March 8, 20179 yr I sold my old 20 year old MTB when I purchased my new E-bike, in the 20 yearsI had this bike I never had to replace anything apart from brake shoes and tyres, and it was mainly used off road in the UK in the worst wet muddy conditions. It seems these new bikes are like new cars nowadays, that most things are classed as consumables and are not built to last and but some of these "consumables" are not cheap. This is a fair observation as many will echo a similar senario, myself included. The big differences in yesterdays MTB's and todays ebikes are many, firstmost being a 250watt motor driving the chain along with one's legs. Ebikes are heavier. Old MTB's had 7 or 8 speeds with a wider chain and a final drive of 12 or 13 teeth. Today, the ebike has a 9, 10 or 11 speeds with a final drive of only 11 teeth. This means thinner chains and gear teeth. Combine this with the ability to go much further with more power than you would on your old non electric and there you have it, worn out chains and drive components.
March 13, 20179 yr Well, I changed the chain easily enough, gear changes a lot smoother..but...the chain was jumping all over the place on the rear cassette. Called into the local bike shop on the way home after the chain popped off. Turns out the cassette is worn badly, and I have also broken the derailleur pulley when the chain came off. Probably should just have left the old chain on longer.... Tip I was given by the bike shop was to try and use more gears as its an ebike, I have mostly used 6th and 7th gears...and they have worn that much quicker because of that.
March 13, 20179 yr Author This is a fair observation as many will echo a similar senario, myself included. The big differences in yesterdays MTB's and todays ebikes are many, firstmost being a 250watt motor driving the chain along with one's legs. Ebikes are heavier. Old MTB's had 7 or 8 speeds with a wider chain and a final drive of 12 or 13 teeth. Today, the ebike has a 9, 10 or 11 speeds with a final drive of only 11 teeth. This means thinner chains and gear teeth. Combine this with the ability to go much further with more power than you would on your old non electric and there you have it, worn out chains and drive components. You would think that chain technology would have kept up, it has in motorcycles with the increased in engine output, with 'O' ring chains to keep the dust out, I realise that chains and sprockets are now a consumable items, but the inconvenience of having to replace them by developing a product that will last longer not just a matter of months I feel most of use would be will to pay that little bit extra.
April 4, 20179 yr It depends on the conditions, dusty conditions are wearing it out quickly, proper maintenance and greasing is needed.
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