lube a sprocket?

[JStonebarger]

I've installed plenty of cassettes, but never noticed that Shimano recommends lubing the sprockets. Really? Does anyone do that? It never even occurred to me.

[Frankwurst]

I've installed plenty of cassettes, but never noticed that Shimano recommends lubing the sprockets. Really? Does anyone do that? It never even occurred to me.

Not being a true bicycle mechanic I'm a shade tree mechanic) I'll be damned if I can figure this one out. I always figured if the chain was well lubed all was good. Do the new sprockets strip enough lube off the chain to cause concern? What takes place below the contact points I don't know about? I'm intereted to know as well.:beer:

[JStonebarger]

"You should periodically wash the sprockets in a neutral detergent and then lubricate them again. In addition, cleaning the chain with neutral detergent and lubricating it can be a [sic] effective way of extending the useful life of the sprockets and the chain."

I'm baffled. This is from a 5700 cassette.

[stien]

Maybe if you had a rusty cassette that could be useful. Stranger things have happened, especially on a year-round commuter bike.

[BdaGhisallo]

Never. The chain is the thing to take the lube.

[Oxford_Guy]

After cleaning and lubing the chain (and cleaning the cassette) I like to run it up and down all the cogs and chain rings, to put a bit lube on them, but don't know if it really helps at all...

[Ozz]

Maybe if you had a rusty cassette that could be useful. Stranger things have happened, especially on a year-round commuter bike.

Yeah, I suppose having some lube on the sprockets can help protect from rust. But I would guess enough lube comes off the chain onto the sprockets to lube them.

You are probably looking at more rust prevention than lubrication, so I would save my NFS for the chain.

[weiwentg]

If you lubed the sprockets, I'd guess that the lube would attract dirt, thus making drivetrain wear worse over the long haul.

[Mark McM]

For bikes that will see a lot of wet weather, I'll sometimes put a (thin) layer of grease on the freehub splines when installing a cassette. This can sometimes help reduce the chance of the sprockets rusting to the freehub.

[Oxford_Guy]

If you lubed the sprockets, I'd guess that the lube would attract dirt, thus making drivetrain wear worse over the long haul.

That would depend a bit on what sort of lube you're using (I use Rock n Roll Gold, which runs pretty clean) and how often you clean your cassette (quite often for me).

[oldpotatoe]

For bikes that will see a lot of wet weather, I'll sometimes put a (thin) layer of grease on the freehub splines when installing a cassette. This can sometimes help reduce the chance of the sprockets rusting to the freehub.

That's a good idea regardless...to minimize 'some' cogset squeak/noise if the lockring isn't uber tight..and sometimes even when it is..I do that to all cogset installs.