Drivetrain replacement strategies

Posted by: martin
 and since they gave away my member's share (that was worth 260$) in the sale, I try to shop there as least as possible now haha

I still cannot believe they managed to run that company into the ground. I had my share since 1990. Who knows what it was worth! I will likely never step foot in MEC again. Why not just go to Valhalla or one of the LBS?

Give an update once you have some riding time.

Also, does anyone get more than one chain out of an aluminum cinch chainring these days? I find after a chain gets to 0.5 the chainring is too rough and with a new chain grabs it and tries to chainsuck it. Now I just replace the chain and chainring together each time.

Squirt lasts about the same as any 120ml bottle of petro type lube you  don't use more or less of the product

CRC also sells Squirt so I got a couple bottles to pack out an order for the free shipping so I'm at least that invested in the product

What else can we say about MEC, the founders were ( Now 70 yr old) members of the UBC varsity outdoor club, hippies with education whose values would have been against the idiots who ran it into the ground, I will still buy stuff from MEC if it suits my situation

The LBS that I go to didn't have any Squirt and I live in Quebec so no Valhalla around. I figured why not get it direct from Squirt Canada for 5$ shipping.

I just cleaned two new 12 speed chains and two new 10 speed chains to switch all my bikes to Squirt so the 500ml bottle will probably prove handy in the long run. Usually one 120ml bottle of Prolink would last me 2-3 years but my friend told me he used more of it compared to the other lubes. I should have taken into account that he isn't the most meticulous guy around though haha

I'll give all chains a good first coat or two and once really dry, I will keep the unused coated ones in a clean bag for future use. The cleaning process was a bit of a hassle so I figured I should do them all at once.

I'll report back to see how it holds up after a few rides!

Posted by: martin

The LBS that I go to didn't have any Squirt and I live in Quebec so no Valhalla around. I figured why not get it direct from Squirt Canada for 5$ shipping.

My comment certainly wasn't directed at you, or anyone else. I was really disappointed when MEC went under and sold off my stocks. I will support local shops rather than going there, but that is my prerogative.

Please do post how things go. I'm always looking for something better.

I think I've decided on my strategy. It's called 11 speed.

I've taken to running 11 speed xg-1150 cassettes. They are all steel cogs (even the big ones). I run them with smaller chainrings (28t on 27.5 wheels) and the easy gears are pretty close to eagle with a 30t on a 29er. My $150 cassette weighs 394 grams where as my wife's 12 speed XO1 cassette costs $550 and weighs 50g less (354g). I can run 2-3 chains on the all steel cassette. I don't really use the 10 tooth cog very often, so running a 28t chainring is not the biggest deal. For a 220lb rider, I think it's the least expensive option for me. I try to change the chains at 0.5 to try to maximize the number of chains I can wear on a cassette.

Posted by: RAHrider

My comment certainly wasn't directed at you, or anyone else. I was really disappointed when MEC went under and sold off my stocks. I will support local shops rather than going there, but that is my prerogative.

Don't worry, I didn't take it personal :)

I was really disappointed by MEC too, I always voted for the board elections and occasionally wrote them to give feedback and suggest new products. But in the last few years (since when they got the new logo) it was going downhill and they didn't seem to be in phase with what them members wanted.

Posted by: RAHrider

I can run 2-3 chains on the all steel cassette. I don't really use the 10 tooth cog very often, so running a 28t chainring is not the biggest deal. For a 220lb rider, I think it's the least expensive option for me. I try to change the chains at 0.5 to try to maximize the number of chains I can wear on a cassette.

That's what I am thinking too. I got the all-steel Deore 10-51 cassette so I could use the 45t and have better chainline and run a few chains without going through many cassettes.

Using a 30t it should be good but I also thought about going to a 28t  to stay lower/more centered on the cassette too. More BB clearance too, and I think I never used the 11t on my previous setup.

If it was not for the shifting under load curiosity I would have stayed with 11 speed cassettes too, but since I have both shifters and cassette bodies, that will still be an option if it's not worth it. The added unsprung weight of the 12 speed cassette was something that was making me hesitate, but I figured that the under-load shifting was worth trying.

Another interesting thing regarding unsprung weight : Neko Mullally tested his bike with a 500ml bottle full of water attached to his left seatstay. After trying it at different spots on his bike, he thought he would feel the added weight on the seatstays the most, but he said that it was where the weight was the least felt, didn't impact his suspension's action much and if I remember correctly, the times were not slower either. I doubt I'll feel the added grams then!

If you have a hardtail, is most of the bike unsprung mass?

12 sp Deore here, XT chain and shifter. Replace chain frequently. Seems to work just fine to me.

I'd guess so haha

Unsprung weight is only relevant for front and rear suspension action anyway so on a hardtail this doesn't matter much.

Anyone here own an ultrasonic cleaning device. I didn't realize they were not necessarily very expensive. I don't think my wife would let me get one unless she could put her jewelry and glasses in it, so I guess I'd probably need two because I'm not owning an ultrasonic cleaner and not putting my bike parts in it! Does anyone actually have one? Any suggestions on size? Brand? etc.