Cassette guide [V2!]

[Italianbmxer]

So, I had a guide up about these before and it went away, got eaten by the Forum Monster that lies beyond the last page!!!

So anyway, here it is! Cassette guide VERSION 2. Made better and hopefully more helpful.

First off, some terms may be new to people, so I’d like to define a few things first:
-Axle: the part that bolts on to the bike and the hub rotates around
-Axle nuts: Hold the hub on to the bike.
-Bearing: the part that has 2 circular pieces that rotate, it presses into the hub shell and the axle goes through it, which allows the axle to spin
-Driver bearing: allows the driver to spin around the axle
-Cone nut: holds the bearings tight which the hub spins around.
-Driver: the part that has teeth and pawls on it, that can be replaced with different teeth amounts to accommodate larger/smaller drive trains (more on these later)
-Flange: the part that extends from the hub shell, and holds the spokes, and keeps the hub centered in the rim.
-Hub: the complete piece that can be installed on a bike, that can be laced to a rim and rotates
-Hub Shell/Shell: The part of the hub that has flanges, and contains all the other parts. This metal piece ONLY
-Pawls: the parts on the inside of the hub that grab on to the part of the hub shell and allow the hub to be pulled around
-Spring: the part that allows pawls to spring back up and catch the hub, and also allow the pawls to go down when coasting
-Teeth: the amount of notches on the driver that the chain grabs on to.

A cassette is a higher quality hub that allows you to run a lower tooth count on the back, such as the popular 9 tooth driver. The much cheaper, lower quality method of using a Freewheel allows the minimum of 12t (the smallest freewheel made). Also, a freewheel can not be sealed. The hub bearings on a freewheel can be sealed, however the freewheel body itself can not.

Also an advantage of a cassette over a freewheel is replacement costs. If I freewheels bearings crap the bed, or the springs snap, you have to remove the freewheel, and install a new one. Average cost being 15$ USD.

Say a cassette snaps a pawl, the spring snaps. Average replacement cost: 5$ USD.

It is possible to replace the internal workings on a freewheel, however it is tedious, messy, and very annoying (the parts are tiny, fall all over the place, etc). Also, a cassette needs much less maintenance, and is much more reliable.

So let’s get down to things. This isn’t a guide on freewheels.



1-Axle
2-Axle nut
3-Cone nut
4-driver
5-hub shell
6-teeth
7-flange

This is the standard style of cassettes, where the pawls are parts that are on the driver, and the notches are on the hub shell. The pawls are held on using this type of spring, called a C-Clip:



The c clip acts like a spring that goes around and goes into notches on a driver with an angled section so that the springs are pulled up by the c clip. The C Clip is the usual method on cassettes. The popular Odyssey hubs use it, and the above pictured Demolition Anorexia hubs use one as well. A way to tell is to look at the teeth. If they look like this:



How they have that notch in the middle, then they are held on using a c clip. If the springs look like this:



There is another design for a cassette driver using the standard design, having the notches on the hub shell, which is using springs and pawls:



The pawls are not held DOWN at all; instead the springs push them UP. They are a little tougher to install, but when installed provide more pressure and are held on by pressure outwards. You can identify these hubs as using that style as the teeth not having the notches in them, and being skinnier. This style is generally louder, however more reliable, and higher quality (used by hubs such as the Primo Mix and Profile hubs)

Also another thing to note in the classic style of cassettes is this; the driver bearing:



On a classic style, the smaller the teeth, the smaller the driver bearing, and the more chance it shatters. There is, however, a limit. Most cassettes, when they are 12t+ use a cog method, in which the teeth are on a ring that threads on to a cassette driver body, which is then the same procedure as a cassette with a 1pc driver (cog usage is called a 2pc driver). When the 2pc driver is used, using a 12t, 16t, even 18t cog (the ring with teeth on it) will not affect the size of the bearing. The bearing will always be the same.

Now there’s another option to cassettes, they aren’t like freewheels, this is called the Q-Lite system, this is much easier defined in one photo, of the We The People “Supreme” cassette.



There you go, that’s basically self explanatory, and all the same principles apply. However, I have not yet seen a Q-Lite system use a C Clip. What is the advantage of a c clip?

Installation?
Maintenance?

Maybe. But the real advantage that most people have them for is because of durability. A driver bearing on a Q-Lite style hub is bigger then that of a classic style hub, which makes them stronger and longer lasting. Also Q-Lite hubs generally are built to a higher quality.

Now back to the classic style, but with a twist. KHE has a hub out called the Hure. The Hure is custom in the fact that it uses a 3pc axle system, meaning it can fit either a 14mm dropout or a 3/8 dropout using axle studs, which thread into the center axle, seen here:



What does this do? Well, let’s say you grind on the left; you can get a chromoly axle end for the left, and titanium for the right, lowering the weight. On most hubs, axles are the source of most of the weight.

The last and final thing is the G-Sport ratchet. The g sport is different in the way that it isn’t held on by axle nuts, it is held on by bolts that thread in to a center axle, called the Female Axle system. Here you can see how it works:





Hope that helps,any questions and you can ask me,just send me a message via the forums

[BMXDAN]

awesome!!

this is gonna be sooo helpful to people

REP +++++++++

(maybe it should get stickied this time)

[Riots]

No way in hell I'm reading that. Great job though! +rep

[BMXDAN]

No way in hell I'm reading that. Great job though! +rep

hahaha yea i didnt read it either.. i looked at the pictures

ik enough about cassettes, but it looks good

[Italianbmxer]

hahaha imagine WRITING it -,-

but now when someone asks "Whats this to do with a cassette" I can just say this:

"VVV Click the link in my profile"

[Jak]

awsome job rep very good

[newrider3]

Don't forget the driver style on cheap unsealed cassettes. The pawls are built into the hub body, and contact inside the driver.
Sorry for the horrible pic lol.

[scooter915]

Nice thead m8...

after wrighting this up must know a cassette in side out....

+REP for a Cassette guide...

[fluorescent]

good job
reppage
edit: gotta spread the love a bit first

[dirtmonster]

thanks man, u got my first cassette wheel today and knew nothing about them. i only got it cause it came on the bike