[Closed] Cassette removal - what am I doing wrong?

They just are a bit of a b£$%tard sometimes. Try mounting the cassette reomoval tool in a vice and then rotating the rim whilst the mate holds the chain whip. Sometimes. Soaking in WD may help.

Stand the wheel vertical, spanner and chainwhip at ten to two and put your body weight through em,

Stand with the wheel infront of you and with the cassette away from you...left hand should have the chain whip and set so its horizontal on slightly higher..so as to be able to push down on it..like wise for the cassette tool and extansion bar to the right side...your arms should be in the same position. Then give it a bit of bounce and push both downwards. Never failed me yet.

And when you do the above, keep your hands bloody well clear of the cassette!

I will try the ten to two tomorrow, my chain whip has bent with the force I'm using.

Could the tools I'm using be insufficient?

My Knuckles and cassette have made very good friends.

I now wear rigger gloves

Make sure your you're cranking in the right direction so you're not accidentally making it more tight too.

Don't ask me how I know this 😳

Anti clockwise with the cassette removal tool?

I give mine a decent whack with a dead blow mallet. Works every time (hit the chain whip handle and make sure you're loosening it...)

Yep anticlockwise with cassette tool if cassette is facing you, same as a normal nut'n'bolt.

You do need a decent chainwhip. I've bent a crappy oil filter remover type one but have a proper cycle one now.

I find it easier and am able to exert more force by having the the chain whip and the spanner in the quarter to ten position and I am able to squeeze them together with just the grip from both hands . I have freed off quite a few that others using the traditional position had failed with . It also has a lot less risk of skinning your knuckles or worse .

Could the tools I'm using be insufficient?

Unlikely IMO - never had one that didn't come undone with only a bit of grunt and 8" long tools. Unlikely to be seized either - it spends its life being covered in oil.

Can you post a pic of yourself trying to do it?

What sprocket are you putting the whip on? You have to make sure you get enough wrap around, but the bigger sprockets will give you more leverage. I usually use 3rd or 4th from biggest.

Put the force through the cassette tool. Hold the whip still and try and turn the cassette tool, not vice versa.

It might be worth giving the thing a jolt. Take a mallet to the wrench attached to the cassette tool. Give it a good whack.

Use a bigger lever.

I just hold the chain whip firm and then give the lockring tool a quick jolt with my other hand, works every time. If it is really stuck fast and you need more strength then just visualise that the handle of your wrench is Farages nose and mash your palm into it, then BAM your cassette will be free.

You could try a hypercracker on an old frame if it's being a real pig.

I'll try all of the above today and take some pics, although I can't promise I'll be able to post them on this site.

I don't need the old cassette so an angle grinder is calling my name

Try putting the lock ring tool in and then giving it a sharp whack along the axle length with a hammer. If the threads are binding it can help break that deadlock.

Bouncing on (short sharp impulses of effort with your arm, not literally) the lockring spanner/extension can help too.

If you've bent your chainwhip, it's probably not up to the job (though it may still be capable of it using the right technique,and a bit of care). Ramseyneil's not far off the mark with his technique, though I prefer to spread the tools a little more, and push/pull them apart (less chance of trapping fingers if they let go suddenly). Best bet if it still won't come undone is to take it to a decent LBS which'll have strong tools about 2ft long in their workshop, believe me that 8" tools won't cut it in the real world of unmaintained/hamfister's bikes, and if you take an attractive young lady to smile a lot, it'll probably get done for nowt, and immediately 🙂

I've had issues in the past until i bought a better type of tool.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BBB-Lockout-Shimano-and-SRAM-Compatible-Cassette-Lockring-Remover-Tool-/381535591865?hash=item58d54b1db9:g:G7QAAOSwQPlV7tjF

these seem to keep things straighter and easier

[img] [/img]

Proper lockring tool as pictured above, whip on third or fourth sprocket down, positioned so the two handles are a few inches apart, so whip at 5 o'clock, lockring tool at 7 o'clock and squeeze both together... you can get plenty of force through both, and less likely to skin knuckles.

Can you post a pic of yourself trying to do it?

You sick person

Is it worth trying to tighten the lockring a smidge, just to get the threads moving and breaking any corrosion seal?

This

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/chain-whip-cassette-remover-id_8309913.html

plus a decent lockring tool.

