cassette lock-up

This occurred to me the other day.....I was cruising along at about 25 and began to feel a disruption on the rear wheel......then felt a crunch....all of a sudden my pedals started cranking and I sure as sh*t wasn't ready for that ....I almost broke my leg....had to ride home the rest of the way with my feet off the pedals..( about 3 miles )...the cassette had locked-up somehow.....let this be a warning to those whom have multi speed bikes....it can happen at anytime !

Be safe,
Salty

Big.Dude.666 said:

wow that could hurt

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Or cause death.....

Salty

fairracing31 said:

Thanks Salty for sharing that, I think thats a great warning to everyone, Glad you were not hurt.

Do we know what caused this problem? I have only pulled one cassette apart and mine had ball bearings that would catch some teeth on the cassette when you pedaled. I am wondering if it is something that we can inspect to avoid this happening?

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You're welcome for the share...it's the right thing to do and I'm sure others would also.....as it turns out....the ball bearing race broke.....and all those tiny bearings ( much the size of buckshot )....got caught up in the entire cassette assembly...effectively locking it up....can you imagine cruising along....all of a sudden your pedals begin cranking at 25 MPH ?.......when I pulled the cassette off all the bearings just fell out ! ( cheap Shimano )....I spent a few minutes pulling them out of my carpet ...LOL....I replaced the cassette and all is right with the world now ....the only thing I know to do is listen closely while you pedal....before you fire the engine up....since I'm almost deaf I was unable to tell....I did feel it begin to....just not feel right....then I felt a *crunch*....ut oh !


Laters,
Salty