The cassette is not removed from the rear wheel. How to make a whip to remove a cassette. How to remove a sprocket cassette from a bicycle wheel. Tools needed to remove the cassette

How does a cassette work?

The cassettes of modern mountain bikes, regardless of the number of speeds on them, are put on the rear hub drum with a freewheel mechanism and tightened with a retaining ring. The splines (grooves) on the freewheel drum ensure the correct location of the profiled chain guides (shift ramps), as provided by the manufacturer.

The freewheel, a mechanism that allows for coasting or power saving, is built into the hub itself, so the cassette can be removed without interfering with the inside of the hub.

To remove the cassette, you need to loosen the retaining ring using a special snap ring remover that has grooves, while holding the cassette with a “whip”, similar to a long key, at the end of which is a piece of chain that engages with the teeth of the sprockets. Although it is not necessary to remove the cassette for normal bike maintenance, it makes cleaning the drivetrain much easier.

The cassette consists of stars. There are single chainring cassettes, and there are spider cassettes, as shown in the picture, they have projections that match the grooves on the freewheel drum.


A little useful information before we start:

  • Although cassettes from both manufacturers and SRAM and Shimano can often be removed with the same puller, there is a large number of different circlip pliers that may or may not fit your hub depending on configuration. The best choice in such a situation, bring your rear wheel to the nearest shop and buy a puller that is suitable for your particular configuration.
  • Lay out the sprockets and spacer rings on your workbench in the exact order you remove them. Your bike will not shift well if the spacer rings are installed in the wrong order.
  • If you are installing a new cassette, write down the order in which the parts are placed when you take them out of the box.
  • Although we don't show it in the pictures, the wheel axle cam can be used to hold the circlip puller in place when you loosen it. This is especially helpful if the engagement between the puller and the circlip is shallow, which sometimes happens.
  • Be careful not to crook the retaining ring when installing the cassette. In this way, you can ruin the threads on the freewheel, which opens the pandora's box and leads to a complete repair of the hub. Also aluminum sprockets can be brittle - save your time.
  • If you are installing a new cassette, it is very important to use a new circlip if the new smallest sprocket does not match the size of the old sprocket (11 or 12 teeth are the most common sizes). The eleven tooth sprocket uses a smaller diameter retaining ring than the larger 12 tooth sprocket. Using a snap ring for a 12-tooth sprocket with an 11-tooth sprocket will prevent the chain from fully engaging and cause it to slip under load when in top gear.
For work you need:
  • Cassette remover
  • Whip
  • Large adjustable wrench or clip (instead of a puller wrench)
  • Lubricant or anti-seize paste (optional)

To do this job, you will need a "whip", a cassette remover and a large adjustable wrench, you can also use a vise instead of a wrench.


Step 1. Remove the rear wheel from the frame and pull out the eccentric axle, being careful not to lose the centering springs on each side. Insert the puller so that it is fully engaged in the tabs. If the engagement is going to be shallow and the puller has a hole, you can use the quick release clamp to hold the puller in place by pushing the axle back through the bushing and puller and securing it. Some pullers have a stem that takes the place of the eccentric.


Step 2 Install the whip making sure it is fully engaged with the sprocket. The purpose of the "whip" is to keep the cassette and hub from rotating when you loosen the retaining ring. If you stand facing the cassette, it will be convenient for you to have the whip handle on the right, as in the photo.


Step 3 Now it's time to loosen the retaining ring. With the wheel resting on the work table, position the tool handles in a straight line as shown in the photo and turn the puller counterclockwise and the whip clockwise, while the sleeve with the cassette should remain in place. Apply pressure evenly so that the whip does not come off the teeth, but if it does constantly come off, then, apparently, the particular chainring is too worn and the whip just slides off it. Move to the big star and try again. If you are using an axle with quick release clamps to hold the ring remover in place, you will need to remove it to unscrew the ring when you loosen it.

