Embarrassing question: why do I keep destroying cassette lockrings?

[IJWS]

For the last three cassettes I installed, I ended up chewing up the threads and crushing the lockring when trying to torque the lockring to spec. I'm pretty sure that I might be making a mistake stacking the last cog but what else am I missing? Feeling like an idiot.

[jtbadge]

Are you using a skewer to keep the tool in place and engaged? I had one slip out when I tried to hold it in place by hand, tore up the teeth of the lockring a little bit.

[AngryScientist]

i do not understand what you mean by crushing the lockring? since i am a wheel whore, i have installed hundreds of lockrings without ever fouling one up. can you be more specific about the problem?

generally, you should be able to thread the lockring into the freehub by hand for several rotations, ensuring it is not cross threaded, and even once you need the tool it should feel smooth and little resistance until you get close to final torque. always grease the threads.

which hub and cassette have been giving you the troubles?

[IJWS]

Interesting. No, but I will try that next time!

[IJWS]

@Angry, I have to agree, this is a weird phenomenon that I haven't seen in the past 20 years. I managed to literally crush a shimano and SRAM lockring on a Shimano and Mavic hub. After setting everything in place and hand-tightening the lockring I was having this problem where a properly torqued lockring was leaving the cassette loose.

When looking for a replacement I noticed that there is a category for 12 tooth small cogs and 11 tooth small cogs. Could that have an effect?

[eddief]

just cuz i don't have one big enough. use my tool with an 8 inch crescent wrench and seem to know tight enough.

if you are cranking yours to torque spec and the cassette wobbles on the free hub then there is something wrong. double check all cogs are sitting flush against each before inserting lock ring. the last couple of cogs have been easy for me to screw up.

[cinema]

make sure you have the proper spacer behind the casette. it will have trouble threading if not. make sure threads are clean, they are always filthy from oil and dirt. make sure the wavy thin washer is being used in front of the lockring. when they are difficult to start threading, the spacer is wrong. often i've mixed up 1.8 and 1mm spacers and it always buggers the lockring. you need both on an 11s hub with a 10s casette. use the right tool to thread.

another thing i always forget is that the couple smallest cogs, usually 12T and 11T need to be positioned properly. sometimes they can seem like they are set properly on the freehub but they are actually notched and need to be set properly with correct orientation. i often mistake them for being set when they in fact are not on the right part of the freehub.

sorry if this is obvious

[ColonelJLloyd]

^^^^+1

Piling on to ask what hub/freehub and cassette.

[ultraman6970]

Some shimano and sram hubs need spacers behind the cassette, probably dude did not notice and since the cassette is lose he tried to crank it up and crushed the threads of the lockring because the lockriing did not have anywhere else to go????

[djg21]

not having the right tools. Get a Crombie Tool. https://www.abbeybiketools.com/collections/tools/products/dual-sided-crombie-tool. And rather than a chain whip, the Pedro’s Vice Whip is really helpful. https://pedros.com/products/tools/cassette-and-chain/vise-whip/

[Peter P.]

I suspect IJWS might not have the last cog on the splines correctly, and they strip the lockring while trying to tighten it.

I find it difficult to feel when the splines are lined up so that last cog will sit flush against the others. Since I'm aware of it I take my time, even after visually matching up the spline pattern.

[IJWS]

I suspect IJWS might not have the last cog on the splines correctly, and they strip the lockring while trying to tighten it.

I find it difficult to feel when the splines are lined up so that last cog will sit flush against the others. Since I'm aware of it I take my time, even after visually matching up the spline pattern.

I think this is what is happening.

[cinema]

The last cog is often the problem. Or missing spacer. And just the simple park tool with the bar that goes through the freehub works perfect.

[giordana93]

I too am having trouble understanding what "crushing" means, but for sure you need to do 2 things:

1. as noted above, make sure the last cog is correctly seated because it can easily be askew even though it appears to be in place; line up that wide notch correctly

2. an old trick from back in the freewheel days: when you place the lockring on the threads, UNSCREW it a turn or two until you feel the little knock of the first thread as it passes the right starting point before you begin to tighten gently, with just your fingers. Do a couple turns like this by hand before getting out the big wrench. The unscrewing motion will also serve to make the surfaces of the male/female threads parallel to each other, which, along with feeling that starting point, will greatly reduce chances of cross-threading.

also as noted, make a habit of wiping out all the crud from both surfaces