The "new" triple on my Cheviot -- does the big ring look worn out to you?

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Lynne Cooney

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Nov 15, 2015, 1:58:08 PM11/15/15
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So, I'm pretty mad in general at the shop that "built" my Cheviot. Both shifters were loose, one loose enough to fall out on the way home, the tires are too big for the fenders, the wrong front derailleur was installed, making shifting to the small ring nearly impossible. And the front fender was installed incorrectly. I was more than a bit taken aback by the warning "don't ride over any sticks." The headlight was also aimed up so that it shined into 2nd floor windows on my ride home. I don't expect perfection, but WTF? They tightened the shifters and replaced the FD.

So, they offered to replace the too big tires and the fenders. Not letting them near the fenders because Aaron's Bicycle Repair reinstalled the front correctly. But I was looking at the cranks today because I have new pedals and the big ring looks disturbingly worn to me. Am I wrong?

So not cool. This is supposed to be a good shop. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.
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Ryan Ray

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Nov 15, 2015, 3:52:04 PM11/15/15
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I could be wrong but those appear to just be shifting aided.

Lynne Cooney

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Nov 15, 2015, 4:08:24 PM11/15/15
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Good. I'm pretty underwhelmed by the shop. They have apologized and offered to make things right, so they are certainly not being jerks. 

Ryan Ray

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Nov 15, 2015, 4:24:20 PM11/15/15
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It's my favorite shop! But every small shop will have its ups and downs as they break in and lose mechanics. I live and work in the neighborhood and have done so for 6 years and will probably never leave. So even though I have friends at other shops I will count it as my LBS forever.

Those fenders are plain are stupid though. I don't blame the shop I blame Soma who were unlike the shop, were definitely jerks about it when I whined to them over email. Worth it to figure out the super strange pre-drilled front rack hole but if you are going to do something very strange like that at least mention it in some sort of instructions or something.

Oh well, as another shop owner in the neighborhood always says "the standard is that there is no standard".

As for the chainring it doesn't look worn to be (not an expert). Just have fun riding right now as the sun has finally broken out! I'm inside with a sleeping toddler :|

- Ryan

Garth

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Nov 15, 2015, 5:13:37 PM11/15/15
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   It's normal Lynne .  The Sugion OEM rings as Ryan summised do have various shift "aids" that could be called "shavings" by some !  Yes, they may look a bit worn or even like a sharks fin from a glance. Their OEM rings are not like the standard(not high end Sugino, those and these are different) whose teeth are all uniform and "full" size.

    I have multiple Sugino cranks with these rings and they all look like that. I first wondered why the teeth seemed to wear so quickly ! Then I realized it was the shaping of the teeth and not fast wear .

   The shop realy has nothing to replace then , but they may put on a standard ring if they are not aware that all OEM Sugino's appear a bit "used" when they are not.  You can easily tell the diffenence between actual worn and used teeth and a brand new ring with the shift aids, that is if you look before you ride on them !

Philip Kim

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Nov 16, 2015, 2:36:42 PM11/16/15
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look like shift aids to me, my brand new sugino triple also looks like that.

Geoffrey

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Nov 16, 2015, 4:14:05 PM11/16/15
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That chain ring and the others look brand new to me or nearly brand new, very low mileage.  When they're worn, they all hook over in one position.  You have nothing to worry about in the wear department.

Geoffrey

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Nov 16, 2015, 4:26:25 PM11/16/15
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Since we're talking about wear though, you may as well get one of these tools and use it.  One side indicates when it's time to change your chain, the other tells you if your cassette is shot or not.  The chainrings you showed will usually last a couple of chains and cassettes as long as you don't bind them up too often, i.e. big in the front, big in the back.

Steve Palincsar

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Nov 16, 2015, 5:55:49 PM11/16/15
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If those chain rings are new -- as I think they are -- then barring
gross abuse they should last far longer than "a couple of chains and
cassettes".

Dave Johnston

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Nov 17, 2015, 7:30:08 AM11/17/15
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In my best Crocodile Dundee voice: "That's not a worn ring ... That's a worn ring!"
Actually just an excuse to show the ring guard I made. My Girlfriend wasn't using her big ring at all, preferring to coast or even use the brakes (:o) on descents. She was however catching the teeth on her pants. I haven't adjusted the F. derail down because that's where it was previously to give good shifting. Now 39-26


Lynne Cooney

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Nov 17, 2015, 9:42:16 AM11/17/15
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I love it. Another "I didn't stand my ground" decision that is going to cost me. I don't need a triple. I will NEVER use that big ring. NEVER. So even if it WAS worn, it would not matter. I shifted up to it once, to make sure the FD worked (it didn't, but it didn't shift DOWN the small ring that I DO use).

I used to ride fast. I never really wanted to, but I did want to ride far. My options were: ride alone, or ride fast with the roadies. I was hit by a car head-on with the car going about 55mph. The PTSD from that is real -- car crashes are the leading cause of PTSD. Four and a half years later, I have even less interest in ever riding fast. So what the hell am I ever going to do with a 48 tooth ring? "You're in Seattle, you need a triple." No, I don't.

Not really the shop's fault. They asked what my opposition to the triple was and I said "I just don't need one." But I also said "I'll try it." Tried. I was right, I don't need it. I don't need so many damn gears, either. I have not ridden a derailleur bike in about 4.5 years (guess what happened to that bike?). I do most of my getting around -- in hilly Seattle, where this is supposed to be impossible -- on a 27 pound 3-speed Brompton. Yeah, I walk up some hills. And every time I think "maybe I should have gotten that six-speed," I ride it and, eh, it's fine. It is still my most-used bike and it will probably stay that way. My other bikes are an 8-speed Retrovelo and a 3-speed Raleigh Sports. 

Geoffrey

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Nov 20, 2015, 1:49:06 PM11/20/15
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What has been your experience with longevity?  I usually get about 10,000 miles out of an aluminum chain ring before it needs to be replaced.  I usually get around 3,000 miles out of a chain and usually go through two chains before changing a cassette.  Often times I'll replace the cassette even if the guage says it's still ok because I notice a difference in the quality of the shift. 

Steve Palincsar

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Nov 20, 2015, 2:37:14 PM11/20/15
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I've never replaced a chain ring for wear.

William deRosset

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Nov 20, 2015, 3:35:25 PM11/20/15
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Dear Geoffrey,

Longevity is dependent on the alloy/heat treatment used for the ring, and the number of teeth. I get around 20K mi out of 7075 heat-treated rings in the 42-48T range, though I change chains pretty aggressively. I replace cogs when they start skipping on a new chain.

I got very little mileage from the VO chainrings <marked> as 7075, but they sure didn't wear (or corrode) like it. I bent the hell out of them before they were completely gone in a crash, but they were getting badly shark-toothed after less than 5,000mi. Even the inner had visible wear! 

Some of the Vuelta rings wore fast, too, but all the TA rings, Salsa, the nicest Sugino, Campagnolo (well, 10s Record ones, anyway), and Compass/RH outers last very well. I've got IRD rings on my Allroad right now, and I don't have enough mileage to really assess wear yet on it (3,000mi or so).

I've never worn out an inner/granny ring, even though wear on those should be accelerated relative to the larger rings. I ordinarily gear my bikes such that I don't spend lots of time on that inner ring, except my "racing" bike. There the default 'round town is the inner 42T ring, despite the well known fact that to "go big is already to go fast". Thanks, Paul Fournel.

Cheers,

Will
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