Cassette playing tricks on me!
Thread started by
digablesoul at 05.3.07 - 2:29 pm
Sup all. I'm a newbie so I need some advice. Something is wrong w/ my cassette/gears. I've got the Freehub and cassette setup SRAM 9sp. So on Monday… I was biking home from work when all of the sudden It got difficult to turn my rear wheel. When I shifted to the smallest cog, it was hard to pedal but when I shifted to the biggest cog, I could pedal. I knew it wasn’t the rear derailleur since I could shift so I was thinking it was the cassette. On Tuesday, I got home and took off the rear wheel when all of the sudden the first 3 cogs feel off!! I was like, “shit!!” So, I carefully lined up the cogs/spacers and went to sport chalet to have the cassette tightened (I didn’t have the tool). So cool... I test ride it on Wednestday in Griffith Park and it’s all good. Except… I look at the cassette and touched it and notice that it has some lateral play to it. Maybe a centimeter or two of play… just a bit of wiggle with the bigger cogs but smaller cogs don’t move at all. Is this safe? Will this eventually do something wrong to the chain or the hub, etc.? Should there be play? Or are most cassettes rock solid that the cogs don’t move at all? Do I need to buy a whole new cassette? Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance...
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Maybe this is why people ride the fixies? Do people who commute ride fixies?
digablesoul05.3.07 - 2:32 pm
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i'm sure commuters ride fixie. i ride mine everywhere. imma do the century ride on it.
t.bone05.3.07 - 3:56 pm
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bring it to the bike shop for a professional assessment...hard to "see" what you're describing here...they shouldn't charge much to make sure your cassette is in good working order...and it shouldn't be much to replace a spacer or two either...
adrian05.3.07 - 5:37 pm
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Sounds like the freehub is probably okay but the cassette lockring came off hence the higher three cogs falling off. It also sounds like you may have lost one (or more) of the spacers when you took off the wheel so you might want to get a cassette spacer from the bike shop and place it where it needs it.
.K
P.S. Yep, I commute on a fixie.
onethirtynine05.3.07 - 5:49 pm
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Thanks for all your replies. So on the cubcamp ride last night... my cassette loosened up again and got really wiggly so I stayed on one gear while Richie hung back and rode w/ me.
I just don't want a LBS to sell me a new cassette when all it really needs is just a spacer. You think places like bikerowave or the kitchen can help me out? I've been to both just to visit but never worked on my bike. I'm up in Burbank/Glendale. Any good places you guys would recommend? Bicycle John's seem pretty nice and they have a bunch of bikes in the back that are getting worked on. Anyone ever get their bikes serviced there? Thanks in advance...
Al
digablesoul05.4.07 - 8:33 am
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sounds like you might need a spacer...but either way, you definitely need your lockring tightened to the actual torque settings....it sounds like it's coming loose....the new cassettes are not like the old freewheels that just get tighter the more you put pressure on the cranks...the only thing holding these thing together is the LOCK RING! I'm sure any bike shop can help you...question is, how much will they charge or not charge? Tell the mechanic you'll bring them a beer and I'm sure they'll fix it for a good price!
adrian05.4.07 - 5:19 pm
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There's always the
Bicycle Kitchen. If you are on a budget and looking to figure out how to fix your own bike, thats the joint.
My advice: show up before it opens or make a reservation and if you think you will spend more than 10 hours there this year, just cop for a membership ($70) right up front.
trickmilla05.5.07 - 12:39 am
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Bring the complete wheel to the Bike Oven (www.bikeoven.com) for analysis. My guess is that the lock ring continues to loosen due to possible thread damage or incorrect stack height. Maybe all it needs is some Locktight thread locking cement. Bike Oven requires no membership or any other fees. We will be happy to help you out.
Harv
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Harv05.5.07 - 9:18 am
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I won't be able to make it to the Bicycle Kitchen this weekend but I might give bikeoven a try. I've always wanted to check it out and I hear good things. I'll cruise by around 8:30-9pm on Monday? Oh and Harv... the link takes me to the "Index of/" part of the page. But yeah... sounds good. Thanks again..
Al
digablesoul05.5.07 - 11:03 am
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Hey Al. You could also come by to Bikerowave on Monday and I'll help you out. We'll be open from 6:30pm to 10:00pm and it should take no more than ten minutes.
I'm just saying... you've got a lot of options, my friend.
.K
onethirtynine05.5.07 - 11:28 am
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Oooops! Sorry about the bad link. That domain name is 'under construction'. Try this one:
www.bike-oven.5u.com
.
Harv05.6.07 - 8:29 am
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Woohoo!! Good call on ELBO... Harv. I went there last night and Josef helped me out and now it's solid like a rock! It turns out that a small pin that holds the cogs/spacers together unscrewed itself. So he gave me an idea how to put it together and BOOyaH.... after an hour of trying to line up the cogs... and drinking some brews... I was able to line up the pin and Josef tightened it up for me. Crazy chain whip tool. To think two LBS said a new cassette was the way to go... without wanting to open it up and to really check it out. I'll test it out at the Rogue St. ride tomorrow. Thanks again everyone!!
Al
digablesoul05.8.07 - 9:53 am
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yay bike oven people!
check out last month's spoke(n) art thingie:
spiraldemon05.8.07 - 10:10 am
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