When you’ve ridden about 1,000 miles in your bike, it’s time to take a detailed have a look at your cassette. (The quantity of wear and tear will fluctuate vastly relying on the situation of your chain and the place you trip – mountain vs. street, for instance.) If the enamel in your most-frequently used cogs look extra like shark fins than the rounded humps of your little-used cogs, it’s time to switch the cassette.
Generally it’s doable to switch particular person cogs as a substitute of the entire cassette, however not all cassettes have substitute components, and it’s typically higher to switch all the factor. Ask your native bike mechanic what’s finest on your bike.
Store Bike Cassettes
Video: Easy methods to Substitute a Cassette
Verify Your Bike’s Hub Kind
The next steps for eradicating your cassette assume that you’ve got a cassette freehub. Most trendy bikes have this type hub. To examine your hub kind, take away your rear wheel from the bike and look close to the smallest cog on the cassette. In case you see a lockring sitting exterior the smallest cog (it’s going to usually be marked with the phrase “lock”), then you will have a cassette freehub.
Video: What do Bike Cassette Sizes Imply?
Instruments for Altering a Bike Cassette
The lockring is designed to carry the cogs of the cassette in place on the hub. With a view to take away and exchange your cassette, it’s good to unscrew this lockring. You’ll want three instruments to do that: a sequence whip, a cassette lockring remover and a big adjustable crescent wrench.
Eradicating a Bike Cassette
After you will have eliminated the rear wheel out of your bike, take away the fast launch skewer from the wheel. Then, insert the cassette lockring remover into your cassette and switch it till it seats; it’s going to solely seat in a single place. If a normal cassette lockring remover doesn’t suit your cassette, ask a motorcycle tech for one that may.
To carry the lockring remover cosy to the cogs, take away the springs out of your fast launch skewer after which reinsert the skewer again by way of the wheel and the cassette lockring remover and tighten.
(In case your bike has a through axle that screws into the bike body, relatively than a normal quick-release, you possibly can thread the axle by way of the lockring remover. This can hold all of the items of the cassette so as once you take away the cassette, however it received’t can help you lock the items of the cassette along with the lockring remover.)
Stand behind the wheel (with the wheel vertical and the tire on the bottom), and drape the chain whip over one of many bigger cogs within the cassette so you possibly can maintain the deal with along with your left hand. Modify your massive wrench to suit the skin of the lockring remover, and maintain it along with your proper hand. The chain whip will forestall the cassette from spinning when you use the wrench to unscrew the cassette lockring.
Press the wrench and the chain whip handles in reverse instructions. As soon as the lockring is free, launch the chain whip and the wrench, and proceed to unscrew the ring by twisting the lockring remover by hand or with the crescent wrench.
Take away the lockring after which slide the cassette off. Take away the cassette rigorously if you happen to intend to reuse any components or items—the cogs and spacers typically come aside.
Putting in a Bike Cassette
Slide the brand new cassette onto the freehub physique. (Once you purchase your new cassette, be certain that it’s a appropriate model along with your bike’s hub.) There are grooves within the cassette that line up with ridges on the freehub, so the cassette will solely go on in a single orientation. The formed aspect of the cog enamel ought to be dealing with away from the bike, and the dimensions markings will virtually at all times face outward.
Guarantee that every cog in your cassette both has a built-in spacer, or that you just place a spacer between each cog (spacers include a brand new cassette). After you have the cassette assembled, have a look at the cogs to ensure all seem like spaced the identical.
When all of the cogs and spacers are on, examine that the smallest cog stands barely pleased with the freehub physique; if it doesn’t, you will have missed a spacer.
Now, rethread the lockring utilizing the lockring remover software, and switch the lockring software clockwise with an adjustable wrench to tighten (however watch out to not overtighten). Then, when you’ve got a torque wrench and the right adapter, tighten to the producer’s specs (if not, go to your native bike store and have them do that half for you).
Substitute the fast launch skewer with the small a part of the conical springs dealing with inward. Reinstall the wheel in your bike and shift by way of the gears to ensure every part works accurately earlier than using.
Bike Cassette and Chain Upkeep
Totally clear your cassette a minimum of a pair occasions per 12 months. Take care when cleansing across the hub. Don’t hose the hub down or use solvent to scrub it as it’s possible you’ll dissolve grease within the bearings. See our article, Bike Upkeep Fundamentals, for extra ideas.
It’s additionally a good suggestion to switch your chain once you change your cassette. (Chains put on quicker than your cassette, so it is probably you may undergo a pair chains earlier than it’s good to exchange your cassette.) Cassettes and chains have to be appropriate with one another. For instance, when you’ve got a 9-speed cassette, you want a 9-speed chain.
Poor chain situation can put on down your cassette enamel quicker than common. In case you reside close to the seaside the place sand can get into your drivetrain, or if you happen to reside in a moist surroundings the place your chain will get rusty, it’s smart to proactively exchange your chain. For a way-to particulars, learn our article, Easy methods to Change Your Bike Chain.