Monday, December 28, 2020

Replacing the rear cassette on the Cannondale -- part 2 -- cleaning the rear hub to get it ready to accept the replacement cassette

I've done less than 10 rides on this new chain.
It's already pretty dirty and quite a bit of sand has collected on it.
I'll take the chain off and soak it in some cleaning fluid (Simple Green) to loosen the grease and dirt.

Meanwhile, I'm going to install a chain that I've had for awhile.
It's a chain made by KMC (Taiwanese company).  This one is unique in that it's got a coating of DLC (Diamond Like Coating) on it.
DLC is a very hard coating and is very durable and slippery.

When I worked for Toyota, there was an issue of the driveshaft splines sticking on the Tacoma & Tundra trucks.
They tried various countermeasures that didn't really work (like applying more grease, improving the machining of the splines, etc.)
The fix/countermeasure that really finally worked was to treat the splines with DLC.  The supplier that did the DLC coating could not keep up with the demand, and for awhile there wasn't enough improved parts coming from Japan to take care of all the customer complaints.




The DLC chain that I bought was used and had some grease on it.
I soaked it in the cleaner for a few days (in this jar) to remove the grease before installing it on the bike.

After I removed the DLC chain, I put the dirty chain from above in the same jar to sit for a few days...

The very dirty freewheel hub is being cleaned.
This is mid-cleaning...

Used an old toothbrush to remove the grease and sand...

This is still mid-cleaning.
It's getting better...

Overview of the entire wheel after cleaning of the hub.

Hub is pretty clean.

The area at the end of the hub is also pretty clean.


Since I was at it, I cleaned the entire hub...

This is the non-drive side of the rear hub, after cleaning.

There are two spacers on the hub that's installed before the gear cassette.
They're pretty dirty also & need cleaning.

After cleaning...

The first spacer is being installed.

Then the washer was installed.
The hub is ready to accept the cassette.

 

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