Replacing Rear Cassette

Great Eastern wrote on 25/12/2006 19:11 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Hello All,

I've a "standard" bike with a 6 speed rear casette, however the smallest
cog on the cassette has somehow broken free from the rest (i.e if I
pedal in that gear the chain turns it freely without moving the rest!

Is this an easy task to do? I've managed other repairs in the past like
new chains, brakes etc, or would an appointment at LBS be better?

Many thanks

Fairly easy if you have access to a vice - its likely to be pretty
firmly on if you haven't taken it off since new. A six speed is almost
certainly a freewheel type. You need to buy a freewheel remover of the
right type to fit the splines or pins of the freewheel. Clamp it in the
vice. Mount the freewheel onto it then push down hard and tug on the
rim of the wheel until it breaks free. It may need some grunt and its
easier done with the tyre on than off. Clean and grease the threads on
the hub (and service the bearings while you are at it) then screw on a
new freewheel.

Alternatively take it to the local bike shop and ask them to change it -
its a few minutes with the right tools.

--
Tony

"...has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least
wildly inaccurate..."
Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Tony Raven said:

Great Eastern wrote on 25/12/2006 19:11 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Hello All,

I've a "standard" bike with a 6 speed rear casette, however the
smallest cog on the cassette has somehow broken free from the rest
(i.e if I pedal in that gear the chain turns it freely without
moving the rest! Is this an easy task to do? I've managed other repairs
in the past
like new chains, brakes etc, or would an appointment at LBS be
better? Many thanks

Fairly easy if you have access to a vice - its likely to be pretty
firmly on if you haven't taken it off since new. A six speed is
almost certainly a freewheel type. You need to buy a freewheel
remover of the right type to fit the splines or pins of the
freewheel. Clamp it in the vice. Mount the freewheel onto it then
push down hard and tug on the rim of the wheel until it breaks free. It
may need some grunt and its easier done with the tyre on than off.

Minor variation which I've found useful;

Put the freewheel remover in a ring spanner or socket on a wrench, and then
hold the spanner's arm in the vice. I don't know why, but I found this
worked better; perhaps the vice I was using had less than perfect jaw
alignment, and the spanner was a better holder of the hexagonal freewheel
remover.

If the remover is of the two or four lumps type (typically Suntour, but
includes others), these have a habit of jumping out of their engagement in
the freewheel. Solve this by using the quick release skewer to hold the
remover lightly against the freewheel (if there is enough movement for it to
rattle, you have it about right). Once the remover has nudged the freewheel
round a little, slacken the skewer. The splined types (eg. Shimano and
others) don't have this problem.

Quoted message said:

Clean and grease the threads on the hub (and service the bearings
while you are at it) then screw on a new freewheel.

Alternatively take it to the local bike shop and ask them to change
it - its a few minutes with the right tools.

And, if its a friendly local bike shop, possible free removal with purchase
of new freewheel and chain required to complete the repair.
You don't need the removal tool to refit the freewheel, it just screws on by
hand, and the first gentle ride tightens it up. Therefore, you can leave
the bike shop with wheel-sans-freewheel, plus bits to repair, and retire
home to service the bearings.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Or consult a more experienced member of this group - let us know where you
are and I'm sure someone will have a look at it for you (probably at no
cost).

"Great Eastern" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello All,

I've a "standard" bike with a 6 speed rear casette, however the smallest
cog on the cassette has somehow broken free from the rest (i.e if I
pedal in that gear the chain turns it freely without moving the rest!

Is this an easy task to do? I've managed other repairs in the past like
new chains, brakes etc, or would an appointment at LBS be better?

Many thanks

Nigel Cliffe said:

And, if its a friendly local bike shop, possible free removal with purchase
of new freewheel and chain required to complete the repair.

Not from my local. Whilst they are good enough for repair etc, it is
impossible even to purchase a chain from them on its own.

We needed a new chain once before and they refused to sell it, unless
the bike was booked in for repair. Eventually had to go out of town to
the Halfords to get the part to save a trip to another town.

I believe our LBS is owned by the one in Lowestoft, its not the same as
when it was owned locally, and other once in the town shut.

Great Eastern said:

Nigel Cliffe said:

And, if its a friendly local bike shop, possible free removal with purchase
of new freewheel and chain required to complete the repair.

