ymarkov | Велосипедное

So I finally replaced the freewheel and chain on my bike - the chain was skipping like crazy.

Can you guess which one of these freewheels has over 13,000 miles on it?

Sorry, wrong guess. The left one actually has about 11,000 miles on it, certainly more than 10,000.

These are supposed to be low-end components, but if the second Shimano Hyperglide 37 lasts as long as the first (for $18), I'll be quite happy. Oh, and the old chain (stock length 55') measured 61' once it was off the bike. These things do stretch with use. Fortunately, an online friend - an old bike hand - had pointed out to me that I should be going for an optimal cadence of 60-70 rpm regardless of the speed, using as many gears as I can, rather than choose gears that call for maximum effort. This is both better exercise and greatly reduces drivetrain wear. (You can see from the picture what my favorite gears were - the teeth are worn to points.)