Bontrager branded DT hubs with two star-ratchet rings.
It got a bit noisy, so I took it apart to clean and lube.
Reassembled and all seems OK, freehub running smoothly and more quietly.
However, as soon as I apply any torque to the cassette lock-ring the freehub goes really notchy.
When I take it apart again the inner ratchet ring is jammed inside the hub shell and unable to move under the spring pressure. It can only be released with a tap from a screwdriver and hammer.
I have tried a few times, and the same thing happens, even with a very low force on the lock-ring.
Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
Sounds like you’ve missed out a spacer or spring. I’ve not got any experience with this make of hub but my Erase components hub has ratchet rings and there is a spacer and spring this that goes in there.
Yes, there is a tubular ring spacer that slides over the axle.
And 2 springs, one for each ratchet ring.
It's such a simple setup, that's what has me puzzled.
What year? DT had that recall 2020/21 where the ratchet ring body was not machined correctly and caused the ring to interfere with hub body and jam over time. They will still fix under warranty if you call the,
Only issue I'd heard of was with early versions of the new EXP ratchet.
Are the conical springs the right way round (tapering in towards the ratchets), and are you using a suitable lube?
Thanks for the suggestions.
Its an old hub, at least 10 years, though hasn't had a particularly hard life I'd say.
Springs the correct way round.
Light grease as lube.
Stumped...
Light grease as lube
Was its the red DT ratchet grease?
No, it wasn't DT grease.
But the problem occurs during assembly, before riding, so I can't see that the grease is the problem??
Binding even before it's clamped in dropouts?
Perhaps you've pushed it together hard out of alignment and put a divot in the drive ring so it's binding on a burr?
Yes, it starts to bind as soon as I apply any torque to the cassette lock-ring.
It feels fine without the cassette installed.
is it assembled like this^
Left field suggestion:
do you have the brake side end cap on the cassette side? The longer end aps are doubel shouldered so the lock ring would drive the end cap against the bearing seals.
Otherwise, wheel installation is required to preload the bearings so a mushroomed spacer ring or knackered bearings wouldn't show up until the wheel is tight in the drop outs. My other query on ham fisted damage to the drive ring and/or star ratchet stands. There's an anti DT swiss forumite who's suffered this.
How is the wheel, fixed in the bike with no cassette? perfectly operable?
There's something basically not right here... Tightening up the cassette lockring should never place any pressure on any part of the hub except the freehub, it just doesn't contact anything else.
It's possible for the lockring to contact the spacer on the end of the freehub, if things are really wrong, but it shouldn't normally.
The ring sticking in the body is presumably the issue, it obviously shouldn't, but I can't see any way that could possibly be affected by the lockring.
Did you have the fixed ratchet ring out of the hub body?
Missing the spacer off that goes on before the cassette, what do I win?
As above is most likely. Quite a few hubs have little spacers that need to go on before the freehub and they can easily get stuck to the freehub when you remove it then fall off without noticing.
The missing spacer wouldn't cause preload issues unless it's doing something unlikely and driving the cassette onto the spokes..
Not having the spacer would just mean a slightly rattly cassette.
End freehub bearing not seated, end cap pressure on it when the cassette tightened?