Some over-tightened circlips may require full body weight to loosen. If this is the case, position the wheel vertically on the ground in front of you with the cassette facing away from you. Standing over the wheel, position the tools as shown in the photo and lean with your entire body weight to loosen the retaining ring by applying pressure on the wrench and whip.


Step 4 Unscrew retaining ring and set aside. Remove the stars from the drum, note the order in which the spacer rings are installed, and place them on the table in a safe place. They will need to be installed back in exactly the same order you removed them for the shifting to work properly.

The cassette can crash into the aluminum ratchet drum because the sprockets crush the soft metal. This happens often when the steel stars are placed separately and not attached to a spider, which distributes the load better. You can use a screwdriver to gently pry up the stars and move them with the lever (be careful not to bend them) or you can tap them from the back with a screwdriver and a hammer.


Step 5 Now it's time to give the sprockets and hub a good clean, but be careful not to mix up the spacer rings as you do this. Inspect the cassette for broken teeth, as well as burrs that can be removed with a file.


Step 6 Pay attention to the grooves and ridges on the drum and sprockets before installing them. The stars are put on the drum in only one position due to the presence of an unpaired ledge on the drum, which is slightly smaller in width than the rest. This ensures that the cassette shift points are aligned as designed. The notch and corresponding protrusion are shown and circled in red.


Step 7 While there is debate about whether or not to lubricate the drum with a thin coat of grease or anti-seize paste, we do not recommend doing so. Nothing will stop a cassette from crashing into a drum, and a steel cassette drum has very little chance of corroding enough to rust against each other (the same goes for aluminum cassettes and drums). Thus, the lubricant has nothing left to do but collect dirt and dust and create a sticky mass out of it. The only place where a small amount of grease or anti-seize paste is useful is on the retaining ring threads to make it easier to loosen in the future.


Step 8 Correctly position the sprockets and slide them onto the drum, paying attention to install everything in exactly the same order as removed, including the spacer rings. Some cassettes use a larger spider to which most of the sprockets are attached, resulting in one large block, while others may have all the sprockets in a cluster separate from each other.

Step 9 On some combinations of cassettes and hubs, especially for mounting 10 speed cassettes, the last (smallest) sprocket does not fully engage with the splines of the drum until it is pressed down. Make sure the last sprocket is level before pushing it in with your hand to press it into place, then turn the retaining ring clockwise to hold all the stars together.


Step 10 Look carefully to make sure the cassette is level before tightening the retaining ring with a wrench. Look at the back of the cassette as you rotate it slowly. If you notice any wobble or unevenness between the cogs, you will need to disassemble the cassette and find the cause.


Step 11 Finally tighten the snap ring by turning the wrench clockwise until it is tight. A torque of at least 360 lb-in (20 m/kg) is recommended. Here you can also use a quick-release clamp to hold the puller in place (not shown in the photo).

Cyclists often have to maintain their vehicle on their own - each time it will be quite expensive to contact specialized repair services. Many elements of the bike are easy to remove and install, but there are parts that require the use of specific tools and some knowledge. These include the cassette - a part that is attached to the rear hub.

  • cassette lock ring remover;
  • "whip" - a special key to which a bicycle chain is attached (fragment);
  • wrench.

You can, of course, do without the specified specific tool. Moreover, there are 2 such methods and both will “work” 100%:

  1. We get on the bike and go to the nearest specialized bike parts and tools store, get the necessary keys and pullers.
  2. We remove the cassette with the help of screwdrivers, a hammer and various keys - the task will be solved, but the cassette, and some of the other bicycle mechanisms, will have to be thrown away.

Be sure to prepare an area with a flat surface, which should be within arm's length of the bike - this is how you can save and not lose all the parts of the bike cassette.

Step by step instructions for removing the cassette:

Be sure to ensure that the removed cassette, as well as the sprockets and all fasteners, are located in a removable form in exactly the order in which they were in the original version.

After removing the cassette, you can start cleaning and lubricating it - these procedures are among the mandatory for regular service maintenance of a two-wheeled vehicle.

