Bicycle Wheel Sprocket Removal

Thanks to your sprockets, you can enjoy multiple gearing options while riding your bicycle. Sprockets come in different sizes, and when used in conjunction with the chain rings at the front of the bike, afford the cyclist a host of options on how best to tackle the terrain ahead. With use, the teeth on the sprockets become worn and ineffective. If not replaced, the sprocket will fail to effectively mesh with the drive chain, causing the chain to skip and rendering the gear combination useless.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Cassette lockring tool
Chain whip

Step 1

Shift to the smallest rear sprocket and remove the wheel from the bicycle. Shifting to the smallest, or outermost, sprocket will make freeing the wheel from the chain a much easier process.

Step 2

Straddle the wheel. The sprocket side of the wheel will be facing away from you.

Step 3

Insert the proper cassette lockring removal tool into the cassette. The cassette is the combined cluster of sprockets. The lockring holds the cassette in place.

Step 4

Attach a proper size wrench to the flat surface of the lockring tool. Hold the wrench handle at the 10 o'clock position.

Step 5

Attach the chain end of a chain whip to one of the sprockets. This will hold the cassette in place while you're removing the lockring. The handle of your chain whip will be held at about the 3 o'clock position.

Step 6

Push the two handles away from one another. Remove the loosened lockring.

Step 7

Remove the individual sprockets from the freehub body. Once the lockring is removed, the sprockets can slide right off.

Tips & Warnings

If needing to replace a single sprocket, be prepared to replace all or part of the cassette. Many sprockets now come in a fixed cluster, in which two or more sprockets are attached to one another.

Article Written By Matthew Ferguson

Matthew Ferguson is a writer living in Savannah, Ga. He has been writing for over 10 years and his work has appeared on various online publications. A collection of his short stories was published in spring 2010. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University.

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