Chain or shaft

What are your preferences regarding a chain
compared to a shaft drive bike.

Cheers taz.

 

I love my shaft.

Seriously though, I only have to drain and re-fil my shaft oil once every
4000m, it's a piece of piss.

I was pretty paranoid about all the chains on chain driven bikes I have had.

But then, I have always been mainly a "owns a bike to commute" not a
"commutes on a bike because I own a bike" type of chap.

HTH HANE/D

 

Thus spake Klaatu unto the assembled multitudes:

What 'e says.

My Trident is chain driven but I *really* wish it was shaft, having had two
shafties before. No adjustment, no lubing every 100 miles, no muck over
the rear wheel, no replacing every X thousand miles, less expense... just a
bit less power at the back wheel over a chain-driven equivalent. Some
people say that shafties need a bit more care and deliberation in the
riding technique, but I never had any problems.

 

Shafts make your bike fall over.

 

Andy Clews says...

You really cannot claim that shaft drive bikes are less expensive to run
than chain driven bikes.

I'd say that the extra initial costs of buying a shaft drive machine are
not saved over even a 100,000 mile period. In that time I'd expect to
fit 4 chain and sprocket sets to a litre bike, at a cost of 125 quid
apiece. The initial costs of buying a shaft drive bike are usually far
in excess of 1000ukp more than the equivalent chain drive version, if
there is one. You do the sums because even someone like me - who failed
O Level maths - can see the difference is in favour of chains.

I fit a Scottoiler and that takes care of lubing, I adjust the chain
when I change the back tyre because it doesn't need doing in between.
Muck on the rear wheel isn't a bad thing because it encourages you to
look over the bike and discover problems and faults when cleaning it.
What's the problem?

My arguments against shafts are that they are inefficient at all times,
are usually very softly tuned, add huge amounts of unnecessary weight
and they affect the handling. Add in the fact that you are limited in
your choice of bikes to start with if you insist on shaft drive, whereas
with chain drives there are so many more available to choose from.

Chain drives, they are the future.

 

Cheers guys.
I can see that they are like marmite.
You love them or you hate them.
Cheers taz.

 

That may be true if you do all the work yourself. If you don't, being
raped at the shop has to be included.

Please tell us how much

a) 4 countershaft sprockets
b) 4 rear sprockets
c) 4 chains
d) 4 times the labour for each of the above
e) The inconvenience of having to wait for the work to be done
f) The lack of use while work is being done
g) The cost of alternate means of transport while work is being done.
h) The waste of resources. Most of these replaced items most likely
get thrown in the rubbish, not recycled.


There are probably more things I can't think about now. I can see a
chain only if you are a 'sports' only sort of rider, who need a bike
weighing a few pounds less AND has to fart around with sprocket
ratios. For the vast majority, a shaft is a far superior solution.

All in my humble opinion, of course.


mike

 

m II says...

Why use a shop for something so basic?

Total cost is approx 600 quid as opposed to a sight more for the extra
initial costs of buying a shaftie. This is over a 100,000 mile period of
ownership. Don't you have to maintain a shaft drive at all? What are the
costs involved in that? I hear tales of changing drive shaft/bevel box
lube every 4K miles, at what cost over the same period of ownership?

Only the truly thick can't change chain and sprockets themselves. For
most bikers it comes under necessary maintenance.

Do it yourself, it doesn't take a degree in mechanical engineering or a
huge amount of expensive tools.

And final drive lube is all recyclable? We recycle everything possible
in our household, as do many others.

It's a little more than a *small* weight saving, have you ever compared
like for like between chain and shaft driven bikes. Plus a lot of the
extra weight of a shaftie is exactly the wrong place i.e. the unsprung
side and all over on one side. Tell me that isn't going to have an
adverse affect on handling.

To which you are entitled, no matter how wrong I think you are.

 

So that'll be 4 times 100 quid - the bike shop can source the bits
cheaper than I can. This price does include a cup of coffee &, if I need
it, use of the courtesy R1 or the indifference[1] GT550

That'll be 2 hours over 100k miles

Er, alternative transport? You mean your mechanic is so slow that he
can't change chain & sprockets while you wait?

Nope, they go to the scrap metal merchant because they're worth money
(but only if the mechanic has a few of them)

Sports bikes? euw, horrible uncomfortable things. IME a chain is no
higher maintenance than a shaft & is fitted to a much better choice of
bikes. Scottoilers are wonderful things

[1] It's not nice enough for "courtesy"

 

It's called "being a lazy ****" coupled with "having far too much
money to throw around".

Of course, these mileages may vary with bike and rider. I'd tend to
factor in more chains and less sprockets over the same mileage, which
would reduce the predicted cost somewhat, especially on the labour
front.

For many, though, it's not a question of won't, but can't be arsed.
Our choice though.

How long do you think it takes, FFS? I'd normally expect them to do
this while I waited.

Big deal. If you want to be environmentally friendly, get a pushbike.

Heh.

 

Lozzo wrote

Hydraulics mate, hydraulics. *The* way forward.

 

[original reply pruned as it was worryingly close to Lozzo's]

How many times does the average bike rider need their chain replacing?
Or "fart around with sprocket ratios"? I'd hazard a guess that they
are likely to change their bike more frequently than the chain would
need replacing. So, assuming the hypothetical bike owner in question
keeps their bike for 100,000 miles, they have still saved money over
this time when compared to a shaft driven bike that Loz has
guesstimated costs £1000 more than an equivalent chain driven bike.

 

A year ago I had a shaftie and a chainee.

Diffrerent horses for.....

 

Well, shafties don't wheelie, for a start.

 

NO, No, no.......................

Think of all the poor newbies to this group.

 

<Rubs hands>

 

ain't leadwing's shafties?

seen a picture of a GL1500, 2-up and the front wheel about 3ft off the deck.
Apparently, you have to be 2-up otherwise you just get wheelspin.

 

Surely you've heard of Photoshop?

 

platypus says...

Fill the box and panniers with as many Photshop CDs as possible, this
adds enough weight to ensure a lack of wheelspin.

 

Faked picture. Sorry.