Is this normal?

[barefootdan]

Hey all,
A friend of mine just gave him an older road bike of his. It hasn't been ridden is a long while so i began to tighten and adjust most of everything. As i got to the test ride, i heard some clanking in the back, i look at the back closer and saw that the 4 biggest cogs on my cassette (i hope thats correct terminology) were able to spin slightly while i held the lower 4, or if the chain was on the lower 4. When the chain is on one of upper 4, the lower 4 cogs can turn, but very slightly.

The spin isn't a huge spin, its a tiny wiggle, but i have never seen this before and i just wanted to make sure it was ok.

any thoughts?

thanks

[JonB]

That's play between the cassette/freehub, which could mean:

1. Freehub body's worn out. It's entirely possible something else within the hub will follow suit, bin the body and get a new one.

2. Cassette's properly worn out. Bin it, if the freehub body's still in good nick it won't be for long. You may also need a new chain, use Alex's tutorial to check for wear.

3. Both are worn out (worst-case scenario). Get a new cassette first (it's probably cheaper) and see if the play goes away, if not get a new hub body (or the other way round if it's cheaper)

4. Loose cassette. Try tightening the lockring on the cassette and see if it goes away. If not try some of the above.

Hope this helps