.....

Quoted message said:

We needed a new chain once before and they refused to sell it, unless
the bike was booked in for repair.

Thats comical, a bike shop not selling parts.
Last week a LBS tried to charge me nearly double the price I usually pay
for a chain, I wont even bother going in there again with their pricing,
and general attitude of "thats what they cost", even though it is easily
available at half the price eleswhere.
I wonder why the mail order businesses are doing so well?
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

Great Eastern said:

Nigel Cliffe said:

And, if its a friendly local bike shop, possible free removal with
purchase of new freewheel and chain required to complete the repair.

Not from my local. Whilst they are good enough for repair etc, it is
impossible even to purchase a chain from them on its own.

I would classify them as a "not friendly local bike shop". If I felt in a
good mood, I might ask if they thought not selling a chain to someone was an
encouragement to shop on-line. If in a bad mood, I'd stop shopping there.

In general, I don't need the bike shop to carry out repairs, I do my own, I
need it to supply parts.

I could see that they may have a tiny point if they have sold bits to people
who then bugger them up, then come back for "free" support. But, I'd expect
to solve that with a conversation.

Quoted message said:

We needed a new chain once before and they refused to sell it, unless
the bike was booked in for repair. Eventually had to go out of town to
the Halfords to get the part to save a trip to another town.

I believe our LBS is owned by the one in Lowestoft, its not the same
as when it was owned locally, and other once in the town shut.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Nigel Cliffe said:

an
encouragement to shop on-line.

Do you/anyone have suggests as to who is good for purchasing online from?

Quoted message said:

In general, I don't need the bike shop to carry out repairs, I do my own

I'm getting that way, I do most regular tasks now, brakes, chains,
wheels etc, however removing the rear cassette is something I've never
attempted before, and tinkering with an old derelict wheel I have
yesterday, it seems a little tricky.

Quoted message said:

I could see that they may have a tiny point if they have sold bits to people
who then bugger them up, then come back for "free" support. But, I'd expect
to solve that with a conversation.

About 7-8 years ago I worked in a local computer shop (before the PC
World type business model really flattened the locals) and whilst we
offered full service, we also offered individual parts for those who
wanted to do it themselves - I'm sure this gained more business than
simply using the "we do it or you can go to hell" approach as adopted by
the LBS.

Tony Raven said:

You need to buy a freewheel remover of the
right type to fit the splines or pins of the freewheel.

How would I go about finding out which type I need.

I've found a cassette remover for sale which claims to be universal, I
assume this is something extra?

Great Eastern wrote on 26/12/2006 15:14 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Nigel Cliffe said:

an encouragement to shop on-line.

Do you/anyone have suggests as to who is good for purchasing online from?

General favourites are Chain Reaction (exceptionally good), Wiggle and
Parker International.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com
http://www.wiggle.co.uk
http://www.parker-international.co.uk/

--
Tony

"...has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least
wildly inaccurate..."
Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Great Eastern wrote on 26/12/2006 15:17 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

You need to buy a freewheel remover of the right type to fit the
splines or pins of the freewheel.

How would I go about finding out which type I need.

I've found a cassette remover for sale which claims to be universal, I
assume this is something extra?

Freewheels and cassettes are not the same thing so a Universal cassette
remover(to remove the lockring that holds the cassette on) is not
necessarily the same as a freewheel remover which removes the whole body.

Have a look to see if there is a manufacturer's name on the freewheel as
a starting hint. If you get really stuck post a picture on flickr of
the end of the freewheel (where the axle pokes out) and link here so we
can have a look at it. Sheldon Brown explains the differences and gives
some pictures of different removal tool types
http://sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html

--
Tony

"...has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least
wildly inaccurate..."
Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In article <1hqyha2.1n6og6z194d33aN%alan@darkroom.+.com>,

A.Lee alan@darkroom.+.com said:

I wonder why the mail order businesses are doing so well?

Staff don't get annoyed by difficult customers and pleasant customers
don't get annoyed by difficult staff.

--
T h e - e x t e n d e r ! ! ! !

In article <[email hidden]>

Great Eastern said:

Nigel Cliffe said:

And, if its a friendly local bike shop, possible free removal with purchase
of new freewheel and chain required to complete the repair.

