A few drivetrain questions:

[RichT]

Not sure I really have these questions organized but they stem from making some minor mods so my Specialized Tero fits my riding style, so here they are:

1. what tools are needed to change a cassette? I saw this tool today ( Foundation Bike Chain Whip Tool | Jenson USA ) but I’m sure there is more to it.

2. What is a good chain lube and the best practices using it?

3. List of necessary chain tools, or can you add, subtract and repair with ordinary tools and master links (or whatever they are called now)?

4. I just changed from a 36T to a 44T chain ring. Some say it doesn’t need a new (longer) chain because its still an 11sp so an 11sp chain is fine. Praxis said bigger chain ring means longer chain (which makes more sense to me). However now it is hanging up a couple times while running up through the gears (but not down), ie.: shift from 5th to 6th nothing happens, click it again for 7th and it goes to 7th. Is this because of the chain ring change or a coincidence?

5. Does anyone have any good reasons not to change to Eagle AXS shifting, other than the cost? SRAM says the GX, X01, and XX1 all shift the same and the price point differences are in materials and weight so I’m considering the GX.

Your ideas and experiences on any of the above are appreciated.

 

[KnollyBro]

Not sure I really have these questions organized but they stem from making some minor mods so my Specialized Tero fits my riding style, so here they are:

1. what tools are needed to change a cassette? I saw this tool today ( Foundation Bike Chain Whip Tool | Jenson USA ) but I’m sure there is more to it.

2. What is a good chain lube and the best practices using it?

3. List of necessary chain tools, or can you add, subtract and repair with ordinary tools and master links (or whatever they are called now)?

4. I just changed from a 36T to a 44T chain ring. Some say it doesn’t need a new (longer) chain because its still an 11sp so an 11sp chain is fine. Praxis said bigger chain ring means longer chain (which makes more sense to me). However now it is hanging up a couple times while running up through the gears (but not down), ie.: shift from 5th to 6th nothing happens, click it again for 7th and it goes to 7th. Is this because of the chain ring change or a coincidence?

5. Does anyone have any good reasons not to change to Eagle AXS shifting, other than the cost? SRAM says the GX, X01, and XX1 all shift the same and the price point differences are in materials and weight so I’m considering the GX.

Your ideas and experiences on any of the above are appreciated.

What is your riding style? If you are not planning on changing your cassette often, its probably not worth the expense of buying a chain whip, cassette socket and torque wrench. Its not uncommon to have to adjust your shifting from time to time. There are plenty of Youtube videos on how to fine tune it.
There is no good reason to put AXS on a bike when it costs that much! People on here have bikes costing well over $15k without the need to have AXS on them. Maybe carbon wheels instead? GX is fine on my $12k bikes. Happy trails!

 

[steve_sordy]

You definitely will need a longer chain if you have replaced a 36T with a 44T. There are lots of different ways of identifying the correct length, all will be on YouTube. Your task is simpler because you have a hardtail.