Campy casette lockring - hand tight?

I read the following advice on a touring tips website.
My own experience is that the cogs get loose if the lockring
is not wrench tight.
Would like to hear comments from others.
Here's the advice:
-------------------
Inevitably, you will break a spoke out in the middle of nowhere, and chances
are it will be on the "drive" side of the rear wheel. Thus, to replace the
spoke means having to know how to remove the rear cassette. Typically,
instruction manuals on doing this would have you use a chain whip, heavy
wrench, or even a vise -- not the kinds of things you want to be carrying
around on a bike. However, if you followed my advice about using a "Campy"
cogset, none of those tools are necessary. What I do is barely hand-tighten
the lockring on the cassette. Because the lockring is not geared, it will
not tighten up over time as you pedal. All you need to carry around is the
special lockring adapter, which weighs a few grams.
--------------------------

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
Bill wrote:
I read the following advice on a touring tips website.
My own experience is that the cogs get loose if the lockring
is not wrench tight.
Would like to hear comments from others.
Here's the advice:
-------------------
Inevitably, you will break a spoke out in the middle of nowhere, and chances
are it will be on the "drive" side of the rear wheel. Thus, to replace the
spoke means having to know how to remove the rear cassette. Typically,
instruction manuals on doing this would have you use a chain whip, heavy
wrench, or even a vise -- not the kinds of things you want to be carrying
around on a bike. However, if you followed my advice about using a "Campy"
cogset, none of those tools are necessary. What I do is barely hand-tighten
the lockring on the cassette. Because the lockring is not geared, it will
not tighten up over time as you pedal. All you need to carry around is the
special lockring adapter, which weighs a few grams.
--------------------------


_ Pretty silly when you can get a perfectly adequate tool that
weighs very little and is designed for exactly this application.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tools/cassette.html

_ Booker C. Bense


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In article ,
Bill wrote:
I read the following advice on a touring tips website.
My own experience is that the cogs get loose if the lockring
is not wrench tight.
Would like to hear comments from others.
Here's the advice:
-------------------
Inevitably, you will break a spoke out in the middle of nowhere, and chances
are it will be on the "drive" side of the rear wheel. Thus, to replace the
spoke means having to know how to remove the rear cassette. Typically,
instruction manuals on doing this would have you use a chain whip, heavy
wrench, or even a vise -- not the kinds of things you want to be carrying
around on a bike. However, if you followed my advice about using a "Campy"
cogset, none of those tools are necessary. What I do is barely hand-tighten
the lockring on the cassette. Because the lockring is not geared, it will
not tighten up over time as you pedal. All you need to carry around is the
special lockring adapter, which weighs a few grams.
--------------------------


_ Pretty silly when you can get a perfectly adequate tool that
weighs very little and is designed for exactly this application.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tools/cassette.html

_ Booker C. Bense


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Or better yet, get a Fiber Fix(tm) replacement spoke and forget abou
removing the cassette until you get home or to a proper shop.

I used to worry about this, carrying 3 spokes, one for each size m
wheelset

--
Weisse Luft

Or better yet, get a Fiber Fix(tm) replacement spoke and forget abou
removing the cassette until you get home or to a proper shop.

I used to worry about this, carrying 3 spokes, one for each size m
wheelset

--
Weisse Luft

Bill who? writes:

I read the following advice on a touring tips website. My own
experience is that the cogs get loose if the lockring is not wrench
tight. Would like to hear comments from others. Here's the advice:

# Inevitably, you will break a spoke out in the middle of nowhere,
# and chances are it will be on the "drive" side of the rear
# wheel. Thus, to replace the spoke means having to know how to
# remove the rear cassette. Typically, instruction manuals on doing
# this would have you use a chain whip, heavy wrench, or even a vise
# -- not the kinds of things you want to be carrying around on a
# bike. However, if you followed my advice about using a "Campy"
# cogset, none of those tools are necessary. What I do is barely
# hand-tighten the lockring on the cassette. Because the lockring is
# not geared, it will not tighten up over time as you pedal. All you
# need to carry around is the special lockring adapter, which weighs
# a few grams.

You didn't say what sort of freewheel or cassette you use. Cassettes
with ratcheting lock rings do not need to be tighter than a few clicks
beyond taking up slack between sprockets. They do not get involved in
transmitting pedaling torque. These are then easily removable even
with a small screwdriver in the absence of a tool.

However, if you use 36 spoke wheels, you don't need to replace the
spoke until you get home or to a shop that can do this. For instance,
I just got back from a ride over Tioga and Sonora passes starting and
finishing in Sonora on which my friend broke a spoke before noon on
the first day. His wheel required no adjustment and was not repaired
until after we got back home.

I suppose so few people ride reasonable wheels or frames (with
clearance) today that they can't imagine that this was once possible.
I was recently passed by a bicycle racer on a mountain pass riding a
superb new bicycle. A half hour later I saw him standing at the edge
of the road with one broken spoke on his paired spoke wheel. The
wheel would not turn and there was no way he could have fixed it even
if he had a spoke and tools. These wheels cannot be field repaired.
That is where we are today.

