Bicycle cog removal tool

Do your research, or ask the mechanics at your local shop. As always, if you go to them for advice, do the right thing and buy it there too. Shift the chain into the smallest cog on the cassette.

Open the quick release or unwind the thru-axle and take the wheel out of the bike. To remove the cassette, you must loosen the lockring. This requires a special splined tool, some of which can be specific to your brand of cassette.

As the lockring unwinds in the same direction the freewheel spins, you need to use a chain whip in this case a plier type is used to counter the loosening motion. Remove the lockring and then pull the old cassette towards you to remove it from the freewheel. Most modern bicycles use the freehub system.

See a typical cassette hub below. Older bikes may have a large external thread machined into the hub. The ratcheting mechanism comes off with the cogs when the freewheel unthreads for removal. To determine if a sprocket is a freewheel or cassette system, remove the rear wheel from the bike.

Find the tool fitting on the sprocket set. Spin the sprockets backwards. If the fittings spin with the cogs, it is a cassette system with a freehub.

If the tool fittings do not spin with the cogs, it is a threaded freewheel system. Remove set screw from side of drive side locknut. Hold non-drive side cone with cone wrench. Loosen and remove drive side locknut. Pull freehub to remove. Use care not to loose small parts. Note orientation of pawls as you remove freehub. You need to take your cassette off the bike, either to clean it or to replace it. It is one of your core principles that you like to avoid shredding your fingers whilst undertaking bike maintenance.

You therefore need a chain whip and a lockring tool. Bike locks are a very reliable and relatively inexpensive way to secure a bike. Needle Nose Pliers — No home toolbox is complete without this type of plier. It has a pointy or long nose and is ideal for cutting and holding objects.

Needle Nose Pliers are also known for giving excellent controls during your work. This tool also allows you to reach narrow areas easily. If you do not have this type of plier, you can use an ordinary one. You can also get your own Needle Nose Pliers. Your Bike Chainset — your bike chain aside because it is one of the crucial tools that will make your cassette removal a piece of cake. Gloves optional — we must prioritize safety at all times, which is why I highly recommend wearing gloves while working.

However, if you use Needle Nose Pliers, you will not touch the sharp edges of the cassette. You can remove your bike cassette like how you do a freewheel removal without tool. With this, you can save bucks from spending too much on tools.

Needle nose pliers will go into the grooves of the locking ring, where you will turn the cassette to free it. A modern cassette lockring system usually comes with snugged splines. You will see that the lock ring rests outward from the tiniest cog.