Bloody Shimano! Trying to remove a freewheel

[rogerzilla]

I've had no-name 5 speed freewheels on bikes in the past and they've always taken a Hyperglide cassette lockring tool to remove them.  But it won't quite fit the Shimano freewheel I have here.  Turns out it needs an *Ultraglide* remover, although it's a Hyperglide freewheel.  The UG remover is fractionally smaller but still 12-splined.  This is worse than the whole 25.4/26.0 bar clamp thing and will delay the job by 5 days until I can get the right tool.  Bum.

[andrew_s]

Shimano freewheels have been UG since before hyperglide existed. Blame the no name manufacturers for copying the wrong spline pattern.
The splines on UG are 0.5 mm high, vs 1 mm on HG (same minor diameter), so a UG freewheel remover will take off a HG cassette lockring, but not vice versa. In addition, most HG removers aren't deep enough to engage the full length of the splines on the freewheel.

[mzjo]

I have always (at least it feels like "always") had both removers. Sachs ARIS freewheels use the Shimano freewheel remover. I never know which is which but there is only one that fits and the other is for cassettes. I have a few Hero freewheels that are anonymous chinese but I have never actually fitted one. I also have Atom and Normandy but they are different and a Regina freewheel that uses the Atom remover.

Oh and several of those two pronged things for the Maillard stuff and a couple of Suntour freewheels that are hanging around and really need four prongs.

Surely your local Decathlon has a Shimano remover on the shelves - you can always come to mine if it hasn't 

[Brucey]

Shimano freewheels have been UG since before hyperglide existed. Blame the no name manufacturers for copying the wrong spline pattern....

yup.

BTW you can always disassemble the freewheel and then use a brute-force method on the centre to remove it.  Note that

a) there is usually enough meat in the centre to grind a couple of flats onto it which allows the centre to be gripped in a bench vice without damaging it.... and

b) if you are servicing hub bearings the freewheel doesn't have to come off anyway and

c) once the outer parts of the freewheel are removed there is access to change DS spokes in most cases, if that is what you are doing.

In any event there is no need to wait five days for some tool to turn up, even if you cannot simply borrow one.

cheers

[rogerzilla]

(b) this is the reason for removal - the RH cone has a dust shield/labyrinth seal that is bigger than the freewheel removal splines.  And I want to oil the freewheel, too.

[Brucey]

because such dust shields are simply pressed onto the cone it is sometimes possible to service the bearings, leaving the freewheel in situ. Clipped balls are best replaced with loose, the clip being broken up in situ.

 However it is awkward and there is a chance that the dust shield will rub for ever more.  It is certainly best if the freewheel is removed.  However it can of course be oiled in situ.

cheers

[rogerzilla]

Yes, the dust shield came off when I removed the axle and is in there still, loose! It will press back on ok - I've done it on SA cones before.