Hi,
I have an ebike that has 4300 km on it that I had for a year. It has a Bosch engine. So the chain and cassette I was told needed to be changed soon but since I couldn’t change them at the time, I suspect that I might have to change the motor’s chainring.
If I have to change these, how easy do you think it will be or should I go to the bike shop eventough they are expensive?
Thanks in advance for your answers.
by fafasinho
5 Comments
A cassette should last way longer than 4300 km *if* you replace your chain timely. If you keep riding with a worn-out chain it will damage the cassette (and eventually also chainrings). If properly cared for, you can get tens of thousands of KM out of a cassette.
You should get a chain checker that lets you check how worn the chain is, and replace it at 0.75% wear. It’s quite likely right about at that point after 4300 km. I would expect the cassette and chainrings are still totally fine.
Changing a chain is really easy. It requires just two tools: a chain breaker and a quick link tool.
No, you need to learn some basic skills only…
You don’t seem to need to change the cassette or chainring, they look ok from the photos. However, you do want to:
* Get a chain checker tool and check every 500km for wear.
* If above 0.75, replace the chain
* Learn t o clean and lube your transmission
* That looks like it hasn’t been cleaned or lubed in some kms
* The gunk you have there acts as a grinding paste that accelerates your wear shortening the life of the whole transmission (chain, cassette, chainring, derailleur) significantly
* Lubing should be performed before every major ride or at least every 100km if on a more commuting set
* Ideally you would want to clean the transmission before lubing but depending on the conditions you ride in, it’s ok to skip a couple of times but check for “grittiness” or the transmission
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What you’ve probably been told is that you don’t have an “ebike rated” transmission, hence the need to replace… Personally I’d ride it until it busts, then replace with proper parts.
What bike is this and was it bought used or new? Is it a bike designed to be an ebike or a conversion project?
Do you have chain check tool?
If it’s say replace replace … if you replace and chain skips on cassette afterwords replace that.
Only thing that should be done asap o the bike is a wash
You’ve stated in a couple other comments that the chain checker reads 100%…I don’t know which specific chain checker you’re using but it’s more likely that the chain checker is reading ‘1.0’, meaning 1% chain stretch. As other commenters have already noted the chain replacement point is around 0.75%, so that chain definitely needs replacing. At that level of wear you have likely shortened the life of your cassette and chain ring, but if you replace now and nothing skips you may still get another chain’s life worth out of the cassette.
Other commenters not aware what a Bosch system is and its requirements. OP is getting generic advice only. Would urge OP to check in with Bosch official Service Manual and follow the guidance for the unit. After all this is an expensive bike.