Bicycle Mechanics - Wobbly rear cassette

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Losligato
02-07-07, 06:08 AM
It is not really loose, just not tight. It jiggles a tiny amount. It seems as if the lockring should tighten down more but if I crank any more it seems I will do damage. Is this normal?

Forgive me for the simple question. We are in the middle of nowhere in Vietnam. No bike mechanic to run to.

Thanks

MudPie
02-07-07, 10:33 PM
It is not really loose, just not tight. It jiggles a tiny amount. It seems as if the lockring should tighten down more but if I crank any more it seems I will do damage. Is this normal?

Forgive me for the simple question. We are in the middle of nowhere in Vietnam. No bike mechanic to run to.

Thanks

Jiggling is not normal, but on the other hand, a little jiggle is not the end of the world.

Is the movement front-back or side-side? Most lockrings need to be tightened to ~30 ft-lb of torque. I had a cassette that jiggled side to side, and the problem was the freehub was shot.
MrCjolsen
02-08-07, 06:40 AM
freehub bodies have a teeny tiny bit of play. No amount of tightening the cassette will change that.

Al1943
02-08-07, 05:14 PM
There should be no looseness in the cog set. 30 ft# or 40 nm is a typical torque spec for a cassette, usually shown on the lockring. That's quite a bit of torque. Maybe you need a spacer on the backside of the cassette. What type of hub and cassette to you have? Number of cogs?

Al
genec
02-08-07, 07:08 PM
I was surprised by what appeared to be "jiggle" in a cassette a while back... turned out that it was just askew... but held tight by the screws that hold the cassette together. I loosened the screws and set the cassette down on a flat surface and then retightened the screws. Worked fine.
monk
02-08-07, 08:34 PM
It's normal. I had my bike on a stand and turned the cranks and let the back tire rotate really fast and you can you see the cassette "wobble" a bit (brand new Ultegra). I called Shimano, and they said it's called "float." I can't remember exactly why it happens, but when you're on your bike and putting weight on it the wobbling stops. There's another thread on this somewhere on BF.
monk
02-08-07, 08:36 PM
Just found the 2 threads on BF; just search "Wobbling Cassette."
Losligato
02-11-07, 09:52 PM
Excellent. Thanks to everyone. I avoided thinking about it until I could get back to a computer with internet access. Now I find that I had little to worry about.
Thanks