So over the past week I converted this mtb I just bought used from 2x10 to 1x10. I widened the cassette to a Sunrace 11-42, and gave the RD more clearance with a Goatlink10. Rear hub is Hope.

However it was EXTREMELY difficult to get the old cassette off, and to put the new one on. And I'm not talking about getting the locknut off, that was almost like it had been tightened by hand. I'm talking about getting the cassette off/on the hub splines.

First off, after loosening the locknut (like I said, not very tight), and grabbing the cassette, the whole freehub body came off! It was not really held on at all, the part inside/under the locknut that looks like it should hold it together, is not threaded, I don't see how it could hold it together unless it used to be press-fit and then came loose.

Then, I couldn't get the cassette off. I got the smallest, individual cogs off, but the spidered ones in the back were stuck hard. I ended up propping the cassette up off the ground, putting a piece of flat metal on the top of the freehub, and banging it out with a mallet. I had to whack it so hard, the pawls got knocked out and I had to put them back in!

Getting the new cassette on was similarly difficult. I had to lean on the cassette and 'walk' it down (push on the left, push on the right, push on the top, push on the bottom) until it finally got down there. I had to work one piece at a time. I also experimented with trying to punch it down by tapping it with a metal rod and hammer, as near the center/splines as possible.

Finally got it all on and screwed it down real hard (because I forgot the non-press-fit piece inside the locknut, I had to take it back off and back on again, needed a cheater bar to get it off)

Then I had to do a lot of extreme adjustment to the RD. Seems the goatlink pushes the RD out about 2 cogs worth, so I had to run the limit screws way over to their other extremes, and re set the cable tension.

OK so finally I got it shifting kinda ok, but not good. It seems there must be a gap in the cassette. The cassette is a 3-cog spider, then another 3-cog spider, and then 4 individual cogs on the right. When I'm on the right (small) side of the cassette, down(left)shifting is easy, upshifting doesn't wanna go. When I'm on the left (big) side of the cassette, upshifting is a snap, but for downshifting I gotta push the shifter a little past and give it half a rev or so to catch. This implies to me I've got a gap between the spider and the individual cogs. I tried wiggling cogs by hand, but couldn't feel any slack.

How could this be? I tightened the crap outta that lockring, those cogs shoulda got smooshed together real good. Did I maybe bend my spidered cogs by working them with a mallet? Would I be able to bend them back with pliers or something?

Why is it so hard to slide cassettes off/onto this hub? Is it jacked up, are some hubs just like that?