acarlton

Hi, I'm new

Short story: So my cassette came apart last night during my ride.

Long Story: About a month ago I purchased a 2007 Fuji Team Carbon. I've put about 300 miles on it so far. I haven't had many troubles with it other than the seat being pretty uncomfortable and the derailers needing some tweaking. I was on a 25 mile out and back ride with a friend, doing some intervals, nothing to crazy, just trying to work on the sprint. On my way back I started to hear some clicking coming from my rear wheel whenever I tried to throw down the hammer or went over a bump, and it gradually got louder. I stopped to check it out, but couldn't find anything wrong. It wasn't until I got home, took off the wheel and had the cassette fall on the floor, that i realized what the problem was.

Now I'd consider myself an intermediate rider. I've really only been riding road seriously for the past 3 months, but I know my way around a bike. I'm not worried about my ability to fix the problem, but I am wondering if this is something to worry about in terms of other things falling apart on the bike, or if it is just a fluke. I bought the bike for what I thought was a pretty good discount, at a LBS that seemed to sell more low end bikes. Looking back now I realize that the guy who sold me the bike didn't really know what he was talking about. The bike seems to fit me pretty well, but he didn't even adjust the seat height when he had me ride it, let alone give me a full fitting. Now I wish I had gone to the upscale bike shop that takes better care of their customers.

Question: My question is, should I be worried about the workmanship of the mechanic who put my bike together? Or is the lock coming off the cassette not that big of a deal and is something that can happen over time?

Pedaleur

The lock ring shouldn't come off, of course, though even a good mechanic might put it on loosely and forget to tighten it later only to have it come off in the Spanish countryside, miles from a bike shop (er...I have a friend...).

It suggests a lack of attention to detail, so I'd go over all of the important bits, if I were you:

skewers
stem bolts
crank bolts
seat collar
brakes
others?

A proper torque wrench is useful, but without it you can tell if something in ridiculously loose.

Or pay $20 to the good LBS for a tune-up.

oilman_15106

I think it is not necessarily the LBS fault. When the mfg built the bike whoever could have cross threaded or improperly installed the lock ring. Other possibilities are the hub itself, the threads were defective from the get go. When a bike comes to the LBS do they go over the cassette tightness as a matter of routine? This is a general question. I have installed cassettes to the proper torque and had them loosen but it is rare.

Psimet2001 

+1 - somone didn't tighten it correctly - most likely - implies that other areas should be checked as well. Stuff happens though....

acarlton

Thanks, that's what I was thinking. I am confident in my ability to fix this, but maybe should have somebody else take a quick gander of the rest of the bike. I'm trying to make friends at the bike shop that I could have gone to by doing their weekly group ride. Maybe they can help me out.

edmaverik

It is a very typical oversight if your bike was a OTR bike. I have seen this occur when shops are busy and don't check the cassette. It's not a biggie. After 100 miles your shop should have told you to come back for a quick bike check so they tighten everything.

acarlton

I took it in to get the RD tuned last weekend, but I don't think he looked over the whole bike.

I also asked him about a new seat and the mechanic recommended that I go to a different shop...

brianappleby

Buy a cassette tool and a standard adjustable wrench (monkey wrench) and be done with the LBS in this department.

Then go to parktool.com and learn how to adjust your RD, and be done there..

Etc.

acarlton

yea, i was looking at the parktool website and it didn't seem too bad. On a side note, in terms of bike tools, have most of your guys bought a kit, or have you jsut accumulated the tools one at a time when the problems arose? As of now i've just been buying the tools when i've needed them, but if i want to start working on my bike all the time, would it be a better investment to get all the tools at once, or do you find that you don't need all the tools that come in those kits?

Brian Ratliff

^^^
1+

Yes, but not a monkey wrench (they are for pipes)... buy a crescent wrench to avoid chewing up the cassette tool. If you want to take the cassette off too, then you'll need a chainwhip. Both tools are available at Performance for pretty cheap and you'll never have this problem again, or if you do, you have no one to blame but yourself.

Brian Ratliff

I buy tools as I need them. That way the cost is spread out and I can buy better quality tools than the ones that come in the kits. If you buy a kit, then you'll end up with the lower end tools and you'll have tools that you never use or need. Better to trade some of the tools that you don't need to get better quality tools that you do need.

If I have a project, part of the budget is to buy the tools to complete the project. After a few upgrades and bike builds over the last several years, I have a fairly complete bike shop. I can do most everything except for non-integrated headsets.

jimbud

Great advice, Learn to work on your own bike. The LBS will always be there if you need help.

genejockey 

I happened on a rider a while back standing at the side of the road, looking quizzically at her back wheel/rd. She said it was like her freewheel wouldn't stay engaged, and she'd JUST gotten her bike back from a "tuneup" at the LBS. Turned out to be a completely unscrewed lockring. Try tightening one of those things on the roadside without any tools!

acarlton

yea, i was lucky bc the skewer was essentially holding the whole thing together. This will probably explain the spotty shifting on the RD last night also. After my ride, I tried to even get the threads to catch by hand but couldn't

dark13star

You should be able to. Make sure the threads are good. It might have been cross-threaded and it could have damaged the threads.

veloGeezer

I have accumulated tools over the years. Different bikes often require different tools for the BB, pulling the cranks, removing the rear cassette, and other things. If you work on any old steel frames as well as the new bikes, you'll know what I mean.

But bike mechanics is a great hobby if you like to ride alot. There's nothing better than riding a freshly tuned machine every time you roll out.

DiLuca Fan

Intermediate riders do not "throw down the hammer" unless they are being summoned by their wife/girlfriend, or both while doing home improvements.

Pedaleur

A mini-screwdriver on your multi-tool is not optimal. Or so says my "friend".

Which reminds me: I should probably remind him to tighten it properly now that he's back...

acarlton

So i went to the shop where i bought the bike to ask them about it. They agreed that it probably just wasn't tightened enough in the factory and that the mechanic overlooked it. All fixed now I think, haven't test ridden it though.

genejockey 

Yeah, that'd probably work better than barehanded did! I just barely got the thing threaded on and turned about 1/2 turn. I told her to go straight home unless there was a bike shop closer than her house.

Pedaleur

Hahahahahaha! Remember how I jokingly said I needed to check that the retainer was tightened? Guess what happened on my commute yesterday.