How to install a cassette on a bike

First of all, make sure that the assembly of the cassette matches the unfolded/removed parts. To facilitate this process, the sprockets have grooves of different sizes (for each sprocket - individual), and suitable slots on the sleeve. It is the correct alignment of the grooves and splines that all the sprockets will stand in a certain order.

When installing a cassette on a bicycle, there are some important points to consider:

Removing and installing the cassette is not difficult, because with a minimum set of tools and at least basic knowledge technical plan, all the work will take a little time, a maximum of 60 minutes. But even if such a process is to be carried out for the first time, you should not give up - the experience of removing and installing the cassette will definitely come in handy more than once. The fact is that experienced cyclists recommend doing this Maintenance bike cassettes at least once a year.

Inspect the cassette for wear and damage and make sure it needs to be replaced. It's also a good idea to shake the axle from side to side to check for bearing wear. If the axle has lateral play, then it may make sense for you to change the rear wheel axle bearings. To do this, you can take the wheel to the nearest bicycle workshop, but if you wish, you can carry out the replacement yourself, having previously studied the appropriate manual.

After you are convinced that the cassette is to be replaced, proceed to dismantle it. Lay the wheel on a flat surface with the cassette facing up. Next you will need a chain whip and a cassette puller: wrap the whip clockwise around the largest sprocket of the cassette and insert the puller into the open slot on the wheel next to the axle; this location on the cassette is easy to find by the presence of a 12-tooth retaining ring. This ring has a regular thread that unscrews counterclockwise. It may take a lot of force to move the ring, and when unscrewed, it will most likely make grinding sounds caused by the locking teeth.

After removing the retaining ring, the cassette simply needs to be moved to the side, and it will be removed; most likely, in doing so, it will be disassembled into parts - several individual sprockets, gaskets and the remaining sprockets in a single assembly.

Replace cassette. ALWAYS take special care to ensure that the new cassette provides the same gear ratio; never install a new cassette with a different gear ratio. The fact is that all transmission parts are selected with the expectation of a certain gear ratio, and you should not change the characteristics of individual elements, otherwise the overall harmony of the entire structure will be violated. Cassette 11-32 should only be replaced with cassette 11-32. As a rule, the gear ratio value is stamped on one of the cassette sprockets. You can go the other way and determine the gear ratio by counting the teeth of the top gear sprocket (largest diameter) and the teeth of the low gear sprocket (smallest diameter); the resulting two numbers will be the gear ratio.

After installing the sprockets in place, you need to tighten the retaining ring that holds the cassette in place. NEVER over-tighten the ring because the threads are very fine and can be accidentally torn off by excessive force. The cassette engages with the retaining ring with special teeth that prevent spontaneous unscrewing. When removing or installing the retaining ring, these teeth may make grinding sounds.

Speed ​​bike sprockets are the main parts of the gearshift system that provide the gear ratio of the transmission. According to the degree of influence, they are divided into leading and led. The first are located at the connecting rod pair and are called the system. The driven ones are located on the rear wheel hub and are divided by design into cassettes and ratchets.

Over time, the sprockets wear out, as a result of which their complete or partial replacement is required. The second option is more common in practice, since wear is uneven. The most commonly used gears are subject to it. The problem, of course, requires a timely solution, otherwise the ride will turn into torment. The chain will bind or jump over worn sprockets. Many modern models allow you to remove the sprocket and put it separately on the system or cassette without replacing the entire assembly. Read on to find out how to do this.

How to remove and put a system star

The system is a set of three chainrings. If you often have to ride at speed, then most likely the largest star will wear out. On the contrary, with frequent off-road trips, wear will affect the first (smallest) sprocket. By analogy with the second, middle star, when the bike is used at medium speeds in primer conditions or poor asphalt.

On a modern mountain or road bike, the system is collapsible, so it will not be difficult to dismantle all the stars. Before work, you need to carefully prepare, namely, to collect all the right tools:

  • cap key;
  • hexagons;
  • new item;
  • clean cloth and grease.

