Thoughts on my broken Shimano RS80''s

bendertherobot

Noticed a lot of clunking just as I got to work today.

Then notice rocking in the cassette and lockring was totally loose.

Removed wheel and found the above.

Any thoughts?

fleshtuxedo

Has the thread/lip on the inside of the freehub stripped out?

Looks like a warranty job - but not difficult to change a freehub body.

bendertherobot

No, all thread still present, lockring thread ok as well. Of course it wont bind now because part of the lip (and part of the freehub thread) is not there anymore.

At a loss to explain it. SRAM cassette, 1mm spacer. Tight lockring. Yet somehow it loosened.

I can get a freehub body really cheaply and wonder whether it's less hassle than sending it back, waiting for stock etc, and to come back. All the while without having a bike.

Gonna see what Merlin say.

roadracedave

I had exactly the same thing happen on my Ultegra SL wheels which use the same hub/freehub. It was covered under warranty with no problems. Fortunately the distributor had stock of the wheel at the time so they could change it in a couple of days.

The freehub bodies were around £30 when mine broke, which I wasn't going to pay for when the wheels were only 6 months old.

bendertherobot

Thank Christ for that! It's good to know it's something that does happen!

Mine are 3 weeks old so I foresee no issues!

fleshtuxedo

DIY on the freehub body might invalidate any future warranty claims?

bendertherobot

Oh, I'm not going to repair it. Will send it back to Merlin and get them to do it

father_jack

Just send the freewheel back, and request a replacement one. Why send the whole wheel back?

bendertherobot

Just phoned them, they want the whole wheel. Which they might send back to Madison.

Ah well. Gonna have to find a new wheel for my commute.

father_jack

hmmm could you not say you need the bike/wheel today for work, you'll pickup a freewheel and replace it yourself, and then send freewheel to them?

bendertherobot

Phoned my local LBS, £45 for the hub and £15 fitting.

And no guarantee that something in the wheel isn't the cause of the issue.

So I guess short term pain better than being stung for £60 that I may not get back.

bendertherobot

Just an additional thought.

IF the lockring is causing issues then it would seem, to me, a good idea to put a shimano lockring on a shimano freehub.

Is there any issue having a Shimano lockring on a SRAM cassette?

Stellite

bendertherobot wrote:

Just an additional thought.

IF the lockring is causing issues then it would seem, to me, a good idea to put a shimano lockring on a shimano freehub.

Is there any issue having a Shimano lockring on a SRAM cassette?

I wouldnt imagine so. Maybe just a bad batch which have been poorly machined.

bendertherobot

Gonna spring for a new lockring before the cassette goes back on but I just can't see how that could ever be an issue.

bendertherobot

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Shima ... e=googleps

This is the hub is it not?

Thinking of getting this and sending the old one back/getting some money back etc.

Thoughts?

Stellite

bendertherobot wrote:

Gonna spring for a new lockring before the cassette goes back on but I just can't see how that could ever be an issue.

Ive seen poor machining at work, undercut of the thread resulting in stress raisers at the thread, then failure.

I thought my Force lock ring looked superior to the Shimano one.

bendertherobot

New lockring coming in the post tomorrow.

Am springing for a new freehub as I can't be without a bike (commute 40 miles each day!).

Will send the broken one to Merlin then to see what they say.

FransJacques

I you're that dependent on these it's good to know how to get out the ol 10mm allen key to take the freehub off. must say from years in shops it looks like (apologies in advance) an installation issue with the cassette. Either:

a) too much tension on the lockring - it's easy to do if you have a 12" or 14" adjustable and really yard on it, or

b) there was enough lateral play of the cassette across the freehub (due to loosening lockring?) to shear off the lockring. Did it rattle at all back there? Sometimes some poorly surfaced roads are so loud that you can't tell what the heck on your bike is rattling. Or,

c) looking at it again, only really the last thread sheared off - did you not have enough lockring threads on the cassette body? you mentioned you used a 1mm spacer? why?

If you get this on warranty for free then good for you. In the future, try to count how many rotations you get on with just your fingers. If you only get 1-1.5 turns or so then remove the 1mm spacer or just don't tighten the sucker too much. I try to get 2 finger turns on and sometimes take out the wavey washer (on Shimano) to do so.

Otherwise, how do the wheels hold up on your monster commute? How's the braking surface? Any scoring or concavity? Any shards of alu in your brake pads?

cheers

bendertherobot

FransJacques wrote:

I you're that dependent on these it's good to know how to get out the ol 10mm allen key to take the freehub off. must say from years in shops it looks like (apologies in advance) an installation issue with the cassette. Either:

a) too much tension on the lockring - it's easy to do if you have a 12" or 14" adjustable and really yard on it, or

b) there was enough lateral play of the cassette across the freehub (due to loosening lockring?) to shear off the lockring. Did it rattle at all back there? Sometimes some poorly surfaced roads are so loud that you can't tell what the heck on your bike is rattling. Or,

c) looking at it again, only really the last thread sheared off - did you not have enough lockring threads on the cassette body? you mentioned you used a 1mm spacer? why?

If you get this on warranty for free then good for you. In the future, try to count how many rotations you get on with just your fingers. If you only get 1-1.5 turns or so then remove the 1mm spacer or just don't tighten the sucker too much. I try to get 2 finger turns on and sometimes take out the wavey washer (on Shimano) to do so.

Otherwise, how do the wheels hold up on your monster commute? How's the braking surface? Any scoring or concavity? Any shards of alu in your brake pads?

cheers

'

Shim wheels need a 1mm spacer. It's in the manual. The lockring is SRAM and was threaded enough. No doubt shop wil advise.

The rattle started today, about 2 miles from work. On rough surfaces only. That alerted me.

They hold up brilliantly.

Well, apart from this issue!