Lay wheel on ground, kneel with right foot on wheel (gently is fine), rest chainwhip handle against foot.

Lockring tool, ratchet handle, bit of a shove. If no go then a longer or extended ratchet handle.

Works every time.

I'm a massive fan of the vice + bus driver routine.

If I was having that much trouble I'd take it in to the LBS. They always have ways.

Like the look of the Decathlon one

[img] [/img]

Video

http://bcove.me/3fs7yo2i

put chainwhip on middle cog at about 3 o clock and cassette removal tool with spanner at about 9 o clock. Hold wheel with left hand vertically in front of you. Jump onto the wheel landing both feet at the same time on the spanner/chainwhip. Miss with one foot and gouge left shin with tool, whilst unbalancing and falling forwards to smack head on floor. Throw wheel across garden.
Retrieve wheel.
Refit chainwhip on middle cog at about 3 o clock and cassette removal tool with spanner at about 9 o clock. Hold wheel with left hand vertically in front of you. Put one foot tentatively on chainwhip. Hold onto a wall and carefully move your other foot onto the cassette removal tool spanner. Balance like this for half a second then fall flat on face. Boot wheel over wall and sulk for 15 minutes.

Many years ago a "friend" couldn't get his cassette off his wheel and eventually took it to the LBS where they struggled for a bit before realising it wasn't a screw-on cassette but a push-on one 😯

just thought it was worth mentioning

put chainwhip on middle cog at about 3 o clock and cassette removal tool with spanner at about 9 o clock. Hold wheel with left hand vertically in front of you. Jump onto the wheel landing both feet at the same time on the spanner/chainwhip. Miss with one foot and gouge left shin with tool, whilst unbalancing and falling forwards to smack head on floor. Throw wheel across garden.
Retrieve wheel.
Refit chainwhip on middle cog at about 3 o clock and cassette removal tool with spanner at about 9 o clock. Hold wheel with left hand vertically in front of you. Put one foot tentatively on chainwhip. Hold onto a wall and carefully move your other foot onto the cassette removal tool spanner. Balance like this for half a second then fall flat on face. Boot wheel over wall and sulk for 15 minutes.

Still laughing at this 😆

bonesetter - Member
Like the look of the Decathlon one

Best tool I've bought for a while, snapped a normal chain whip trying to get a stuck cassette off, bought this and it came off a lot easier!

Assume you're binning the cassette, in which case jam a medium sized sprocket (preferably with an even number of teeth) in a vice. Hold the cassette tool in with the qr. Use a socket and a breaker bar (probably going in from underneath).

If you do this after some WD40 soaking you'll probably get things moving. If not, I would try a dremel/angle grinder if I really liked the hub.

+1 for lockring tool in vice and doing the bus driver thing

I hate the noise undoing a lock ring makes. I always have a moment of fear that I have ripped the teeth off it or the threads out of the freewheel.

On QR wheels I use a QR to hold the lock ring tool into the splines with just enough give to get it moving. I then use a socket over the tool and a nice long ratchet, as it starts to move I back off the QR a bit and then only remove it when it's nice and free. The added bonus of the QR only having a little give it is stops the lock ring completely undoing and you having a painful experience when putting all your weight on the ratchet and chain whip.

I too go for the reaching over the wheel with the cassette away from you technique so you can stabilise it against your body while you push down on both the chain whip and ratchet.

Yes, that grating sound for the first half turn is not nice 😕

My method is pretty standard: brace wheel against legs with cassette facing away; chain whip on middle cog of cassette for left hand; spanner on cassette tool for right hand. Both set just above horizontal then give a firm push down with both hands. Cue horrible grating sound then remove spanner and spin out the lockring.

Did it last night to clean the cassette - took longer to get the wheel out of the drops than getting the cassette off.

My solution is not to do the lockring up so tight! A few clicks past finger tight is fine.

Was about to say - am I the only person who doesn't do up his lockrings with a diesel engine?

Right it's off.

Took it to the site I was working at today and got 2 of the scariest and hairiest contractors to help. This failed and ended up breaking the chain on the chain whip.

So I gave in and stopped at halfords on my way home, the guys were brilliant and managed to remove it eventually and a lot of different removal techniques.
They said it was the hardest they've done without breaking it off. They also did it free of charge.

So a thumbs up for halfords and defeat for me.