Originally Posted by
Papa Tom
Anyway, what I MEANT was that I tightened the lockring until the damned bit was slipping on it and I felt like I couldn't possibly go any further. This comment was followed up by several responses stating that you need to apply a TON of torque to the cassette lockring to install it safely and properly. I've never had to go beyond what my arthritic elbows could squeak out, so I don't know if there's another problem here, or what.
I had similar problems for a few months a few years ago with the lockring coming unscrewed. Pounding on a stick with a rock out in the middle of the country isn't much fun; fortunately, there was a SAG stop a few miles later that was staffed by a good wrench, and he tightened it well.
20-25 ft-lb seems to be the going, minimum torque. If you're using a 12" crescent wrench, that means you need to push on the end with enough force to hold up four to five 5 pound bags of flour. I don't know what your "arthritic elbows" are capable of, but that's a good push.
If you're using one of the travel versions of the tool, your torque arm is about twice as long, and you have the whole bicycle to roll (backward?) to tighten it. Easier to tighten adequately, but, if you're at home, using one of those travel versions is fussier because of futzing with the skewer.