Removing the system from the bike:
1. Install the frame in straight position. If there is a stand, you should definitely use it.

2. Using a hexagon, remove the fixing axial bolt of the right connecting rod.

3. Unscrew the pedal from the right crank. For this, a standard open-end wrench is suitable.

4. Insert the puller into the connecting rod for . To begin with, we screw the tool until it stops on the thread. It is important that it sits evenly on the shaft, otherwise the axis can be damaged when unscrewing the connecting rod. Install the spanner wrench on the puller and screw it in with force until it stops until the connecting rod is squeezed out of the bottom bracket shaft.

5. Carefully remove the system from the chain.

6. Two stars are usually attached to each other on the so-called spider. The big one stays on the connecting rod itself. Loosen them with hex screws.

 
This is how the system works.
Replacement and installation looks like the reverse process:

  1. Install the desired sprocket on the spider and tighten the fasteners. Change the large part together with the right connecting rod and screw the middle and small stars onto it.
  2. Next - the installation of the connecting rod on the carriage. Before this, it is advisable to clean and lubricate the carriage shaft.
  3. Carefully put the chain on the system and screw in the connecting rod by turning the puller in the opposite direction.
  4. Tighten the fixing nuts and install the plugs.
  5. Screw the pedal onto the crank.

When replacing one star, it is advisable to clean the old ones. Before installing on the carriage, lightly lubricate the system components.

So just replace the front sprocket. All of the above tools are required. A connecting rod is a sensitive thing, and a hammer with a chisel is not the best way to remove it. The same goes for keys. It is difficult to replace them with pliers, besides, nuts can easily “eat”. Well, without hexagons, it is impossible to disassemble the system into parts.

Upon completion, check the operation of the transmission - is everything in order and is it required.

Changing the sprocket on the rear cassette

The set of transmission stars of the rear wheel is several times larger than the front one. The standard set includes eight components, and in high-speed models (or on a sports bike) there are 9 or 11 of them.

It is worth mentioning right away that a cassette or a ratchet can be placed at the back. Cassette - modern version with internal slotted fastening on the hub axle. Ratchets, as an outdated option, can only be found on a budget high-speed bike. The set usually includes 5-7 gears. Mount external, threaded, removable tool differs from the cassette.

The fundamental difference from the cassette is integrity - you cannot change the star separately on the ratchet. It's either all at once, or nothing at all. Therefore, we will consider how to install a new sprocket on the cassette.

As with replacing the leading stars, special tools will be required here:

  • cassette remover;
  • chain whip-clamp;
  • adjustable wrench or head;
  • optional: wrenches, chain squeeze*.

*When removing the cassette, you will need to first remove the rear wheel from the bike, and then the axle nuts. At the same time, when replacing sprockets, you can also clean the chain - to remove it, squeeze is needed.

Work sequence:
1. Remove the rear wheel with a 15 wrench, everything is simple with an eccentric mount - open the lever and loosen the fixing nut.

2. The next step is to unscrew the axle nuts. For it, you need a key for 17. To collapse the mount from the pivoting axle, we put on an additional nut to fix the axle.

3. Unscrew the bearing cone and pull out the bearing from the opposite side.

4. Take out the axle with cone and bearing. About bushing components: if necessary, they can be immediately replaced with new ones.

5. Insert the cassette remover into the slots.

6. Put the whip on the largest (lowest) star. We will rotate it clockwise.

7. Use an adjustable wrench or socket to turn the puller counterclockwise.

So you can easily shoot a cassette at home. Most modern sets of stars are collapsible, you can install one or two new stars. However, with severe wear, when half of the cassette is worn off, it does not make sense to change them separately. Difficulties can also arise if the largest asterisk, on which all the rest are usually attached, is worn out.

Is it possible to dismantle the cassette without a puller and a whip? In principle, this can be done with a slotted tube and a ring wrench. The whip can be made independently by welding a piece of the old chain to the metal handle of the knife.

