Asked the mechanic: drive component replacement and adjustment of the front derailleur

This is our art, our experts answer your mechanic Daniel Slusser's Cyclery bicycle maintenance problems here running one of the fifth edition.

Q: You often recommended replacement drive components? From: Keith

This is a good question, a relatively simple answer. Although there is no rigid mileage recommendations (too many variables, including topography, rider weight and strength, the transfer preferences, compact and standards, etc.), but also can be used to guide your decision on this issue of quantitative indicators.

Purchase of the chain wear, checker, so you can stay in the top of the chain wear, because this is mainly due to transmission damage. Check the chain of many tools available, I use the most over the years the park CC-2. Use this special tool, I do not usually recommend replacement until the wear value of 0.7. This seems to be replaced earlier than overkill, because the number of new stores can be measured as low as 0.5. That the wear of 0.9, can be too late.

Once a chain and sprockets to gear tooth wear, in order to meet the new you wear chain to increase the distance between the pins extend beyond a certain point. Sometimes, this can be diagnosed visually check the shark fin shape of the sprocket. The teeth will only appear on the tape is too thin front to back. Another test is to pull the rear brake pedal pressure while watching to see how much chain to climb the teeth. However, these tests often requires a trained eye to eye, the correct diagnosis.