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Just went to put on a an old cassette and discovered that I have lost all the plastics spacers between the cogs.
No worries, I'll pick up some online for buttons. Except they are 3 quid each...for a tiny piece of plastic. Absolute theft..by the time I've bought 5 of them I'm half way to a new cassette.
Reckon I could 3d print them?
Buy a new cassette and use the spacers on both of them
How much was your LBS charging?
I imagine they'd have a lot of no longer used cassettes lying around in their scrap bin...
Do people not salvage small parts like these when they remove worn-out components, then?
I've got a nice smug little stockpile of cassette spacers. Some of them can be yours for £2 each 🙂
The spacers on my XT cassettes are all metal and I bin quite a few each year after realising my stockpile was getting a bit out of control 🙂
Anyway -
How can a cassette spacer cost 3 quid!!??
The same way £7.5k per year only gets you an "OK" car.
Reckon I could 3d print them?
Yes, I did my SS spacers on the 3D printer.
How can a cassette spacer cost 3 quid!!??
Manufacturing costs, shipping costs, import tax, storage costs, postage costs, profit and vat.
The same way a bleed port screw costs 2quid. Takes money to make stuff...
Can't find a 3d file for 11 speed, only 10 speed. I'll check the lbs see if they have any going cheap
I have a few - yours for a mere 99p each (plus £17 p&p)
For the good reason that they have you by the balls . Your expensive part won't work without a small cheap part so the price of the cheap part goes up . Just the same as lots of things , camelback bite valve is a good example of this phenomenon .
Careless Idiot TAX. If I remove a still serviceable cassette, I keep it in one piece with a zip-tie. It then resides in a drawer until obsolete, at which point I hold on to it, you know, just in case.
the overheads and administration required to produce, supply, stock and sell a small part still exist but take proportionally more of the cost of a small part compared to a more expensive part.
You think they’re spendy, try misplacing your Sram wave washer, £8 please!
the overheads and administration required to produce, supply, stock and sell a small part still exist but take proportionally more of the cost of a small part compared to a more expensive part.
This. And combined with the efficiency of mass production and distribution of larger parts means that servicing/repair can be very expensive even if you're doing it yourself.
E.g. for a part like that how many would a shop sell? The cost of entering it onto the website or till and maintaining this entry is the same as it would be for something the shop sells hundreds of times more of (e.g. a full cassette) which could easily bump the price up further.
When I worked in LBS I'd give them out from the bin
Can’t find a 3d file for 11 speed, only 10 speed. I’ll check the lbs see if they have any going cheap
It must have taken you longer to google that than to boot up freeCAD and input the three dimensions needed!
If I remove a still serviceable cassette, I keep it in one piece with a zip-tie. It then resides in a drawer until obsolete, at which point I hold on to it, you know, just in case.
Same here, I must have a dozen of various types & brands across both road & MTB in boxes in my garage.
It must have taken you longer to google that than to boot up freeCAD and input the three dimensions needed!
Can I do this? It's not my printer and I have no idea about caad. Will investigate.
In meantime if anyone wants to sell me 3 11 speed spacers they have lying about for a fiver let me know!