[Closed] Grumbly drivetrain after new chain

Not got a proper answer but I had the same recently. Old chain had 3 quick link in so figured I would replace. New chain had same noise you describe, checked narrow/wide was in right place and tuned etc
Couldn’t work it out so put the old chain back on and figure I will just keep on trucking until cassette and chainring need replacing.
I’m sorry that’s not a massive help!
Guess I’m trying to say I put it down to everything being worn and not liking the new chain. Mine was shimano 12 speed though

Yeah, it's an indication that everything else is on it's last legs, even if it looked fine! I've had the same, a couple of rides usually loosens the chain up enough that it'll all work OK and you just have to accept that the next change will need a new cassette and maybe chainring as well.

Sounds terrible for the first couple of rides but it should all work. Be wary about putting too much power down on it until it's had a chance to wear in though, just in case it slips or jumps.

Could go either way. I left it a bit late I think on the recent chain change - and for the first ride or two it was a bit noisy. However since then it’s quietened down and there’s no skipping / problems under power or with shifting.

It sounds like you’ve changed before your old chain got very stretched so you could be ok. With Sram steel cassettes and chainrings I’ve got away with replacing a chain showing as 1 on the chain checker and it all still working. With alloy rings it probably would have been game over.

Replaced my mates chain recently for him as it was worn to .75 and its been pretty grumbly but all shifting fine and no skips, I've told him to keep riding it and it'll stretch a little and all settle back down. Certainly not had too hard a life that it should need everything replacing in his case anyway.

I've had the same and crazy-legs has it. Took a good few rides to get things running a bit more smoothly, but I figure it won't ever be perfect.

If this is the "last" chain for that cassette then I'd just chuck the old one on and run the whole setup into the ground. No point in wasting a new chain.

Thanks everyone.

Think I might stick the old chain back on and save the new one for when the whole lot goes pop and put a new cassette and chainring on at that point. At least it buys me some time, as it was actually working only with the old chain.

Don't go replacing / changing anything yet! New 12 speed changes can be pretty stiff and I find they need 3-4 decent rides and a re-lube to loosen up. It'll actually just be rubbing on the narrow wide chain ring if it's grumbly under power, it can make a right racket but will soon stop. It's hard to identify where noise is coming from when riding but I had same thing and worked it out by having someone put some resistance on the wheel while I moved pedals by hand, the links started pinging on the chainring teeth. If anything it means your chainring is fine as it's less likely to happen on worn teeth.

Yep, it'll be fine once your old parts have worn your new chain to the same state as the old one.

Yep, it’ll be fine once your old parts have worn your new chain to the same state as the old one.

🙂

Everything is all very clean and freshly lubed? cassette will be worn and new chain won't be mating with it. If it is just a wee bit grumbly then I'd ride it for a few rides and the chain should mate/merge and quieten down.

On a tangent, is this the most reliable indicator of cassette wear?

I really struggle to visually tell how far gone my cassettes are. Any other methods?

It will be the chainring not the cassette that’s noisy, it will soon wear the new chain in and quieten down.

Thanks everyone. I’m going to try and get a ride in over the weekend to see if it quietens down a bit.

Sounds like I’m definitely on for a new cassette and chainring when this lot goes though, so I won’t bother checking this chain. I’ll just run it until it starts dropping the chain a lot or the shifting is cr@p or whatever. Then take the hit on a new everything. I guess I could take the opportunity to go 12 speed then, but quite frankly I don’t see the need other than if 11 speed is being phased out or there’s a proper deal somewhere on a full 12sp drivetrain which I guess is unlikely in the current climate.

Apart from anything else I have an aversion to throwing things out that still have potential life in them.

Two things:

1) Check you've put all back together properly. Even though I've probably fitted/refitted hundreds of chains I still sometimes, embarrassingly, put the chain on the wrong side of a bit of the mech. Also NB some SRAM jockey wheels are narrow-wide and if that's not in-sync it'll be noisy.

2) It may be your chainring. Some brands of alu chainrings wear alarmingly fast - quicker than cassettes IME. They're not exactly cheap to replace, but cheaper than a cassette.

It may be your chainring. Some brands of alu chainrings wear alarmingly fast – quicker than cassettes IME.

Yes, I found Uberbike's chainrings to be shockingly short-lived.

I'm now on Blackspire like the OP, but it's too early to tell on durability.

More likely to be the chainring if it sounds grumbly but not skipping. Blackspire, or any all alu n/w chainrings wear fast, much faster than cassettes anyway. Get a steel one if you can.

I've gave up years ago on proactive replacement of chains as I find just running it all at the same state of wear makes it actually last longer than replacing part worn cassettes and chainrings to suit new chains. 18 months in on the Eagle setup supplied with my bike, I've not spent a penny on it and I reckon easy another 18 months of life*

*I don't live anywhere particularly gritty and hard on components, also have a singlespeed for when it's real filthy.

All good points, thanks.

Yes I did check it’s all together properly after the first little spin, plus it feels lovely under light pedalling (I gave everything a thorough clean before fitting the new chain).

If it is my chainring I could replace it for a lot less than a cassette, but having thought about it some more, this will be the cassette’s 3rd chain so will need replacing anyway next time, in which case any chainring I buy will need replacing too at that point. So if it all works now (either old chain or new chain after a ride or two) than I don’t see the point of changing the chainring now as well. Would be different story on a newer cassette.

I've had it take 4 or 5 rides before quietening down but a 4th chain on one cassette is good going - if it's not slipping it *will* quieten down eventually but you're looking at new parts next time

Iv had this a number of times. its the chainring - performs fine but noisy. goes away if you replace the chainring. This makes for a very expensive change so weigh up whether its worth it depending how expensive your cassette is. might be worth just running everything into the ground if its GX etc

Can we please have a steel option for hope chainrings please, and while we are on it, stop with with the 42T aluminium sprockets. In fact just make all cogs out of steel please

Can we please have a steel option for hope chainrings please, and while we are on it, stop with with the 42T aluminium sprockets. In fact just make all cogs out of steel please

Does it have to be Hope? When I replaced the chainring on my SRAM 11 speed cranks found there was a steel SRAM chainring (i't even black).

If you're using Shimano cassettes Deore are all steel, SLX has one alu sprocket, XT has two. It hasn't actually been the largest sprockets that have worn first on my recent cassettes (though it was when I tried Sunrace).

@littleman did the grumble quieten down after a few rides?