|   Cleaning cassette? Help! | Zulu
Jan 17, 2002 9:10 AM | | I was thinking of removing my cassette and giving it a good cleaning. Although I clean it regularly and keep it lubed, the backside (side facing the hub) accumulates gunk that's hard to get to and that's why I want to remove it and clean it thoroughly. Any advice on special tools or techniques I may need? Are there any websites that explain the procedure? And finally, is it worth getting one of those clear plastic protectors I usually see on low-end bikes, but have recently seen on higher end bikes? If it is, where could one procure one?
Thanks! |
| That clear plastic thingee.... | fred³
Jan 17, 2002 9:18 AM | | also known as a "pie plate" isn't for keeping anything clean. It's for keeping the chain out of the spokes and(to lots of folks) is kinda like having a reflector on your spokes. Personally if my bike has one I leave it on. If it doesn't I just make sure the upper limit is set properly.
As for removing you have to take the rear wheel out of the dropouts. Then you'll need a chainwhip(well you don't need it, but it makes it easier) and a cassette removal socket. You may need a cone wrench to hold that thin nut. A really good reference is Zinns book on mountainbike maintenance.
Me, mostly I take a cloth, come Q-tips and a toothbrush and clean it while still attached to the wheel.
fred3 |
| You'll need a lockring removal tool and a...... | eelpie
Jan 17, 2002 9:21 AM | | chain whip (a handle with a short piece of chain attached which you can probably make yourself)....put the lockring removal toop on a socket, place it on the lockring (center of the smallest cog)....rap the chain whip around the cassette to counter your force as you loosen the lockring....give the socket a good counterclockwise rotation and voila!...the lockring unscrews.....unscrew it all the way and take off the first three or four (loose) cogs, then pull the remaining cog cluster off. Scrub everything clean with Simple Green...reinstall (you won't need the chain whip for installation).
The clear plastic thingamabob won't do anything to keep your cogs clean...that's a spoke protector to save your spokes in the event you overshift the Z cog and throw the chain into the spokes. Most people consider these as prima facie evidence that you're a geek, but some like em.
Good luck. |
| Or you could . . . | Ed
Jan 17, 2002 10:07 AM | | Get a bucket of soapy water and a tire brush and scrub it down real good. I've found this gets it as clean as anything once you rinse the suds off with a garden hose. Just do it as you're washing your bike and it takes almost no extra time. |
| Old shoelace | Nor'Easter
Jan 17, 2002 12:53 PM | | I use an old shoelace to clean between the cogs. The oversize flat cotton laces work the best. Spray it down with Simple green and floss those things like you were preparing for you next dental visit. |
| Great idea!!! (nm) | Brace1
Jan 17, 2002 4:39 PM | | |
| Toilet brush + simple green | BlargleSnart
Jan 18, 2002 12:21 PM | | Works pretty well for me. I also have one of those plastic Park tool things that has carbon fibre bristles on one end a curved serrated scraper on the the other. |
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