Recording wear and tear.

[Andy W]

A cycling friend of mine keeps a spreadsheet of wear and tear of consumable parts of a number of his bikes, including  both road and MTB.
I'm aware of a fair number of contributors on this forum keep similar accurate  records. I don't, I can't see the point. My bikes are all well maintained, that is cleaned thoroughly,  lubricated  checked etc. I periodically check the chain with two different  chain checkers and its of no relevance to me whether a chain or a tyre lasts 1500 miles or 5000 miles. As long as one looks after ones bike properly,  such attention to detail regarding mileage per component is academic surely

[Whitedown Man]

Helps me to plan how much money I need to put aside each month to keep my bikes on the road

[Hot Flatus]

Some people like data. Which is fine.

I can't see a use for me beyond a mild curiosity with chain wear between brands.

[MartinC]

I'm more concerned about the wear and tear on me.

[Frank9755]

I used to, then I got busy with life and found better uses for my time. 
My bikes haven't fallen to bits or become any less reliable.

[Pedal Castro]

I sometimes think about doing this again when something needs replacing and I think that's lasted a long time, or has it?

I did keep records when I bought my first 10 speed back in May '78 but the last entry was 7 Aug' 78 (rear puncture).

In those 3 months I'd suffered 4 punctures, a write off rear wheel by taking a sharp left hand bend too fast, replaced broken left pedal twice, replaced cotter pins, rear mech anchor pin, and front brake blocks.

Total cost £9.10 including the purchase of toe clips and straps.

[Davef]

Just need a link up between strava and wiggle and it could be automated.

[zigzag]

bikes have their mileage automatically logged on strava, consumables don't matter that much, they need to be replaced anyway.

[wajcgac]

Just need a link up between strava and wiggle and it could be automated.

bikes have their mileage automatically logged on strava, consumables don't matter that much, they need to be replaced anyway.

You can already do all of this on Strava. On the website you can input all of your bike details as well as the details of any component and changes you make. Mileage of bike and individual components is then logged automatically, which I find very useful to keep track of likely component wear as I've multiple bikes.

As an alternative you could of course do this on a spreadsheet but it's not so convenient.

[Davef]

Just need a link up between strava and wiggle and it could be automated.

bikes have their mileage automatically logged on strava, consumables don't matter that much, they need to be replaced anyway.

You can already do all of this on Strava. On the website you can input all of your bike details as well as the details of any component and changes you make. Mileage of bike and individual components is then logged automatically, which I find very useful to keep track of likely component wear as I've multiple bikes.

As an alternative you could of course do this on a spreadsheet but it's not so convenient.

Just needs the link to wiggle for strava to automatically update with my chain and tyre purchases and a bit of AI to adjust for my brexit/covid stockpiling tendencies.

[quixoticgeek]

I was collecting the data on my bike. I noticed that the chain wasn't lasting as long as I had hoped when I looked at the data. So I switched to a different model. It's more expensive, but lasts considerably longer.

The data is useful. Sometimes.

J

[Lightning Phil]

I don’t log mileage of components. Just keep an eye on them and keep spares of the ones that typical wear out, drive train etc. Chains generally twice a year and chain rings once every three years.

Today I was out on the bike with no GPS or bike computer. Shock horror, not recorded.

[Pickled Onion]

I was collecting the data on my bike. I noticed that the chain wasn't lasting as long as I had hoped when I looked at the data. So I switched to a different model. It's more expensive, but lasts considerably longer.

The data is useful. Sometimes.

J

This, exactly. I was getting through a lot of chains, pedals, BBs so tried out different models and recorded the distance. One particular chain lasted much longer than the others at a slightly higher price. On the other hand, expensive pedals lasted a bit longer but at a substantially higher price, so not worth the money on that basis (they are also slightly lighter and look nicer).

One thing that winds me up a bit is when people talk about how long something lasts in terms of time. This chain lasted me two years; these tyres are no good they wore out after 6 months. It's meaningless. How many bikes do you have, was it in the shed half the year, did you ride six back-to-back Lejogs?

Today I was out on the bike with no GPS or bike computer. Shock horror, not recorded.

I have no odometer on my touring bike, it's unnecessary clutter. But every time I get back from a trip the first question everyone asks is "how far?" I have to admit I have no idea, I just ride every day until I get somewhere nice or it starts to get dark. 

[quixoticgeek]

This, exactly. I was getting through a lot of chains, pedals, BBs so tried out different models and recorded the distance. One particular chain lasted much longer than the others at a slightly higher price. On the other hand, expensive pedals lasted a bit longer but at a substantially higher price, so not worth the money on that basis (they are also slightly lighter and look nicer).

One thing that winds me up a bit is when people talk about how long something lasts in terms of time. This chain lasted me two years; these tyres are no good they wore out after 6 months. It's meaningless. How many bikes do you have, was it in the shed half the year, did you ride six back-to-back Lejogs?

