As above, can’t get the cassette lock ring of my Xt cassette. Tried hitting the removal tool with a rubber mallet but it won’t budge. Even bent my chain whip now! Any ideas?
Trevor.
Are you turning it the correct way?
Yes!
I had exactly the same problem (turned out the little shim inside was bent)
I bent the chain whip until it looked like spagetti.
Took it into local Evans and the mechanic stuck the cassette tool in a vice.... and used a park tools chain whip.... He didn't charge me (know him quite well) and so I bought a proper park chain tool !!!
use a bigger lever. no, seriously.
[img] 
[/img]
yup bigger lever, get an old length of tube or handlebar on the end of there and give it some welly.
This happened on my wife's first mtb, shop ended up grinding it off!
Yep if it’s over tight, the easiest approach if you own a vice is to clamp the tool then busdriver the wheel off the cassette.
If no vice, then it can be worth improving your leverage potential by getting on your knees facing a wall/kitchen table etc and jam the wheel against the large immovable while attempting to unscrew the lockring.
If the lockring tool accepts 1/2” drive then breaker bars are an option, otherwise maybe short piece of scaffolding over the lockring tool handle.
tbh if its any chain whip other than the park or pedros workshop ones(or equivalently designed) you wasting your time 😀 seen many folk trying to balance it all together and stick bars on to tools not designed for it only to fold the chainwhip or worse and cause injury.
no lock ring or indeed track cog is safe now , they all come off with that thing.
same with pedal spanners and 8mm pedal allen keys - the legit pedros/park ones cannot be matched for invincibly and reliably removing even the most stuck stuff.
It’s a cheap lifeline chain whip, it’s for the bin now! I needed some new wheels anyway so I’ll get the lbs to get it off for me and keep these wheels as spares. Park tools chain whip required by the sounds.
TBH, my old Lifeline chainwhip is still going strong something like eight years on. I’m actually unsure how so many are being broken? I’ve often needed to increase the force on the lockring tool, but I’ve never needed to add leverage to the chainwhip, just maybe reengage it. It’s only to stop the cassette rotating, not to do anything else...
i was for ever having to deal with clients whos engineering experiance said tighter is always better .....
which made removing fun sometimes .
as always the right tools help though
Pedros vice whip and a decent cassette lockring tool plus cheater pipes as required.
You don't put the lever on the chain whip, you put it in the end of big hex key spanner thing.
24" adjustable & you wont need an extra lever
cheater bars were barred from our workshop for a reason.
24″ adjustable & you wont need an extra lever
cheater bars were barred from our workshop for a reason.
Generally agree, however if it has been massively overtightened/corroded many people will struggle to remove with a 24" adjustable.
Generally agree, however if it has been massively overtightened/corroded many people will struggle to remove with a 24″ adjustable.
[img] 
[/img]
because they cant lift it ?
ours was "elephant" brand - which i thought was quite apt !
because they cant lift it ?
ours was “elephant” brand – which i thought was quite apt !
lol
2 other guys were trying to get it off, one was lifted off the ground.
I have a 36" wrench for special occasions.
I weigh 20 stone, over the years I’ve managed to remove a fair few lockrings after other (lighter) mechanics have given up. One of the few advantages to being a fat git.
Impact wrench every time. You wont need a chain whip.
TBH, my old Lifeline chainwhip is still going strong something like eight years on. I’m actually unsure how so many are being broken?
My old cheapish chain whip was a good 16 yrs old (bought 2000-2001)and had worked flawlessly.
no lock ring or indeed track cog is safe now , they all come off with that thing.
It's this shim that causes the problem.
The one I had was tightened up using a 6" stubby wrench ... done at the start of a race for my kid to switch cassette... its what was in my portable toolbox so it was WAY below 40nm-1 ...when it did come off the shim had folded inside.
Long leverage. It's why I own a breaker bar.
My old cheapish chain whip was a good 16 yrs old (bought 2000-2001)and had worked flawlessly.
Mine's so old we used to use it on 7 speed. I'm sure it would rip the cassette teeth off before the bar would bend or break!
I wonder if an impact gun on the cassette tool would bosh it off.
That decathlon one looks clever. I’ve already ordered a Park one though.