# installing cassette - how much torque?



## feh (Mar 8, 2007)

When installing the lock ring on a shimano cassette, how much torque should be used? It seems to me that once things are snugged up, that should be sufficient, given that pedalling is only likely to make things tighter.

Thanks.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

The cassette lock ring usually has the torque setting written on it. In practice, I use "lots".


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

What UKbloke said. I know my campy lockring says 40Nm. I think most are 35Nm-50Nm which will be a pretty tight wrenching.


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## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

I like to use the good ole' German torque spec.


Good-n-tight


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Specifications*



feh said:


> When installing the lock ring on a shimano cassette, how much torque should be used? It seems to me that once things are snugged up, that should be sufficient, given that pedalling is only likely to make things tighter.


IIRC, 35 n-m is the specification for Shimano cassette lock rings. That's "pretty darn tight" though not as tight as Campy, with a 50 n-m specification.

If anything, pedaling action will tend to loosen a lock ring that was not properly torqued. It's not like you're putting any tightening torque on the lock ring due to pedalling action.


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## feh (Mar 8, 2007)

Kerry Irons said:


> IIRC, 35 n-m is the specification for Shimano cassette lock rings. That's "pretty darn tight" though not as tight as Campy, with a 50 n-m specification.
> 
> If anything, pedaling action will tend to loosen a lock ring that was not properly torqued. It's not like you're putting any tightening torque on the lock ring due to pedalling action.


Yeah, you're right. I realized my misconception after posting my question.

Online conversion calculator says 35 nm is 26 ft-lbs. I'd call that tight, but not super tight.


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## DaveT (Feb 12, 2004)

feh said:


> Yeah, you're right. I realized my misconception after posting my question.
> 
> Online conversion calculator says 35 nm is 26 ft-lbs. I'd call that tight, but not super tight.


As a comparison, Shimano recommends their outboard bottom brackets to be torqued to 35~50 N-m, which in my book is pretty darn tight.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

just remember if you're putting that cassette on an alloy (aluminum) freehub body, the torque will probably be less than what's on the lockring. DT for example recommends 30nm, instead of the 40 that is etched on most lockrings. if you really crank on one of those, you'll end up ordering a new one pretty quick.


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

It might be useful to this discussion to note that the efffects of a loose ring are quicker wear on the freehub splines, while too tight results in damage to the lockring threads. 

Or maybe not, but I've seldom found more information to be a bad thing.`


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

cxwrench said:


> just remember if you're putting that cassette on an alloy (aluminum) freehub body, the torque will probably be less than what's on the lockring. DT for example recommends 30nm, instead of the 40 that is etched on most lockrings. if you really crank on one of those, you'll end up ordering a new one pretty quick.


What he said. With Campy's 50 N-m spec I used to just crank down on the lock ring using the lockring tool and a long crescent wrench. Then I cracked a DT 240S freehub with my heavy-handed technique, mostly because I just blindly tightened it like I would on a Campy freehub using the Campy 11T lockring. I did not even bother to read the torque specs or look at what was printed on the DT lockring (good for 12/13T only). The DT freehub does not have much of an inner flange thickness, so if one goes too tight it may crack.


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