That is sadly where we are today.

Jobst Brandt

Bill who? writes:

I read the following advice on a touring tips website. My own
experience is that the cogs get loose if the lockring is not wrench
tight. Would like to hear comments from others. Here's the advice:

# Inevitably, you will break a spoke out in the middle of nowhere,
# and chances are it will be on the "drive" side of the rear
# wheel. Thus, to replace the spoke means having to know how to
# remove the rear cassette. Typically, instruction manuals on doing
# this would have you use a chain whip, heavy wrench, or even a vise
# -- not the kinds of things you want to be carrying around on a
# bike. However, if you followed my advice about using a "Campy"
# cogset, none of those tools are necessary. What I do is barely
# hand-tighten the lockring on the cassette. Because the lockring is
# not geared, it will not tighten up over time as you pedal. All you
# need to carry around is the special lockring adapter, which weighs
# a few grams.

You didn't say what sort of freewheel or cassette you use. Cassettes
with ratcheting lock rings do not need to be tighter than a few clicks
beyond taking up slack between sprockets. They do not get involved in
transmitting pedaling torque. These are then easily removable even
with a small screwdriver in the absence of a tool.

However, if you use 36 spoke wheels, you don't need to replace the
spoke until you get home or to a shop that can do this. For instance,
I just got back from a ride over Tioga and Sonora passes starting and
finishing in Sonora on which my friend broke a spoke before noon on
the first day. His wheel required no adjustment and was not repaired
until after we got back home.

I suppose so few people ride reasonable wheels or frames (with
clearance) today that they can't imagine that this was once possible.
I was recently passed by a bicycle racer on a mountain pass riding a
superb new bicycle. A half hour later I saw him standing at the edge
of the road with one broken spoke on his paired spoke wheel. The
wheel would not turn and there was no way he could have fixed it even
if he had a spoke and tools. These wheels cannot be field repaired.
That is where we are today.

That is sadly where we are today.

Jobst Brandt

Bill wrote:
I read the following advice on a touring tips website.
My own experience is that the cogs get loose if the lockring
is not wrench tight.
Would like to hear comments from others.
Here's the advice:
-------------------
Inevitably, you will break a spoke out in the middle of nowhere, and chances
are it will be on the "drive" side of the rear wheel. Thus, to replace the
spoke means having to know how to remove the rear cassette. Typically,
instruction manuals on doing this would have you use a chain whip, heavy
wrench, or even a vise -- not the kinds of things you want to be carrying
around on a bike. However, if you followed my advice about using a "Campy"
cogset, none of those tools are necessary. What I do is barely hand-tighten
the lockring on the cassette. Because the lockring is not geared, it will
not tighten up over time as you pedal. All you need to carry around is the
special lockring adapter, which weighs a few grams.
--------------------------

unless the rider is merely cruising to the shops at the end of the road
and doesn't mind damaging their freehub body, that's very poor advice.
loose sprockets move & movement causes wear, which in turn causes more
movement & even more wear. it won't happen immediately, but in due
course, you're looking at an expensive remedy.

as mentioned by others, merely carry a fiber fix spoke.

Bill wrote:
I read the following advice on a touring tips website.
My own experience is that the cogs get loose if the lockring
is not wrench tight.
Would like to hear comments from others.
Here's the advice:
-------------------
Inevitably, you will break a spoke out in the middle of nowhere, and chances
are it will be on the "drive" side of the rear wheel. Thus, to replace the
spoke means having to know how to remove the rear cassette. Typically,
instruction manuals on doing this would have you use a chain whip, heavy
wrench, or even a vise -- not the kinds of things you want to be carrying
around on a bike. However, if you followed my advice about using a "Campy"
cogset, none of those tools are necessary. What I do is barely hand-tighten
the lockring on the cassette. Because the lockring is not geared, it will
not tighten up over time as you pedal. All you need to carry around is the
special lockring adapter, which weighs a few grams.
--------------------------

unless the rider is merely cruising to the shops at the end of the road
and doesn't mind damaging their freehub body, that's very poor advice.
loose sprockets move & movement causes wear, which in turn causes more
movement & even more wear. it won't happen immediately, but in due
course, you're looking at an expensive remedy.

as mentioned by others, merely carry a fiber fix spoke.

wrote:

You didn't say what sort of freewheel or cassette you use. Cassettes
with ratcheting lock rings do not need to be tighter than a few clicks
beyond taking up slack between sprockets. They do not get involved in
transmitting pedaling torque. These are then easily removable even
with a small screwdriver in the absence of a tool.

FWIW, I used to use this technique (a few clicks past snug) and didn't
have any problems for years. But just a few months ago, I traced the
hideous rattle on the back end of my urban MTB to a loose cassette
(which also explained the substandard shifting). I've taken to
snugging them down a bit more as a result (since like you mentioned in
the part I trimmed, my wheels all have enough spokes to finish the
ride with a broken spoke).

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame