Often the difference between a perfectly shifting bike and one that gives you continuous problems comes down to having the right bike cassette spacers and lockrings in place. But why can these seemingly innocuous parts make such a big difference?

In the case of bike cassette spacers, it helps to understand that there are varying shapes of freehub bodies, which is the part of your rear wheel’s hub that a cassette mounts to. In a perfect world, the cassette mounts flush to the base of the freehub, which eliminates the need for spacers. Alas, that’s not always the case.

In certain instances, such as mounting a Shimano 10-speed cassette on a Shimano 11-speed freehub body, the cassette comes up a touch short, thus necessitating the need for a 1mm Shimano cassette cog spacer. Or you may need and even bigger spacer (such as a Problem Solvers 4.5mm cassette spacer), which allows you to get a 7-speed cassette to play nice with an 8/9-speed hub.

JensonUSA carries a number of these spacers, including options from Shimano, Campagnolo, and Problem Solvers. We also have Gear Advisors ready to take your call and guide you through this sometimes esoteric area of cycling components.

Bike lockrings are also a key component, holding your cassette in place on the freehub body. Of course all lockrings don’t fit all cassettes, so it’s important to make sure you get the right one. And again, JensonUSA’s Gear Advisors stand at the ready to help make sure you make the right buying decision. Just give one of our expert Gear Advisors a call at 951-234-7554 and we’ll guide you through the process.