H
HoughMade
Guest
I have never had that part - apart, but I think Irish John made reference to a gear puller.
So can I just smack the keyshaft out with a rubber mallet or is there a special way of removing it? I'm getting less impressed with the assembly of these things the more I work on the bike.
Neo
Yes buy 1/8" key lengths and be careful to ask if it is made in China or Taiwan. If they don't know tell them you want to buy from someone who does know and go elsewhere. File it down very slowly to get it to the correct size. Cut it quite a bit longer than you think it should be cos it's easy to end up too short. Use a couple of good files and if you have to buy new files remember that we will all need to do this a lot now that the cost saving Mandarins have foud a way to save money by recycling cream cheese.
Don't smack the sprocket with anything because it doesn't like smacking. That's IMPORTANT. Buy a small 3 clawed jaw puller and use that. You'll need that too for pulling the clutch off when the other keys break. Getting it back on without hitting it is a problem I haven't figured out yet - that's probably what stuffed mine up - I used a block of wood and a rubber mallet and I must have been thinking of the bloke who made the sprocket because I probably hit it too hard. It really is a fragile thing and sideways blows will affect the small circlip inside it.
It's time to send the gunboats up the Yangtse. The Olympics are over and there's a serious gold shortage in China. The sprockets are gold coloured from the residue left over in the furnace after they made all the medals.