Bicycle Cassettes for Dummy Cyclists

Cassette vs. freewheel

If you suppose a bicycle cassette belongs somewhere between the bicycle 8-track and the bicycle CD, you probably shouldn't be writing about them. Suffice it to say that many riders who put thousands of miles per year on their two-wheelers have no idea what a cassette is, and don't much care – until they veer into trying to do their own maintenance. That's when the knowledge becomes important, knowledge that Patrick Hutchison lacks; at least as far as we can tell from his SportsRec.com post, "What Are Bicycle Cassettes?"¹

We'll be nice and tell you up front: the cassette is the cluster of sprockets ("cogs") that sits to the right of a bicycle's rear wheel, allowing you to move the chain from larger to smaller gears. Cassettes are almost always sold as a set rather than as individual cogs. The cogs all have teeth that mesh with a freehub, which ratchets to allow coasting. A cassette differs from a freewheel in that the hub of the cassette spins, while the hub of the freewheel does not (see a discussion and animations here).

Hutchison found the correct references, but it was pretty apparent from some of what he said that his familiarity with bicycles was of the "vicarious" variety. Here's some of what he said: "Bicycle drive-train systems are composed of dozens of engineered components, including derailleurs, chains, hubs, bottom brackets and cassettes." – He left out chainrings, pedals, and cranks. That's still not even one dozen, unless you count the individual cogs in a cassette. "Cassettes are sets of sprockets that attach to the rear hub of a bicycle." – We wouldn't say "attach," actually, because the cassette just rides on the freehub. The only "attachment," if you insist on calling it one, is a locking ring.

• "A cassette is designed so that a biker can easily switch between different sets of gear ratios or replace worn sprockets, simply by switching out cassettes." – It ain't that easy, Patrick: it requires special tools that differ depending on the brand and configuration of the hub. Do you carry a chainwhip around with you? Do you even know what a chainwhip is?
• "Older cassette sets also included a freewheel, a mechanism that allows you to coast." – Does this mean you can't coast with a cassette, Patrick (you idiot)?
• "...all Shimano freewheel hubs should work with Shimano cassettes..." – No, Patrick, a freewheel hub by definition does not work with a cassette!

If that last didn't convince you that Hutchison was talking through your hat, then you might want to go back and read the definition of a freewheel hub again. Once you've done so, we suspect you'll agree that Patrick fits the definition of Dumbass of the Day remarkably well.
What may be most disturbing is not that this rubbish is posted at all, but that it was posted in 2019... which suggests that eHow freelancers are still stupidifying the internet!

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   http://sportsrec.com/391442-what-are-bicycle-cassettes.html

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