Not from my local. Whilst they are good enough for repair etc, it is
impossible even to purchase a chain from them on its own.

We needed a new chain once before and they refused to sell it, unless
the bike was booked in for repair. Eventually had to go out of town to
the Halfords to get the part to save a trip to another town.

Is it a regular bike shop or is it more of a "bicycle doctor" type
place? Even if it's the latter I think they're a bit silly not to offer
parts, possibly at premium prices, if there's no other outlet in town.
I suppose there is some argument in favour of not offering a supply-only
service - there's quite a lot of scope for messing up bike repairs,
which often seem to require more skill than Joe Public can muster, and
supply-and-fit eliminates some of the hassle that numpties might
otherwise create.

Rob Morley wrote on 26/12/2006 17:46 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Is it a regular bike shop or is it more of a "bicycle doctor" type
place? Even if it's the latter I think they're a bit silly not to offer
parts, possibly at premium prices, if there's no other outlet in town.
I suppose there is some argument in favour of not offering a supply-only
service - there's quite a lot of scope for messing up bike repairs,
which often seem to require more skill than Joe Public can muster, and
supply-and-fit eliminates some of the hassle that numpties might
otherwise create.

My experience is more one of the numpties in the bike shop making a mess
of it. Its easy enough for Joe Pubic to order the parts on-line so if
that's their strategy they are going to be throwing away income.

--
Tony

"...has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least
wildly inaccurate..."
Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Tony Raven said:

Have a look to see if there is a manufacturer's name on the freewheel as
a starting hint.

I've had a quick look, although its dark in the garage and with the
wheel still currently on the bike, but it appears to have the words
Sunway Group Co on it, there may be some other markings, but I cant read
those without giving it a good clean and better light!

One of Brunel's greatest works said:

I've a "standard" bike with a 6 speed rear casette, however the smallest
cog on the cassette has somehow broken free from the rest (i.e if I
pedal in that gear the chain turns it freely without moving the rest!

Very unlikely it uses a cassette, 6-speed cassette hubs are quite
uncommon.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/free-k7 for an illustrated explanation of
the difference.

St John Street Cycles is a good UK supplier.

Sheldon "http://sheldonbrown.com/freewheels" Brown
+------------------------------------------------+
| Love at its best means marriage, and it is |
| altogether the most beautiful thing in life |
| -- William Dean Howells |
+------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Tony Raven said:

Great Eastern wrote on 26/12/2006 15:14 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Nigel Cliffe said:

an encouragement to shop on-line.

Do you/anyone have suggests as to who is good for purchasing online from?

General favourites are Chain Reaction (exceptionally good), Wiggle and
Parker International.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com
http://www.wiggle.co.uk
http://www.parker-international.co.uk/

To which I would add Settle Cycles
http://www.settlecycles.co.uk

and, on occasions, the Bandits of Bridgewater.

In article <[email hidden]>

Great Eastern said:

Tony Raven said:

Have a look to see if there is a manufacturer's name on the freewheel as
a starting hint.

I've had a quick look, although its dark in the garage and with the
wheel still currently on the bike, but it appears to have the words
Sunway Group Co on it, there may be some other markings, but I cant read
those without giving it a good clean and better light!

That's a low-quality Chinese brand and AFAIK they only make freewheels,
not cassettes.

Rob Morley said:

That's a low-quality Chinese brand and AFAIK they only make freewheels,
not cassettes.

So I'd need a freewheel remover to remove the whole lot? then replace
with a better brand version?

In article <[email hidden]>

Great Eastern said:

Rob Morley said:

That's a low-quality Chinese brand and AFAIK they only make freewheels,
not cassettes.

So I'd need a freewheel remover to remove the whole lot? then replace
with a better brand version?

Yes. If you have a few tools and a bench vice you can get away with
stripping away the gubbins of the freewheel, clamping the remaining
inner body in the vice and unscrewing it that way (only do this with a
scrap freewheel). While you're there take the opportunity to check the
hub bearings, and grease/adjust as necessary. To fit the replacement
just grease the thread on the hub, screw on the new freewheel by hand,
refit the wheel and stomp on a pedal in bottom gear with the brakes on
to tighten it. You may then need to adjust the rear derailleur.