cassette installation

Camilo

I have a new Reynolds wheelset with a shimano 9/10 freehub and a new SRAM 9 speed cassette. I'm not sure if the cassette is installing properly.

The cassette sprockets are all in a single unit, except for the smallest one. The main body slides easily onto the freehub and lodges against the innermost raised/flange type thing. There is not extra spacer there, only the cassette itself.

The last/smallest sprocket, which is unattached, just barely engages the splines. I know it's aligned properly, and if I push on it hard, I can feel it barely engaging the splines, but left to it's own, it rotates freely.

I aligned it and put on the lock ring and tightened the lock ring just by hand on the lockring tool (no wrench). That amount of force seems to have seated the sprocket onto the splines. It doesn't turn freely, but I don't know if that is because it's actually engaged the splines fully, or just because of friction.

Is this normal? Should I just torque to specs at this point? Anything I should be looking for?

OldGoat

Does not sound normal to too; in fact, sound dangerous. If it were to slip under pressure, you could lose control & crash. Suggest you (a) double-check and make sure that there is not a very thin spacer mounted on the inside edge of the freehub (yes, you said there isn't one, but check again to be sure); and/or (2) get it checked out at your LBS. I would NOT ride it in the condition you describe.

daveornee

It is impossible to sense what you can, but something sounds incorrect.
Take a close look at the freehub and the cassette looking for burrs or anything that is keeping it from smoothly going all the way on.
"Installing Cassette Cogs
Cassette freehub bodies and cassettes are often designed so the cogs will fit in only one orientation. This permits manufacturer to align "shifting ramps" to specification.
a. Inspect splines of freehub body. Look for a wide space between splines. Inspect the internal splines of cogs. Look for a wide spline to mate with wide space in freehub body. Align splines and engage all cogs.
b. Install spacers in same orientation as when removed.
c. Grease threads of lockring and thread lockring into freehub.
d. Install cassette lockring tool and install quick release skewer. Thread skewer nut on outside of lockring tool.
e. Snug skewer nut against remover. Skewer acts as a holding device for freewheel tool.
f. Turn remover clockwise until lockring is tight, at least 360 inch-pounds (approximately 40 Nm). For installing lockring, use of the sprocket chain whip tool is not required."
Quoted from the Park Tool Website

__________________
David Ornee, Western Springs, IL USA

Peter@vecchios

if it engages the splines with finger tightening, using a wrench and the required 40 ft-lbs or so will seat it and it will be fine.

Camilo

To earlier reply: thanks for the Park Tool reference. I followd those instructions first, but just had to check on this little quirk that I encountered that wasn't explicitedly described there.

Peter: thanks. This is exactly what my common sense and prior experience had told me, but I just wanted a little verification. I believe I've done everything on a bike except cassette installation (even freewheel installation very long ago, when I would do absolutely everything on my bike). I know cassette installation is prettymuch dead easy, but i had never actually done it.

Thanks again gentlemen.

OldGoat

I think that should be 40Nm, not 40 ft-lbs.