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The following won't apply to those of you who have a dedicated bike for turbo trainer duties..
What are people's thoughts on cassette usage on direct drive turbo?
Do you have a cassette permenantly mounted or do you remove it from your wheel and attach to trainer each time you want to use it?
My scenario is that I fitted a used cassette to the turbo so I could just remove wheel and fit bike to turbo, which worked well enough for 250 miles of turbo trainer use while also using same bike outside.
The issue comes when the chain wear and and chain ring are knackered when only 6 months old and a mixture of indoor and outdoor use, so I think the use of the old cassette has caused premature chain wear which has then took the chainring with it.
The solution will probably be an old cheap road bike permanently set up, but for the amount of time I am likely to use the turbo I don't think I can justify that.
(sorry for the essay)
Changing cassettes every time you use it sounds like madness.
As long as you're not starting with a knackered cassette on either the turbo or your road bike, there shouldn't really be any problems switching between the two. Obviously providing you keep monitoring chain wear.
Waxing chains is good for prolonging drivetrain life too.
Solution seems obvious. Time for 2 new cassettes and a new chain. Don’t use worn cassettes, and replace chain before it starts attacking the cassette.
Depending on what drivetrain you’re running, may be able to select a cheap (heavy) cassette for the trainer. Eg micro shift. If you’re in 12 speed land then best stick with SRAM/shimano as appropriate on bike and trainer.
I used to keep a dedicated chain for the turbo to minimize this. It's only slightly more faff.
My current setup is to have a semi-dedicated turbo bike, I don't ride much on the nice road bike this time of year so it's on the turbo, and I don't use the turbo much in the summer so it's a non issue. If I get a new 4-season road bike I'll retire my nice one to the turbo.
I started with a new 12-36 cassette on both my new Saris H3 around Easter '22 and on my hybrid's rear wheel. Since October '22, my hybrid has almost constantly been on the turbo with only a few hours outdoors. After approx 250-300 hours and some fresh lube every couple of months or so, some sprockets are sounding like there's a bit of wear.
Sometime soon I'll fit a new cassette on the turbo and fit a new chain at same time, by the time I'm likely to start using the hybrid outdoors regularly again in a couple of months, the chain should have worn enough to make it run nicely with the old cassette on the rear wheel.
I don't have a direct drive turbo, but I have a dedicated wheel with a cassette on for the turbo train, so I don't see much difference. The answer to your problem is surely to not let the chain get so worn that it wears everything else out? You sort of suggest that your cassette on the turbo was worn out, so this would create extra wear on the chain as you suggest. Although I don't know how far you ride, so 6 months might be a chain well worn out by just general useage.
Going on a turbo is hard enough, and I cannot imagine having to swap cassettes before a session, that just sounds madness to me.
Thanks all.
I think @goldfish24 suggestion of 2 new cassettes and a chain at the same time is the way to go
I bought a budget £250 road bike for dedicated turbo duties, I stripped and waxed the chain from new and its since done 11,000km (virtual). Chain checker shows almost no wear and the chainrings and sprockets look like new.
Yep, and no disrespect meant by saying it’s obvious sorry 😂
Maybe get a cheap chain gauge added to the order so you can measure when it’s time to replace the chain before it starts wearing the cassette(s)
Just use a cheap steel cassette on the turbo and keep an eye on chain wear so you don't unduly wear it or your decent road cassette out.
I just swap the cassette over, i've ended up with broadly similar cassettes on both the bike and the turbo and the spare wheels, a couple of 12-25 ultegras and a 11-27 (i think) 105.
So when i remember i swap them around a bit.
Also have a couple of chains that i swap over "on occasion". (OK, probably not since September!)