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Serious question, are cassette lockrings getting softer or is it just me?
I've been spinning wrenches for about 5 years now, and I swear last Tuesday I had a lockring from a 2022 Shimano 105 group practically strip just hand tightening it before torquing down. Back maybe 2 or 3 years ago, I could torque those things to spec with a Park Tool wrench and never worry. Now I'm finding myself using anti-seize on the threads and going real careful. Has anyone else noticed lockrings from newer groupsets feeling cheesy, or did I just get a bad batch from that one ride?
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holly_walker7621d agoMost Upvoted
Oh man, you are not alone on this one. My last two lockrings from a 2024 Ultegra build felt like they were made of soft aluminum foil compared to the old ones. Had one basically gall on the hub threads just from a normal tighten, had to cut it off with a dremel. Now I put a thin layer of grease on everything and go real slow with a torque wrench, feels like they're using cheaper metal these days.
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nguyen.tara21d ago
Honestly, I gotta push back a little on this one. I mean yeah, maybe you got a bad batch but I've been wrenching for over a decade and I haven't noticed any huge drop in quality. @holly_walker76, galling on the hub threads sounds like a dirt or cross-threading issue more than a metal problem to me. Tbh, people love to blame the parts when the real issue is usually technique or a dirty tool. I still torque my lockrings dry with a standard wrench and haven't had a single one strip on me yet. Ngl, sometimes we all overthink this stuff because we read too many horror stories online.
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