Cassette moving on freewheel issue

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Was having crazy shifting problems after a solid crash at Creek last week. Went to check my indexing yesterday and noticed the cassette actually moving laterally a few millimeters everytime I shift, particularly on the larger side of the cassette. Thought the cassette might just be loose...but it’s not. Is my freewheel shot? Should mention this is a SRAM GX 1x11 setup... I haven’t dealt with that XD driver much as I’ve always owned Shimano.... Any suggestions?
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Which hub?
My CX bike had a plastic spacer which got crushed, replaced it with metal solved problem
 
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Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It’s a Formula hub...came on the bike and I’m not real familiar with the company.

Actually just made some progress and other strange discoveries.... the end cap of the XD drive body was loose and the entire drive body and cassette assembly slid off the axle as one... put it back in and tightened up the axle now the play is gone. the weird discovery is that something has banged up the splines on the free hub and I can’t get a cassette tool to insert now...so it looks like this cassette/drive body will have to be replaced together when the time comes.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It’s a Formula hub...came on the bike and I’m not real familiar with the company.

Actually just made some progress and other strange discoveries.... the end cap of the XD drive body was loose and the entire drive body and cassette assembly slid off the axle as one... put it back in and tightened up the axle now the play is gone. the weird discovery is that something has banged up the splines on the free hub and I can’t get a cassette tool to insert now...so it looks like this cassette/drive body will have to be replaced together when the time comes.

-Some hubs the endcaps can loosen a little bit. Easy to check by hand when putting the wheel back in when taken out. Just turn clockwise to see if they tighten.
-OEM Formula hubs (are there other types?) are known to have broken axles. Sounds like this isn't your issue if you were able to tighten up the endcaps and solve the problem.
-Banged up splines is extremely common. A higher end cassette that there's a big aluminum carrier helps. My thought is if the splines are banged up, I push/hit/hammer the cassette on harder, it's damaged anyway. Only real downside is it's hard to get it OFF.
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Yeah I think the main issue was the end caps. I did end up hammering the cassette tool in a bit and now I don’t think I’ll ever get it off the free hub again. Good news is the play is gone and everything feels nice and snug again. It’s not 100% yet but should be able to get there with a little more tweaking.

Anyone recommend a better quality XD driver body that’s compatible with the GX 1x11 cassette?
 

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
-Some hubs the endcaps can loosen a little bit. Easy to check by hand when putting the wheel back in when taken out. Just turn clockwise to see if they tighten.
-OEM Formula hubs (are there other types?) are known to have broken axles. Sounds like this isn't your issue if you were able to tighten up the endcaps and solve the problem.
-Banged up splines is extremely common. A higher end cassette that there's a big aluminum carrier helps. My thought is if the splines are banged up, I push/hit/hammer the cassette on harder, it's damaged anyway. Only real downside is it's hard to get it OFF.
Use these tips with a large grain of salt, as all of the bikes and spare wheels in his place are currently broken.:)
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Anytime someone says “hit it with a hammer” I know I’m talking to a true professional. I already had the hammer out tho so I guess I’m the real deal now.
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The problem you're going to have is there's most likely only one XD driver body for that hub...
Yeah, after some googling I will probably just stick with the OEM unless I can magically afford an i9 hub by the time this situation blows up...
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
So this was the first thing I saw on Instagram today. I think we’re on to something here...
3FC49E7D-4CF6-494D-8502-AB3711375152.jpeg


This was mid stage at EWS and he still took 5th. Smash your wheels with a hammer and you, too, can be a winner!
 
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