When replacing individual stars, especially medium ones, we disassemble the cassette carefully so as not to lose all the separating and fixing washers. Everything is easier with a cassette on a spider - it does not need to be disassembled, the star is removed separately from its mount.

Assembling the rear transmission unit:

  1. Put and fix a new star, assemble the cassette.
  2. Using a puller, install the drum on the spline mount of the sleeve. Before tightening, it is necessary to level the drum so that the connection does not wear out under load. A whip is not needed here - just rotate the puller clockwise with effort.
  3. Assemble the hub: insert the axle from the side of the cassette, then the bearing and cone from the left side, fix the axle with nuts.
  4. Put on the chain and put the rear wheel on.

Check the operation of the transmission and speeds. Timely replacement of sprockets will save you from unpleasant surprises on trips and will generally increase the resource of the bicycle transmission.

Bicycle cassette - a system of rear sprockets for changing the gear ratio. The stars are arranged in descending order from the hub - the closest to it is a large and “powerful”, the furthest away is a high-speed small sprocket. The counting is done in the same way. Upshifting means shifting to a more distant star, and vice versa.

Cassette - Consumable, wears out over time, which requires its periodic maintenance - replacement of the chain, individual stars or the assembly as a whole. A cassette also means a ratchet - at first glance, a similar set of rear sprockets. In fact, this is far from the case, and right now we will learn about the differences so that we never again get confused in these concepts.

What is the difference between a ratchet and a cassette

Ratchet - ratchet mechanism with threaded or splined mounting on the sleeve. The ratchet is located outside, and the sprockets are installed entirely. This means that the ratchet is set “at once” - when, say, small stars are worn out, it will not be possible to replace only the worn part - everything changes at once.

This type of node was widespread in the last century, and now it can be found on the budget. A number of disadvantages of a ratchet include such things:

  • a small number of stars - from 5 to 7 speeds;
  • low running resource;
  • for more durable products, the cost will be many times more.

Although, of course, repair, or rather, non-repairability, is the main drawback. Most ratchets are threaded. An unpleasant feature of this fastening is jamming. It looks like this: after a certain run, it will spin on the sleeve so that it will be problematic to disassemble it later.

Ratchets and cassettes differ in both fastening and pullers

Now about cassettes. In fact, this is the same ratchet, only the ratchet is hidden inside the drum. It is installed only on splines, which is why it is sometimes problematic to switch from a ratchet (if that rare spline specimen was not standing). In comparison with its “brothers”, the cassette drum mechanism has a number of advantages:

  • more stars - from 9 to 11 on modern models;
  • the system weighs less, which means the bike as a whole too;
  • rolling resistance is noticeably less than that of a ratchet;
  • the cassette is easier to remove;
  • more mileage;
  • you can change the sprockets individually.

The last plus, of course, is the most significant, and we emphasize it again: changing the system completely or just one or two stars is a huge difference! Well, there is only one drawback - the higher initial cost. However, this again crosses out the very advantage - the ability to repair rather than buy a new one. Should I opt for a cassette? Definitely yes!

What are the types of cassettes?

It is very interesting to find out how the stars are fastened on the drum and to each other. Modern bicycle cassette is presented in several variants. Each of them is good in its own way. Getting Acquainted:

  • spacer,
  • spiders,
  • whole-milled,
  • block.

Spacer cassettes are sprockets fastened with separate slots to the drum. To separate them, plastic separators are inserted - spacers. The parts have a strictly specified thickness so that the distances in the cassette between its elements remain constant. The advantage of such a system is that they can be disassembled “to zero”. The disadvantage, however, for aluminum drums is a high torsional load, because from each star the force is transferred to the drum. On stronger steel counterparts, this problem is not observed.
In a spider-type connection, all the stars are put on a single slot. The paws are made in the form of ladders for each star. Power loads are reduced, so this type of cassette should be chosen for aluminum drums. Also, compared to spacer systems, these systems are lighter.


