Shimano Dura Ace 12s Cassettes Issues

[Konsi]

Hello,

I am at my wit's end. In about 27000km, I have gone through five Shimano Dura Ace 12s Cassettes, and the new sixth one has the click. Again.

Cassettes #1 and #2, 11-30 and 11-34, came new on my Moots and my Scott, both had the click problem in the 4th cog (24 or 21). They were exchanged under warranty by Shimano.
Cassette #3 (11-30) died when I broke off two teeth on the 19 cog. No idea how I managed to do that.
Cassette #4 (11-34) had a tiny click, which surprisingly got less and less pronounced, and left my household with the Scott Foil.
Cassette #5 (11-30) warped (at least the two spider assemblies) after about 2000km. Enough to shift between the cogs. Again, no idea how that happened, I am a dedicated amateur, not a track sprinter.
Now I installed Cassette #6 (11-34), and the click is back.

First, does anyone remember where I have to file on the cassette? I don't want to wait for another warranty exchange for this reason again.

Second, respectfully, but WTF Shimano. These cassettes cost over 300 Euro. How is it possible that so many are defective? Is there any viable alternative on the market?

Very confused regards

Konstantin

[pdlpsher1]

I have two bikes with 12-speed groups. I have zero issues but I did notice something. I've come to realize that the HG interface has finally gotten to a point where the design is too sloppy for the tight tolerances needed for 12-speeds. Both of my freehubs are the standard HG type, not the Shimano branded freehub, the one that is 12-speed only. When installing the cassettes, I follow these rules: 1) remove the 'adhesive' ring, 2) before tightening the lockring I carefully spin each cog clockwise, 3) I carefully install the lockring by hand while keeping each loose cog stationary, and 4) I torque the lockring to the appropriate torque (I think it's 35nm, which is a lot). I believe the Microspline is a superior interface to the HG. I have a suspicion that some of the 12-speed cassette issues people have experienced might be due to a poor cassette to HG freehub interface. The poor fitting causes the cassette to have a very slight runout. On 11-speed groups we never saw this issue because the tolerances on 11-speed groups are a LOT looser than on 12-speed groups. Perhaps you can check to see if the cassette has any runout. The runout may not be entirely the cassette's fault. I'm not a believer that so many 12-speed cassettes are defective. Shimano is really good at making cassettes, as we all know that all aftermarket cassettes shift like crap. Please report back on your findings.

[Nereth]

I'm something like 3 out of 4 cassettes with issues also.

Frustrating.

[Jaisen]

Both my Ultegra cassettes, as well as my Dura Ace cassette, all 11-34 have this issue. Going OCD on aligning the derailleur hanger helped a little bit but the clicking noise is still there.

Also my Ultegra wheels have a little play in the free hub, which is also irritating. I'm not terribly impressed with the latest 12 speed group sets quality control compared to my old 6700 series groupset and wheels which were rock solid for over a decade without any issues. Then we have the whole crankset recall saga on the previous generation cranks. I wonder what is going on at Shimano...

ETA: I did not remove the adhesive ring as suggested above, I might try that at some point this winter.

[milanv]

Hello,

I am at my wit's end. In about 27000km, I have gone through five Shimano Dura Ace 12s Cassettes, and the new sixth one has the click. Again.

Cassettes #1 and #2, 11-30 and 11-34, came new on my Moots and my Scott, both had the click problem in the 4th cog (24 or 21). They were exchanged under warranty by Shimano.
Cassette #3 (11-30) died when I broke off two teeth on the 19 cog. No idea how I managed to do that.
Cassette #4 (11-34) had a tiny click, which surprisingly got less and less pronounced, and left my household with the Scott Foil.
Cassette #5 (11-30) warped (at least the two spider assemblies) after about 2000km. Enough to shift between the cogs. Again, no idea how that happened, I am a dedicated amateur, not a track sprinter.
Now I installed Cassette #6 (11-34), and the click is back.

First, does anyone remember where I have to file on the cassette? I don't want to wait for another warranty exchange for this reason again.

Second, respectfully, but WTF Shimano. These cassettes cost over 300 Euro. How is it possible that so many are defective? Is there any viable alternative on the market?

Very confused regards

Konstantin

Adhesive ring removed?
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