Freewheelin'

[Ham]

On the basis that I can't recall ever having to remediate a freewheel, I thought I'd ask. Hack bike has 7 speed Shimano, and the freewheel is shagged, it spins and slips. I'm thinking it is likely the crud of ages, and might be susceptible to a clean out, but wondered whether I should just replace? Are spares available or would it be the wheel?

[JonBuoy]

Someone may be along in a bit who knows what they are talking about but from my experience:

These are effectively unserviceable.  You can try sluicing it through with WD40 then dribbling some light oil in there but I have never had much long term success with this approach.

If it is indeed a screw-on 7 speed freewheel you will be able to buy a replacement and you even get a free set of cogs with it.  For example:  https://www.bikeparts.co.uk/products/shimano-tourney-ty-mf-tz500-7-speed-multiple-freewheel-14-28-tooth.

However, if it is a freehub design (with a cassette mounted on splines) you may be able to obtain a replacement but you would need to know the model of the freehub (or the hub that it is mounted on). For example:  https://www.bikeparts.co.uk/products/shimano-spares-fh-ty500-freewheel-body-unit

If the freehub is not available you may be able to buy a replacement hub with a similar enough geometry that you can re-use the original spokes in a wheel rebuild.

...or you can buy a new wheel.

...or N+1 

[Ham]

I suspected something like that.....


N+1 is regrettably not that practical. I've had this for a few years, I experimented reasonably successfully with zero maintenance for a free years, but when I looked around I struggled to replace it. The features I was looking for - including a bolt on rear wheel trailers for the pulling of (yes I do have a long QR, but bolt is better imo) along with 7 max 9 speed and a beat up appearance but still decent frame, was v hard to impossible to come by. So I started maintaining it....

I'd still like to avoid spending too much time on it

[Keef66]

If it is a 7 speed freewheel, just replace the thing.  Quick and cheap enough to do.  Hardest bit in my experience is unscrewing the bloody things in the first place.  If you have a bench mounted vice and enough room, stick the freewheel removal tool in the vice then slip the freewheel splines onto it.  Unscrew the wheel like you're turning left in a truck.  Leave the inflated tyre on for better grip.

[Kim]

If it is a 7 speed freewheel, just replace the thing.  Quick and cheap enough to do.  Hardest bit in my experience is unscrewing the bloody things in the first place.  If you have a bench mounted vice and enough room, stick the freewheel removal tool in the vice then slip the freewheel splines onto it.  Unscrew the wheel like you're turning left in a truck.  Leave the inflated tyre on for better grip.

I can vouch for the efficacy of this approach.  Sort of.  The one time I tried it, instead of the freewheel unscrewing, three of the spokes broke.  (To be fair, I was removing the freewheel in order to replace a broken spoke, so it wasn't entirely surprising.)  BSO-grade stuff, naturally.

[aidan.f]

If you do not have a vice and very rigid workbench  a two handle T bar and helper will do. The idea is to apply only co axial unscrewing forces with the tool. An single L adds longitudal force which binds the thread.

[mzjo]

If it is a 7 speed freewheel, just replace the thing.  Quick and cheap enough to do.  Hardest bit in my experience is unscrewing the bloody things in the first place.  If you have a bench mounted vice and enough room, stick the freewheel removal tool in the vice then slip the freewheel splines onto it.  Unscrew the wheel like you're turning left in a truck.  Leave the inflated tyre on for better grip.

I can vouch for the efficacy of this approach.  Sort of.  The one time I tried it, instead of the freewheel unscrewing, three of the spokes broke.  (To be fair, I was removing the freewheel in order to replace a broken spoke, so it wasn't entirely surprising.)  BSO-grade stuff, naturally.

Funnily enough I have never had a problem unscrewing a freewheel with a splined remover. I did once do something stupid with the splined remover for the Normandy freewheel on the tandem (with a 34t sprocket on it!) but once I welded the remover to a very stout piece of steel bar it behaved itself impeccably. The two and four dog removers are another thing altogether!
The back-up method of removing a freewheel is to unscrew the cone holding it altogether (the ring visible inside the bit where the removal tool would be fitted. It usually has two punch marks for unscrewing it and has a left hand thread). Then remove everything to leave just the bit that screws onto the wheel. This may be unscrewed by clamping in a vice and turning the wheel or by gripping it with a pipe wrench (Stilson wrench), while holding the wheel. If you are junking the freewheel just use a bucket or similar to catch all the little balls and remnants of spring so you don't put a foot on them and fall over.

It is possible to repair freewheels. This involves catching all the bits for reuse. I did so on several occasions in my impoverished adolescence (usually Cyclo freewheels with horribly hooked sprocket teeth) before I discovered that fixed wheel sprockets were so cheap and oh so much more fun!

[MattH]

I've refurbed freewheels in the past, where they've gummed up and the pawls no longer spring out to catch reliably. It's certainly possible, just needs a bit of care to catch everything when you pull them apart. Otherwise it's straighforward to clean up, regrease and reassemble. Whether it's worth it compared to just replacing is another matter.

[Ham]

Well, end of story was when I took the bearings and casette apart, it was clear that it had been overpacked with grease at some stage which was aged and sticky, so my diagnosis was possibly correct, but the relative faff of trying to fix and the consequent aggro when it failed seemed not worthwhile.

LBS supplied a freehub for £15, I found my new casette and chain. Only to discover that the quicklink with the chain was half missing, needing another LBS visit.

All good now.

[IanDG]

If it is a 7 speed freewheel, just replace the thing.  Quick and cheap enough to do.  Hardest bit in my experience is unscrewing the bloody things in the first place.  If you have a bench mounted vice and enough room, stick the freewheel removal tool in the vice then slip the freewheel splines onto it.  Unscrew the wheel like you're turning left in a truck.  Leave the inflated tyre on for better grip.

Also use the wheel nut/skewer finger tight onto the remover to hold it in place and stop it slipping, loosening it as soon as the freewheel's loose. Not so important with multi-splined freewheels but if it's the type with just 2 splines the remover can slip and damage the splines making removal (almost) impossible.