Discovered a load of play between the cassette and the freehub on my Yeti's wheel.

The cassette (XT jobby with the alloy carrier) can rotate about half a degree and move up and down the splines of the freehub by about 0.5mm.

The lockring is done up nice and tight, but this doesn't make any difference, as the final cog in the cassette has what i can only describe as 'capped splines' – as in, it can't slide all the way onto the freehub, it is designed to sit on the end.

So, which is knackered? My hub or my cassette? or are they both fine and I'm missing a spacer or something? (I don't remember there ever being one with any hope hub or XT cassette).

Dave

Sounds like a washer missing. I just chucked a couple away. Someone will probably have one you can try though.

Unless you have an old cassette lying round somewhere.

right… I'm positive there weren't any spacers on there, and I've checked my other bike (XT cassette, hope xc hub) and that doesn't have additional spacers either.

Are spacer washers actually needed or just a bodge?

Dave

Have you got the final cog on correctly? There is one smaller spline and it won't go on unless this is lined up properly

Hmm – think TJ is right – The lock ring MUST not be tightening the cassette to the rear of the freehub body if you get that much play in it ?

TJ, I'll check again tonight, but I'm 99% sure it is on in the correct orientation.

foxyrider, it isn't tightening against the freehub body, that is the problem… it only tightens the final cog, hence me thinking that something is knackered.

the hub is only 2 or 3 months old, and the cassette is probably about a year old, but hasn't been used all that much because it is on my Yeti which had a broken swingarm for ages.

Dave

can you slide the smallest sprocket to the back of the freehub body without the rest of the casette on – the alloy freehub body maybe scored thus not allowing the smallest sprocet to push against the rest of the casette?

from what I remember, the smallest sprocket can't actually slide onto the freehub body. As I tried to describe in my OP, the splines are 'capped', so they have blind slots and cannot slide on any more…

I'll try to look for a picture….

Here we go, it can't slide all the way on because of the splines, it just perches on the end.

Dave

OOps – yeh sorry – dimwit – I presume its the correct sprocket? 😳

I wonder therefore if the lock ring is able to tigten up fully – even if it goes tight?

Nope thats not it.. Hmm – and you have had this Cassette on the hub before without any issues?

it was fine when i fitted it before (at least, I didn't notice any problems), just noticed I was getting funny shifting on a trip to afan a few weeks back and found the play then… at first I thought the alloy carrier had fallen to bits, but the whole lot was moving apart from the 11t cog.

Unless someone has any spectacular suggestions of something blindly stupid I am doing, I think I'm going to have to find a spacer.

Anyone know where I can get a freehub shaped (preferably splined??) washer from?

Dave

The only other thing – is the back of the freehub worn and/or the back alloy carrier or both thus giving you play?

My cassette needs a washer behind it, but its XTR. In my case the sprockets would not tighten against them selfs.

I presume its a 9/8 speed casette?

http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=cassette+spacer&hl=en&aq=f

thanks, just found this on wiggle:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Shimano_CS-HG_1mm_Sprocket_Spacer/5360052164/

hopefully that will do it… regardless of whether it is right or not, it will fix it by brute force! 🙂

Dave

UPDATE:

Wiggle were out of stock of shimano spacers, so I bought a Mavic one instead.. this turned out to be 2mm thick, which was too big and prevented the lockring from engaging in the thread.

I scratched my head for a while and ordered a shimano 1mm spacer, but immediately after I had clicked the button, I spotted a BB spacer and realised it was the same diameter. Tried one of the really thin ones, and it worked fine.

Problem solved 🙂

Dave