Tired of constant repairs and maintenance to your mountain bike? Are you ready to take it to the next level? Replacing and maintaining a cassette on your bicycle’s hub can be a great way to gain the ridability and performance you’ve been looking for.
The cassette is what holds the chain rings on the rear wheel of your mountain bike. Without a properly functioning cassette, your bike will be hard to ride. A common bike issue can be caused by a bad cassette, most often it won’t shift between gears or gears may slip, giving you an awful ride. Luckily, fixing or replacing your cassette is a fairly easy procedure, and this guide will show you how.
Tools you’ll need:
– Cassette remover
– Chain Whip
– Lockring removed
– Spanners
– Grease
Step 1: Removing Your Cassette
Before you take off the old cassette, check whether the freewheel body is threaded or not. To do this, turn your rear wheel and spin it, then try to turn the cassette opposite of the wheel. If it moves, then you have a freewheel body and will need to use a freewheel removal tool. If it doesn’t move, then you have a cassette hub and will need to use a cassette removal tool.
Once you’ve identified which type of removal tool you need, place the wrench over the notches on your axle and press down firmly. Then turn the wrench counterclockwise to turn the axle bolt, which should help loosen the cassette on the hub.
Step 2: Removing the Lockring
In order to remove the cassette, you’ll first need to remove the lockring. To remove the lockring, you will need a chain whip. Place the chain whip parallel to the lockring, and place a spanner on the opposite side of it. Use your hands to turn the chain whip counterclockwise; this should loosen the lockring.
Once it is loose enough, remove the lockring and save it for later. You may have to place the chain whip back on the lockring and turn it a few more times to completely remove the lockring.
Step 3: Installing the New Cassette
Once the old cassette and lockring are removed, it’s time to install the new cassette. Take the cassette and insert it onto the hub, and use a spanner to turn the cassette clockwise until it is securely screwed down. Make sure the freewheel body or cassette are off-centre so the chain can easily move between the cogs.
Next, it’s time to reattach the lockring. Apply a small amount of grease to the threading before screwing it in clockwise. Autre spanner and turn it clockwise until it’s as tight as possible.
Finally, proceed to check the chain and adjust it accordingly. To do this, move the string back and forth to ensure that it moves smoothly and every cog is engaging properly.
Step 4: Final Check
Once everything is in place, it’s time to check if it’s working properly. Spin the wheel and make sure the cassette is shifting correctly and smoothly. Check the chain and make sure it’s not slipping. If everything checks out, you’re good to go!
Removing and replacing a cassette on your bicycle’s hub is fairly straightforward and doesn’t require many tools. With the tools and instructions mentioned above, you should be able to tackle this repair confidently and with ease. Now that your cassette is fixed, it’s time to get back to exploring and enjoying the great outdoors.