I did my short ride today and the slip is still there going over a bridge in 7th gear (have not experienced any slips in other gears). However, I can't seem to duplicate the problem in the garage. Must need the added stressing out on a ride.

Thanks for your experience on the freehub. I had been wondering about this as a possibility. I have maintained the FH by keeping it reasonably lubed (w/Tri-Flo), but have never cleaned it with solvent. Now I wonder if dirt has somehow made its way inside. interesting that I'm only having problems in 7th gear like you did at first. Maybe my next step is to remove the FH and do a thorough degreasing/relubing. I also am going to recount ball bearings. A few fell onto a rag underneath the wheel when I regreased the hub during replacement of the cassette/chain. I thought I got them all (They seemed to fill up the bearing area). Maybe I fooled myself

I also noticed that the dust cover on the inside near the outside edge of the FH is loose. I tried to remove it and couldn't figure out how, so I put it back in place as best I can, but it still seems a bit loose. Any thoughts on this, or is this insignificant in the bigger picture?

I have to own up here that I have 18K+ miles on the bike. So I'm also pondering if the FH is just worn out. Tho, it's a bit confusing since I didn't see this problem until I replaced the chain/cassette. And the old stuff wasn't "that" worn out (i.e. minor shifting problems, but no slipping). Maybe this is like the chain/cassette connection. No slips with the old stuff, but replace only the cassette or the chain and unexpected problems appear.

You mention mineral spirits....any other suggestions for degreasing the FH? I had a thought of using WD40, but am concerned about leftover WD40 breaking down the new lube.

Thanks and again and cheers....Steph