots of gunk gets thrown into the chain by water being flung off the tire - it's also picked up grime from the road.

Cassettes are every third or fourth chain for me too. Chainrings go a lot longer.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

AndrwSwitch said:


> Lots of gunk gets thrown into the chain by water being flung off the tire - it's also picked up grime from the road.


Rain gunk = an extremely efficient grinding compound.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

just changed out my Ultegra 10 spd chain...guessing it had 9-10K miles on it. 

but, for full disclosure, I do frequent on-bike maintenance (wipe and re-lube) and I never ride in rain, mud.

no plans to change the cassette. it looks fine.


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## dcgriz (Feb 13, 2011)

I just replaced the Ultegra chain on one of my bikes. 2300 miles and a tad less than 1/16" stretch. I typically oil my chains every third trip or 150 miles or when it gets wet.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

I usually rotate through 3 chains, I do about 2500 km on each one, then go back to the first one and do 1000-1500 km on each of them. At that point the cassette is usually worn enough to skip on at least a couple of cogs.


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## al0 (Jan 24, 2003)

In depends on an exact chain model - there were tests showing that 670x chains may last 2-3 times longer than older 660x chains. 



tibianchidave said:


> Just curious, I am new to Shimano drivetrains. Any idea how many miles I can expect to get out of my Ultegra cassette/chain before they will need to be replaced? Thanks.


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## tibianchidave (Sep 25, 2011)

*Thanks*

Thanks for the advice!


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## Doug B (Sep 11, 2009)

I have the same chain and cassette I clean and lube my chain about every 150 miles. I had more than 5000 miles on my first chain. It had stretched nearly a full link when I changed it, but I didn't notice any shifting problems or any significant wear on the cassette. 

I changed cassettes at 7500 miles, but only because I wanted to try a different ratio of gears. I went from a 25-11 to a 27-12 cassette. I like the change. I installed a new chain at that time as well. 

Oh, I clean the cassette often as well. With a box of rags from the local hardware store, it only takes a couple of minutes to wipe the grime out and re lube. It is actually sort of relaxing for me, and gives me a chance to take a look at the rest of the bike for preventative maintenance.


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