The cassete on my rear wheel (cheap MTB 7×3 speed) has been removed and inserted into place again (in a shop. I don't know what they did). I just bolted the rear wheel into place and it's like this. I have no experience with bike maintenance, but it's easy to know that something's wrong and that I shouldn't use the bike like this.
Any clue what's going on here and how to fix it?
Thanks in advance for any help!
by TheJCPT
2 Comments
I think they might have messed up putting the cassette back on. It looks like they left a spacer out
the other commenter is probably right about a missi g spacer. easiest first step is probably trying a spacer behind tbe cassete or a new (secondhand, i always always recommend your local co-op over new or online) cassete
otherwise, are you sure if it’s a freewheel or a cassete? i only ask bc i’ve seen this exact same motion on cheap freewheels. I work in a shop, asked the head tech about it and he told me thag cheaper freewheels suffer from poor machining, but as long as the chain isn’t catching on the next gear up/down from it’s position with the wobble, it should be functiomally fine.
if it’s a cassete, i’d recommend removing it, examining the freehub (part the cassete slots onto, the interior of the cassete, the alignment of the gears, and reinstall. if that doesnt fix it, try a new cassete/freewheel. if that fails, i’d defer to a damaged hub in some way and replace the wheel.