Originally Posted by moxfyre
Okay, I think there may be a little confusion here on what skydive is asking: are you asking whether or not to lube the cogs (the sprockets, visible part of the cassette), or whether or not to lube the bearings which allow the cassette to coast.
Maybe the LBS is saying, "DON'T lube the cogs" (that would just gunk them up, the chain is what needs to be lubed, lubing the cogs wouldn't get much lubricant to the parts of the chain that need it).
And maybe the book is saying "DO lube the bearings" (although I can't imagine they'd need it often)
To clarify. I am meticulous with the cleaning lubing of my bicycle. I clean it after every ride (5 times a week), and then thoroughly clean and lube the chain and other areas once a week. I am aware of the need for bearing lubrication, however I speak of only the rear cogs. A maintenance book I recently read indicated that one should lightly spray the cogs with a dry lube. I asked the LBS about this, and he disagreed indicating that the cogs did not need to be lubed. So back to my question, perhaps stated more clearly, do the cogs need ANY lubrication. Forget the bearings, etc.