How To Change Road Bike Cassette

Once you ve ridden about 1 000 miles on your bike it s time to take a close look at your cassette.

How to change road bike cassette. When selecting a cassette the main thing to consider is the range of gearing. Their gear range is usually between 21 to 32 teeth for the low gear and 11 to 13 for the high gear usually with a single tooth increment. To change a rear cassette on your bike wheel start by removing the rear wheel from the bike. How chain determines when to replace the road bike cassette.

Doing so can extend the lifetime of your cassette and chainrings which in the end will save you money sram technical expert chris mckenney agrees. A worn out chain will also wear out your cassette and chainring teeth. Chains chainrings and cassettes all wear together he says. For example the cassette you d want for a mountain bike would be very different to the cassette you d choose for a road bike.

Learning how to change your cassette is really easy requiring only a couple of tools and will keep your bike running like clockwork with no missed shifts. After that all the tips you need are in the video. The chain of your road bike wears quickly compared to the chain ring or the cogs in the cassette. The smaller the range between the highest and lowest speeds the less jump you ll have between each gear giving you a smooth change.

As it deteriorates the cylindrical rollers between the links lose their shape to become more like hourglass. Cassette tools vary based on whether you re using sram shimano or campagnolo so make sure you get the right one for your cassette. There s another cog system called a freewheel and the procedures in this video. As an important component of the road bike chain is the main topic of this post.

The most important thing to change is the chain. Calvin demonstrates how to remove and install cassette cogs and choose the correct lockring tool.