Total agreement. It drives me nuts that the sensor battery life for Wahoo devices is not given in hours...

Which chain did you swap to? I'm on the KMC X11SL, it seems to be the best distance/price balance here.

Today I was out on the bike with no GPS or bike computer. Shock horror, not recorded.

I have no odometer on my touring bike, it's unnecessary clutter. But every time I get back from a trip the first question everyone asks is "how far?" I have to admit I have no idea, I just ride every day until I get somewhere nice or it starts to get dark.

I don't understand...

J

[Pedal Castro]

Which chain did you swap to? I'm on the KMC X11SL, it seems to be the best distance/price balance here.

I would have thought the SL being lighter would be less durable then the bog standard KMC X11, plus at 2x the price it certainly wouldn't last twice as long surely?

[quixoticgeek]

Which chain did you swap to? I'm on the KMC X11SL, it seems to be the best distance/price balance here.

I would have thought the SL being lighter would be less durable then the bog standard KMC X11, plus at 2x the price it certainly wouldn't last twice as long surely?

I've been paying €38 per chain. I notice that it's now showing as €51, which surprises me. Wish I'd stocked up.

vs about €29 when I last looked for the X11.93. Which didn't last as long.

I am also happy paying a little extra more for the SL chain, as I use the chains to make jewellery and the like after it's dead for cycling.

Looks like the prices have changed since I last did the calculations.

J

[Pickled Onion]

Which chain did you swap to? I'm on the KMC X11SL, it seems to be the best distance/price balance here.

J

Not much help to you but I use Connex 108 exclusively now Much longer lasting than any others, especially KMC whose 1/8 chains seem to be bling aimed at BMX.

I would have thought the SL being lighter would be less durable then the bog standard KMC X11, plus at 2x the price it certainly wouldn't last twice as long surely?

This would indicate the SL should in fact last almost twice as long as the other KMC X11:

[drossall]

I keep starting records, then don't maintain them, but I can see the interest and value. Generally I'd want to record when a bike was last serviced and so on. When parts were replaced could be an aspect of that.

[hatler]

I just record the mileage, the date and the work done/part replaced.

If I want to see how long a chain lasted, I just search the spreadsheet for 'chain'.

Nothing sophisticated, easy to maintain, easy to interrogate and has all the data needed.

[Gattopardo]

Don't ride enough.  Reminds me I should clean the bike after it had a very wet ride.

[Pedal Castro]

Which chain did you swap to? I'm on the KMC X11SL, it seems to be the best distance/price balance here.

J

Not much help to you but I use Connex 108 exclusively now Much longer lasting than any others, especially KMC whose 1/8 chains seem to be bling aimed at BMX.

I would have thought the SL being lighter would be less durable then the bog standard KMC X11, plus at 2x the price it certainly wouldn't last twice as long surely?

This would indicate the SL should in fact last almost twice as long as the other KMC X11:

Hmmm, the Wipperman test was designed to be as abrasive as possible so perhaps designed to so their chains in the best light? Anyway ordered a connex 11sl this morning anyway. 

[Lightning Phil]

Which chain did you swap to? I'm on the KMC X11SL, it seems to be the best distance/price balance here.

I would have thought the SL being lighter would be less durable then the bog standard KMC X11, plus at 2x the price it certainly wouldn't last twice as long surely?

I've been paying €38 per chain. I notice that it's now showing as €51, which surprises me. Wish I'd stocked up.

vs about €29 when I last looked for the X11.93. Which didn't last as long.

I am also happy paying a little extra more for the SL chain, as I use the chains to make jewellery and the like after it's dead for cycling.

Looks like the prices have changed since I last did the calculations.

J

Ha I use the kmc x9 chains at €11, but do use 2.5 of them on the recumbent.

[Pickled Onion]

Hmmm, the Wipperman test was designed to be as abrasive as possible so perhaps designed to so their chains in the best light? Anyway ordered a connex 11sl this morning anyway. 

Yes quite likely, the results for their own chains might have to be viewed with a little circumspection as they ran the tests. But the difference between the two KMC chains they would have no particular interest in, and does seem to show that Quixotic-G is right to spend money on the expensive one.

The Connex 11sx looks to be slightly cheaper than the KMC 11sl (around £40 in the UK) - report back when you've worn it out

[Kim]

I found that posh shiny chains made sense on the bike that does lots of short trips in shitty winter conditions, probably because if I've just done a 2 mile shopping trip in the pish, I'm less inclined to wipe down and lubricate a chain than I would be after a MTB mudfest, though the chain contamination is probably about as bad.

I don't have stats to back it up, but it's been a while since I had to persuade my partly-rusted chain to bend before a ride.