Get the tools and learn how to do this. Takes about five minutes to switch cassettes.

Art exaggerates, it only takes one or two minutes. Actually the hardest part is getting the wheel off the bike.

*You'll need a socket that fits on the end of a wrnech or similar device. Use this to unscrew the nut that sits inside the end of your cassette. You will need a chain whip to keep the cassette from spinning while you try and unsrew the nut.
*Slide the old cassette off.
*Grease everything
* Slide the new cassette on, the bumps on the hub will force the cassette to go on only one way.
* Put the nut back on using the same wrnech tool you used to get it off.

I put a separate cassette on my race wheel - and use a separate chain. Cassettes and chains wear out together. Of course, if you regularly replace your chain before the bushings wear out (aka chain stretch), there shouldn't be a problem using the same chain for different cassettes.

Putting on a new cassette does not take a lot of technical expertise. However, it does take strength because it's one of those "bolts" that need to be very tight. I don't like to make assumptions, but if you're anything like my wife, you might need some help - although putting on a cassette seems to require less strength than taking one off, so you should give it a try yourself. If you run into trouble, or you want your work checked, you can always take it to your LBS.

The Shimano cassette tool cost only $US5. SRAM chains with the removable link are nice if you're going to swap out chains because you don't need a chain tool.

Some of the other posts touch on the topic of the pros and cons of switching cassettes, and I wanted to expand on it.

The big pro of course is convenience, you can just pull out your disk, put it on your bike and off you go.

The big con is chain/cassette wear. Chains and cassettes wear together. If you let your chain go too long, it will "stretch". The cassette will wear in order to match the chain and the combo will work together fine, until the chain breaks. ;-) If you were to put a new chain on at this point, it wouldn't match your worn cassette you would most likely have shifting problems. That being said, if you take care of your chain, keeping it well lubed and such, and replace it before it gets too worn, your cassettes will last a long time, and you could switch them without problems.

Another thing to think about is how much each cassette is being used. If you put a "race" cassette on your disk, and only use it for a half dozen sprint and olympic races during the year. It's not going to wear as fast as your other casette and chain that you are piling the training miles on. Again, if you keep the chain lubed and replace it often, at least yearly depending on your miles, that just means your 'race' cassette will look great and last longer.

One more thing to consider is what cassette are you going to put on your disk. I assume you are going to use the disk for flat to rolling courses and not epic hilly races. So you might want to think about putting a 11-21 (650c bike) on it, or at least some other cassette than what you normally use. Knowing how to change cassettes, and having the tools, and spare cassettes, will allow you to change it depending on the course and how you feel. I switch between an 11-21, 11-23 and 12-23 all the time.

So, after this lengthy post, my recomendation is to get another cassette, possibly a different gear combination than what you have. Get the cassette lockring tool and chain whip to change them, and go to your LBS and have them teach you how to do it. Practice it a bunch of times and you will be ready for anything.

I appreciate everyone's input. :)

What a GREAT sport!

Colleen

Please make sure your shifting is still adjusted after switching wheels,small differences in the wheel spacing might make your rear derailer be off causing clicking and bad shifting.

Are you supposed to grease the hub body before sliding the new cassette on? I wasn't aware of this.

Ummm, don't think that the "bolt" as you call it, should be "very tight". You definitely run the risk of stripping the threads on that part if you use excessive force...

I always do, esp. if its a shimano (steel) freehub body. and make sure the lockring threads are greased.

j.

go to Sears and get a torque wrench, go to your LBS and get the cassette tightening socket deal.. put 'em together, and you're set.

mike

I'd love to use a torque wrench on everything on the bike, but how can we ever figure out what it should be set to? I'll gaurantee my LBS doesn't know.

IMHO the lockring shouldn't be 'torqued' at all. At least on my Shimano parts, the last cog and the lockring have teeth or ribs and a thin washer to help them stay together. When tightening the lockring, it clicks once the teeth start to engage. The teeth really help the lockring stay in place without a lot of torque. I tighten the lockring down to where it clicks and is snug. This is nowhere near the point where I can't tighten it any more. This helps when it comes time to remove the lockring.

yes it should be torqued, everything gets torqued in one way or another.. you just need to know the correct amount. For a Dur-Ace cassette, 261-434 in lbs, divide by 12 for ft lbs.

http://www.shimano-europe.com - all the manuals in pdf

mike

This discussion of where-to-grease and how-much-to-torque led me to do a little research. According to the Park Tool web site (which has some good articles):

1. They suggest to grease the treads of the lockring. No mention of greasing the feehub body.

2. The Shimano torque spec of 260-434 is one the the highest you'll find on the bike. Some other high torque bolts are Pedal into crank (307), Crankarm bolt (305-391), and Bottom bracket (435-608).

3. Here's a good tip. When installing or removing the cassette, use the hub's quick release to hold the cassette tool in place while applying force.