1Lieutenant

Hello all,

I have a Lynskey R300 with a SRAM 11 speed 11-42 cassette (non XD). When I bought this bike, I put this cassette on my 2018 Mavic Kysrium Pro carbon wheels. Being 11 speed, I did not use the 1.85 mm spacer. The cassette is not loose and shifting has been fine. I have about 500 miles on it now.
Recently I was on the SRAM website and noticed that in the instruction for the 11-42 cassette it states that if this cassette is used with an 11 speed driver then the 1.8 mm spacer should be used.
I removed the cassette and placed the spacer but now find it needs adjustment (which makes sense) but that the 11 speed cog is quite close to the dropout.
Is there a reason why this spacer is mandatory? Will damage ensue if I continue using the cassette with it?

woodcraft

The smallest cog should be just proud of the end of the freehub, so that the lockring bears on the cog not the freehub.

use spacer if needed to get this.

Too far in= loose cogs

Too far out= lockring barely engages & may strip, possible shifting & clearance problems.

1Lieutenant

Thanks!!

1Lieutenant

With the spacer in place, all the cogs seem to have good engagement with the driver but the smallest cog seems a bit close to the drop out. Substantial amount of ratcheting noise when torqueing the lock ring. I suspect with adjustment it would work.

With the spacer out, I am able to torque the locking ring and the cassette has no looseness whatsoever. Very little ratcheting noise of the lockring but some.

Both ways seem to work. Very puzzled

Andrew R Stewart 

The ratcheting noise is most likely the cassette last cog and the lock ring having slight "teeth" that engage as the ring is tightened. That without the space this noise is less suggests that the ring isn't getting complete pressure against the small cog. Andy