[Rendel Harris]

Never had this problem before (how many men have said that?), but finding it absolutely impossible to get the lockring off a Shimano HG-500 cassette, which I need to do to replace a broken spoke. It’s not that old (two months/1700 km) and has been scrupulously oiled throughout its lifetime but I just can’t budge it, even with a breaker bar added to the spanner holding the lockring tool. I know the dodge about fitting the tool into a table vice but unfortunately I don’t have access to one. Any tips gratefully received!

Topic

[wycombewheeler]

David9694 wrote:

I hear WD is good for lubricating wing mirrors 

I hear wing mirrors haven’t existing since 1978, or something like that

[wycombewheeler]

Rendel Harris wrote:

Thanks, it’s soaking in  GT85 at the moment. Maybe I should go and buy a rubber mallet to give it a bit of gentle encouragement.

plus gas is your friend for unseizing seized threads

[wycombewheeler]

I normally put the lockring

I normally put the lockring tool allen key/spanner at the 3 o clock position and the chain whip arm at the 9 oclock position, and push both down at the same time. wheel on floor. can put full weight onto tools.

[IanMSpencer]

I would not recommend using

I would not recommend using your mouth for extra grip – for that very reason. What are you on? 😉

[kil0ran]

Surely you mean Shimanic
Surely you mean Shimanic chants?

[Rendel Harris]

Thrilling, isn’t it? Current

Thrilling, isn’t it? Current state of play is lockring still stuck, two things left to try, firstly one of my erstwhile rugby teammates is coming round for a drink tonight so we’ll try one on each lever, the other is that Mrs H is borrowing a rubber mallet from work (she teaches design and technology before anybody gets any ideas about her having some strange exotic employment!) so the give it a thump method will also come into play. Failing that it’s the LBS, which will be a pain, I certainly don’t mind chucking a few quid at them but they all seem to be booked up for months on end at the moment.

[duncanap]

can I humbly request an

can I humbly request an update? The tension of this thread is really getting to me.
 

Did you end up using a scaffold pole and welding the wheel to the floor? Or did the various soakings of release agents, shamanic chants and Morris dances work? I must admit to being the kind of person who uses copper anti sieze paste on everything (I would happily use it on shoe laces if I could get away with it).

[IanMSpencer]

I was pondering what would

I was pondering what would cause it to lock up too. When you tuighten, you can feel the ridged surface click and with a torque wrench you get a notching effect. The natural movement of the wheel is more likely to loosen the fitting (a rider had his wheel jam after failing to torque his cassette and the lockring unwound then wedged against the frame).

So, random list of thoughts: a locked ring might suggest cross-thread or over-torque, with the slight question in my mind that the lock ring might be wrongly ridged – imagine an offset sawtooth where it will torque up to 40Nm against a mild slope but then would require signficant force to unlock against the steeper ridge. I suppose the other question is whether there was a metal incompatibility between lockring and freehub and there had been some corrosion causing the surface to lock – the different series of cassettes do seem to use different materials for the lockring.

 

 

[David9694]

I hear WD is good for

I hear WD is good for lubricating wing mirrors 

[ktache]

Tightening up by one notch

Tightening up by one notch might allow things to move and then release.

Incidentally, if you don’t have a locking removal tool with the “locator pin” you can use a QR skewer, if it’s a QR wheel. Also can be used, even tightened down if trying to get proper purchase with a square taper BB removal tool, if the spindle is hollow.

[Rendel Harris]

Cheers, yes I have one with a

Cheers, yes I have one with a locator pin and a handle, which is brilliant for my other bikes, but this is the ebike with a solid axle so having to use the more traditional type of tool.

[Rendel Harris]

And your knuckles on the

And your knuckles on the spokes as well, I speak from experience! Thanks, yes, locked down with the nut.

[kil0ran]

Does your tool (missus) have

Does your tool (missus) have a locator pin? Like this one? https://www.amazon.co.uk/IceToolz-Cassette-Lockring-Tool-Shimano/dp/B0028N57UU

They can be a great help in really wailing on a lockring as it’s impossible for the tool to slip. I’ve used one of these with a two foot breaker to free a particularly recalcitrant lockring.

As you’ve already surmised, a dead blow hammer can help too. 

I did have one defeat me recently (also an HG-500 strangely enough) and the LBS used the vice trick. Very satisfying bang when it finally let go. 

[Secret_squirrel]

Make sure you’re doing the

Make sure you’re doing the trick of holding the lockring tool on with a QR – otherwise one slip and the teeth are shreded.

[Rendel Harris]

Thanks, it’s soaking in  GT85

Thanks, it’s soaking in  GT85 at the moment. Maybe I should go and buy a rubber mallet to give it a bit of gentle encouragement.

[Author]

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