On the spider, too, you can change only one asterisk

On solid-milled cassettes, the entire block is made as one piece. It is fixed on the lower star, which is the slot for the drum. Among analogues, this is the most expensive option:

  • the simplest device due to the lack of additional connections;
  • ease;
  • high strength;
  • durability.


Fully milled transmission cell

What about disadvantages? Firstly, the price will justify itself only with an expensive mountain bike. And secondly, the design is very much like a ratchet. And although durability and strength were declared, no one canceled partial wear. And it is impossible to change one or two stars.

The block model is represented by several spiders with two or three stars on each. Small stars are inserted into the slot of the drum independently. Since they are more likely to wear out during the operation of the bicycle, they can generally be changed individually. Other components on the blocks are changed in pairs at once.


Shimano block cassette disassembled

We shoot with and without a tool

Removing the cassette from the bike is not difficult if you use special tools - a 12-hook puller, a wrench and a whip. The puller is a small wrench with a slotted connection for the drum.

Disassembly looks like this:
1. The key is inserted into the cassette as shown in the picture. You need to make sure that the splines are tightly engaged.

2. We select a wrench, put a whip on the chain.

3. Holding the whip on the largest star, pull the puller nut counterclockwise.

4. Loosening the rear cassette spline will require a lot of force, and exactly the same when tightening the bolt. We remove carefully, holding the system by the upper (small star) and lower (large star) ends.

5. After the system is removed, we proceed to inspect the sprockets. With a block system, where small components are installed separately, along with the washers, carefully remove them from the drum.

6. The cassette can also be removed without a whip: for this we take an open chain, put it on a large star and fix it on something fixed, for example, on the fence bars. When removing, pull the wheel to the side and at the same time unscrew the puller nut.

Is it possible to remove the cassette without using a removable tool? In principle, yes, but here you will need a hollow slotted tube and a ring wrench of the appropriate size. Still, buying a regular puller is easier.

Installing the cassette looks exactly the opposite of removing it:

  1. Put the body on the ratchet of the sleeve.
  2. Carefully fasten the stars onto the slot (for block models).
  3. It is important to fasten the rings correctly - they are tightly fixed on two neighboring stars with the help of small posts. Each of them must fall into the corresponding hole in the stars for a snug fit.
  4. When all the components are put on, carefully, with a gradual increase in effort, tighten the cassette onto the sleeve. It is better to pull the puller nut down all the time, throwing the key. The recommended force range is 21.7 - 36.2 Nm.

Cleaning and lubricating the cassette

Timely maintenance includes not only the repair of the unit and the replacement of worn parts, but also the maintenance of cleanliness. In operation, the mechanisms sometimes wear out not so much from the applied loads, but from careless maintenance - the dirt stuck together with the lubricant spoils the operation of the system and grinds the teeth faster. Before servicing the cassette, it is necessary to remove it - parsing and correct sequence above.

Cleaning is done with a special flat brush:

Long and hard bristles are able to crawl all the way to the axis and clean the dirt from the most problematic places.

If you plan to partially replace, and at the same time clean the cassette, you can use a regular shoe brush, because cleaning the stars individually is much easier than as a set. Beforehand, a little mild detergent can be applied to the brush - trialon or dishwashing liquid. After washing off all the dirt, wipe the surfaces of the stars dry with a soft cloth.

The next step is to lubricate the sprockets. At the same time, it stands and, otherwise the procedure will not make sense - the dirt will again settle from the chain to the teeth. For lubrication, it is recommended to use special dust-repellent compounds. Processing is done along the entire height of the teeth and in the intervals between them. Do not overdo it with lubrication, a thin layer is enough.

Conclusion

A bicycle cassette is a simple and unpretentious assembly, which, however, will require periodic disassembly and maintenance. Cleaning, lubrication, timely replacement of worn parts - best defense, a guarantee of long work and prevention of unexpected breakdowns in the transmission.

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