How do you know if a cassette is worn?

[Panter]

How do you know if a cassette is knackered? do the teeth look sharp instead of being flat on the top? any other signs?

 

[bonj2]

you just look at it. if the concave bit to the left of the top tooth is more concave than the bit to the right, then it's worn. IF it's not, then it's not.
if the teeth look symmetrical then it's fine.

 

[Panter]

Superb, thank you

 

[stevenb]

Also the most used cogs will show the wear and tear more than the least used. I had a cassette on my Trek that was so worn the chain slipped constantly and was unrideable. How the previous owner let it get that bad was beyond me.
A new one tightens things up no end...especially when combined with a new chain!

 

[yenrod]

>you just look at it

Hes psychic you know - can feel it in his cerebal cortex ! [wink]

 

[Dave5N]

Your chain skips.

 

[02GF74]

not sure looking at it will show if it is worn enough to casue problems with a new change. a really badly worn one is obvious though

 

[Panter]

Thanks guys

My cassette should be fine, its done less than 700 miles but then so has the chain.


I was just wondering how I would know when it does start to wear and now I do

 

[andrew_s]

If you want to see what a worn transmission looks like, look here:
http://www.anothercyclingforum.com/index.php?topic=47387.0

the chainring is especially good

And this is a very dead sprocket:

 

[Panter]

Superb, thank you

I can see exactly what Bonj means about the prfile of the teeth when they're worn, with the pronounced slope on one side. The actual missing teeth are pretty impressive too


That sprocket is simething else

 

[andrew_s]

The sprocket was off my work bike. There's no need to change gear on my way to work, so I didn't, and after a while the rear mech corroded and I couldn't. The sprocket was like that when I finally gave in and got a different (fixed gear) bike.
It was a 6-speed cassette hub, so the required overhaul would have needed a large proportion of new and/or hard to find parts.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Slightly OT, but worn chainrings can cause a chain to skip too. Worn chainring teeth have a very definite "shark's tooth" profile. Worth keeping an eye on.

 

[andrew_s]

As demonstrated on the chainring shown in the link on post 9.
Definitely worn enough to make the chain skip.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Oh yes, sorry. Hadn't spotted that.

 

[gbb]

Thanks guys

My cassette should be fine, its done less than 700 miles but then so has the chain.


I was just wondering how I would know when it does start to wear and now I do

Jeez...my cheapie Sora cassettes done 3500 miles...and still going strong.
Spose if you ride in 'arduous' conditions it may wear quicker, but i would have thought 700 miles was b*gger all