How To Remove Sprockets From A Bike Tire

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The rear cassette is a fix of concentric gear rings fastened to your back wheel. Each ring is a gear on your bike, and the concatenation, which connects to the pedals, turns the cassette to ability the bike. Over time, the teeth on the gears beginning to clothing downwards, making the connexion to the concatenation weaker and costing you valuable ability. At worst, this can lead to slipped bondage, which forestall you from pedaling at all until fixed.

1. i

   Remove the wheel from the bike. This is easily done by undoing the skewer or the basics from the axle, undoing the quick release of the brake and removing the wheel from the wheel. Take the bicycle off and ready the bike aside.^[1]

   • The concatenation is, more likely than non, around the cassette. If yous're struggling to remove it, shift the front gear into the smallest band. Detect where the concatenation threads through 2 small-scale wheels on the derailleur arm (the shifting machinery on your dorsum wheel), and push to put slack in the chain.

2. 2

   Inspect the cassette for clothing and damage and confirm a cassette replacement is necessary. If the teeth are worn, they'll be rounded rather than square. This is also a good time to give the to check for axle bearings for wear and proper lubrication. If the axle moves, the bearing cones demand to be adjusted and you may demand to replace the bearings in the axle. A bike store can do this for yous if you so desire. Signs you need a new cassette include:

   • Skipped or slipping concatenation while riding.
   • Issues shifting (Note: Check that your derailleurs are properly adjusted before changing the cassette)
   • Visibly worn teeth (points are lower are rounder on some gears than others).
   • Croaky, cleaved, or warped gears.

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3. 3

   Remove the skewer. Put the wheel on a apartment surface with easy access to the cassette and remove the skewer, which is the long rod running through the center of the bike. More frequently than non, the skewer and mating bolt on the other stop can be easily screwed off by mitt.

4. four

   Identify your lockring removal tool into the center of the cassette. Replace the skewer with a lock band removal tool. It volition accept a grooved ring on the cease that locks it into the cassette. This will be your pressure point to unscrew the cassette.

   • Some older lock-rings don't take attached skewers. They are meant to replace the bolts on your own skewer, then used like normal. Unscrew the normal ends and put the lockring removal tool on your quondam skewer to utilize.

5. 5

   Wrap the concatenation whip effectually the largest sprocket in a counter-clockwise management. Cull the largest sprocket you lot tin get the chain around. The concatenation whip keeps the cassette from turning while you unscrew information technology. It is only a long handle with nigh 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of bike chain at the end, which allows it to lock the cassette in place. Wrap as much of the chain equally yous can around 1 of the largest gears, going counter-clockwise.

   • To loosen the bolt later you volition demand to turn the lockring counter-clockwise, and so the chain whip  will pull the the cassette clockwise -- this is the opposing pressure to keep everything steady.
   • Alternatively, utilise a length of chain instead.

6. vi

   Clamp a large adjustable wrench on your lockring removal tool. Use the wrench to hold the chain whip in place. If you're just starting out, this might be easier with two people. Tighten the adjustable wrench around the lockring tool then that you can get a lot of power on it.

   • Make certain the tool is firmly jammed in the cassette. This is easily recognizable by the 12-molar lock nut on the cassette.

7. 7

   Holding the chain whip in place, turn the wrench counter-clockwise to release the lock-ring. This nut has a regular thread that needs to exist rotated in an counterclockwise direction. It will probably have some strength, and may brand a loud grinding noise, which sounds like popcorn, as it is removed. This is because of the locking teeth. While you don't desire to break anything, know that this takes a fair corporeality of force, particularly if never done earlier.

   • All this takes off is the lock ring, the pocket-size, usually silver piece that prevents the cassette from moving.
   • Set the lock ring aside in a careful place -- yous definitely do non want to lose these!

8. 8

   Slide the cassette off after removing the lock band. Usually, it consists of a few sprockets, spacers, and a big set of sprockets riveted together. Proceed everything in the same society you lot took information technology out in equally a guide for adding your new cassette. At that place may likewise exist a plastic concatenation guard betwixt your cassette and the spokes of the wheel -- it can be kept or discarded.^[2]

   • Some teeth may slide off alone, and some may be pinned together.
   • You may need to utilise a sparse object to lightly pry a few gears off.

9. 9

   Clean the hub of the bike with an old rag and some light cleaning fluid. You rarely get to this surface area when cleaning, so take the time to get the gunk out now. Utilize an former rag and some rubbing alcohol, gentle dish lather and warm water, or Elementary Green.

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1. 1

   Supplant the cassette with the same gear ratio. Start, count the number of gears. And then, count the number of teeth on the smallest gear, then the largest 1. Put these numbers together to get your ratio. For example, an 11-32 should be replaced with some other xi-32. You tin detect the tooth counts stamped on the sprockets. A office number or name would exist useful equally well. Yous tin can easily bring your cassette into a bike shop as well to get a well-nigh identical cassette.

2. 2

   Supercede the cassette with a dissimilar ratio. Virtually cassettes are interchangeable inside brands for a certain number of gears. For case, Shimano sprockets (gears) can be mixed with other Shimano sprockets. Even older sprockets tin be used with some adjustments. To get sprockets, purchase them separately or as a whole unit. Cassettes can be disassembled past removing the pins property them together, the pins have no other purpose than to brand assembly easier. So just stack together the cassette with the gear ratios you want. Some sprocket molar counts are less common than others, keep that in heed when buying as y'all might terminate up with sprockets identical to what you've already got.

