How Do I Know If My Chain Set Is Worn?

Michael Collett has been having problems with his drive train, he has bought a new chain and cassette, and things are better but not perfect as it still skips. He wants to know if rear gear adjustments can fix this, or if he will have to buy a new chainset also? Here is what we think.

Usually, the chainset lasts a lot longer than the chain and cassette. Therefore, it should last you many years before needing replacing. If it did, then you can replace the chainrings without having to replace everything. Unless you want to upgrade, of course.

How To tell if your chainrings are worn, or more precisely the teeth on the chainrings.

If you can lift the chain off the chainring teeth at one point while the chain is still wrapped around the chainring, then it is worn. Or, if you look at the teeth on the chainring and they look hooked.

Look at the tooth from the chainset side, the leading face of the tooth or the right side. Does it look like the other side, it has a hook look about it? If so, then it is worn as I said before. The chainrings take a lot longer time to wear than the cassette. They are bigger and have more teeth to wear out.

THE SKIPPING

First, does it skip on all the gears? If so, it’s probably a cable adjustment that is needed. Make sure that the chain is running OK on the smallest cog on the cassette and doesn’t need the adjusting screw turned to let the rear mech move out or not go as far as it is doing.

If this is good, then change from the first sprocket to the second. Is it not moving up enough? Then you need to tighten the cable with the adjuster on the rear mech. If it is going too far then you need to let the cable out a little.

Once you have the complete change between the first and the second cog on the cassette, then all the others should be good. Run through all the gears on the big and small chainrings to make sure they are good.

If it is still skipping, then it is possibly a stiff link. As this is a new chain, it will probably be the link that was used to join it. It’s always a good idea to clean a new chain. It is packed with a very sticky grease that is used to stop the chains from going rusty when they are in transit or storage.