My $150 'professional grade' chain whip snapped on the second cassette removal

Bought this fancy Park Tool chain whip from a shop downtown, figured the extra money meant it'd last. Got it home, threw a new cassette on my summer bike, and on the second pull the pin that holds the chain links just sheared off. Called the shop and they said it was 'user error' and wouldn't refund me, so now I'm stuck with a broken tool and a cassette I can't finish swapping. Anyone else had that pin fail on those things, or did I just get a dud?

2 comments

2 Comments

briancampbell14d ago

Wonder if the torque spec on the lockring tool you were using played a part here. Those fancy Italian cassettes need the lockring torqued to like 40 Nm, but if you cranked it down tighter than that, the chain whip takes all that stored energy when you break it loose. The pin shearing off makes me wonder if the chain was riding on the very edge of the cassette teeth instead of sitting properly in the grooves, putting side load on the pin instead of straight pull force. Either way, a $150 tool that snaps on the second use is garbage no matter how you slice it. Park Tool QC has been slipping lately if you ask me.

tylerr3914d ago

Man, "garbage no matter how you slice it" is exactly right. I had a similar thing happen with their crank puller, stripped the threads on the second use. For $150 that pin should be beefier, like it's not a complicated part.