   • It'due south tricky to mix and match gears, so it'south best not to try unless you're experienced. Additionally, compatibility betwixt gears and cassettes can vary. For example, a SRAM cassette may exist compatible with a Shimano freehub trunk, but the new SRAM XD commuter serial isn't compatible with any older model cassettes. Similarly, Campagnolo freehub bodies are just uniform with Campagnolo cassettes. If yous're in dubiousness about which ane to use, consult your local bike shop.
   • Note that changing gear ratios could require a longer or shorter chain to fit on new sized sprockets.
   • The replacement cassette should have the same number of gears. For case, replace a 10-speed cassette with a 10-speed cassette instead of a ix- or 11-speed cassette.

3. 3

   Slide the cassette back onto the hub of the bike in the order yous bought them. Put your new cassette on just like y'all took off the old 1. Annotation that there are a ready of smaller teeth on the hub that the cassette slides into. One of them is bigger/smaller than the others. On the cassette, i of the openings is this aforementioned size, telling you how to line the new cassette upwardly with the hub. Immediately slide the lock ring on to keep things from moving.

   • Y'all may need to add together some gears one at a time. If they are separated, note any spacers (small, plastic rings) in betwixt them when you buy the cassette. These must go on in order.

4. iv

   Tighten the locking nut of the cassette. Use a wrench to gently tighten the lockring tool. Never over tighten this as the threads are very small and won't take much strength. The cassette is fitted with locking teeth to stop it coming off, giving it the distinctive grinding or zipping sound equally information technology is removed and replaced.

   • Paw tighten the commodities as much as possible, then use the wrench to just tighten information technology a hair more so it doesn't move. You'll likely hear a grinding audio while you practise this, which volition audio similar popcorn. You'll know the bolt is tight enough when you only hear 1 or two pops.
   • The gears should all motion together -- there should exist no play or wobble in whatever of the sprockets.

5. 5

   Refit the skewer and put the wheel dorsum on the cycle. Once the cassette is back on, put the wheel on the bike and refit the chain. You're prepare to ride over again.

   • E'er put the bike chain dorsum near the gear the bike is in so that it doesn't clank violently when you start pedaling. If dislocated, shift the bike all the way to one side of the gears and put the chain on the furthest two rings on that side.

6. 6

   Replace your chain whenever you replace your cassette. As bondage habiliment downwardly, the cause more and more stress on the rear cassette. In fact, proper chain replacement (every six months or so for regular riders) is the all-time thing you can do to preclude replacing your cassette too frequently. If you put a new cassette on, even if it is identical to the quondam ane, yous should replace the chain as well for the best results.^[3]

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• Question

  Can we install gears for a hercules rocky ex two.0 bicycle?

  

  Ikaika Cox is the Shop Director at the Salt Lake City co-operative Bicycle Collective in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has been a bicycle mechanic since 2022, offset equally a volunteer with the Provo Wheel Commonage, and growing and honing his skills as a bike mechanic and educator in multiple Bicycle Collective locations over the years. He at present leads the Salt Lake City branch of the Bicycle Commonage.

  

  Bicycle Mechanic

  Proficient Answer

  

  Support wikiHow past unlocking this expert answer.

  For this model, y'all'll need to replace the single-speed bike with a geared one. Then, install a bolt-on derailleur hanger, which will allow you to fit a derailleur on your bicycle. Adjacent, install a shifter, followed by a cassette and a new chain. Unfortunately, calculation gears to this particular brand and model can become quite expensive, costing every bit much as a new bicycle.

• Question

  Tin can fifty change my 32-tooth cassette for one with lower gears?

  

  Yes, though it may be wise to adjust the length of your chain after you practise that.

• Question

  I have a flip flop rim off a road cycle fitted to my mountain bike. I was wondering if I tin can remove the BMX manner free gear and replace information technology with the 7 gear cluster off my mountain bicycle rim?

  

  It depends on whether your mountain bike also has a freewheel and non a freehub (cassette). The departure is that a freewheel includes the ratcheting machinery in the sprocket assembly, a freehub has the ratcheting machinery in the hub and the sprockets can exist removed separately. At that place is also the question of space, whether or not those 7 gears fit in the rear fork.

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• This is an easy job and doesn't require specialist skills, it involves no jump loaded parts or small ball bearings.

• Ownership tools from the Net is cheaper than a shop as you do non pay middleman prices.

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Things You'll Demand

• Cassette removal tool
• Large adjustable wrench of the right size
• Concatenation whip or a long plenty length of bike chain

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Article Summary X

To change a rear cassette on your bike wheel, start by removing the rear wheel from the bicycle. Side by side, remove the skewer, which is the rod running through the center of the bicycle, and insert a lockring removal tool into the center of the cassette. Then, clamp an adjustable wrench on your lockring removal tool and turn it counter-clockwise to remove the lockring, followed past the cassette. Afterwards, slide the new cassette in place and tighten the locking nut with the wrench. Finally, refit the skewer and put the bicycle dorsum on the bike. To acquire more, including how to clean the hub on the bicycle before putting on the new cassette, read on!

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Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Rear-Cassette

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