# This dang freewheel won't come off!



## rootfreak (May 17, 2007)

Let's see if anyone remembers how to do this. What is supposed to be a three minute job of removing a freewheel has turned into two hours with nothing accomplished. My problem resides in the outer cone. It will not come loose no matter how much force I exert (I am attempting to loosen in the correct, clockwise direction). My method consists of a nail in one of the spanner holes with a hammer at the other end of the nail. I would think the force of the hammer would be more than enough to free the cone. There is no rust, so that is not why it is sticking. There is a lot of play between the cogs and the center spindle. Other than that I don't know what to tell you. I hate freewheels, no wonder they became obsolete.


----------



## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

What the heck are you talking about? To remove a freewheel, you insert the freewheel removal tool into the freewheel splines, and turn counterclockwise to remove.
Outer cone?????? Hammer?????? nail??????? free the cone?????
Are you talking about removing all the cogs on the freewheel, and then taking the freewheel apart to get at the bearings???????????


----------



## curlybike (Jan 23, 2002)

I assume you mean the outer cone of the freewheel itself. You only need to remove that if you are trying to get inside the freewheel assembly. If you get in there you can probably remove a very thin shim and tighten things up. Of course, if the bearings are ground away, you can replace them and probably not need to remove a shim. I seem to remember that the ring needs to be turned CCW as a RH thread. It is worth a try. I looked all over my stuff for an old freewheel center part to check the threads, but it musta got pitched prior to the last home move.


----------



## android (Nov 20, 2007)

Hmmm, just checked through my tool collection. Hammer and nail would be for carpentry, not bicycle wrenching....

Perhaps you need a pin wrench???


----------



## rootfreak (May 17, 2007)

I guess I left out something. The freewheel remover wasn't having an effect. I was wrenching on it so hard that I thought I would strip the splines. I consulted Barnett's manual, and it said that in a situation such as this, the outer cone would need to be loosened before the remover tool could work properly. I don't have a pin wrench, but I do have a pin spanner, which was not nearly strong enough...drastic measures had to be taken (regarding the carpentry tools). 
BTW, as one who considers himself fairly adept at bicycle repair, it really gets me when something like this happens and I'm not sure what to do. Maybe a trip to the LBS is in order.


----------



## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

Hope it comes off. Have you tried a lubricating penetrant around the freewheel threads? 

Have had similar incidents but have not had a scenario where it is stuck like this. I began applying a thin film of synthetic grease on the threads when screwing the freewheel back on and this works well for me.


----------



## android (Nov 20, 2007)

rootfreak said:


> I guess I left out something. The freewheel remover wasn't having an effect. I was wrenching on it so hard that I thought I would strip the splines. I consulted Barnett's manual, and it said that in a situation such as this, the outer cone would need to be loosened before the remover tool could work properly. I don't have a pin wrench, but I do have a pin spanner, which was not nearly strong enough...drastic measures had to be taken (regarding the carpentry tools).
> BTW, as one who considers himself fairly adept at bicycle repair, it really gets me when something like this happens and I'm not sure what to do. Maybe a trip to the LBS is in order.


Wrench == Spanner. I think it has to do with whether you are British or not.

The stupid little holes on freewheels are frequently too shallow when things go wrong. Hitting them with the right size drill bit to deepen them *before* they get buggered up can sometimes be useful. 

It is amazing we put up with this stuff for so long!!


----------



## Scooper (Mar 4, 2007)

If this is too obvious, I apologize in advance. Did you try putting the freewheel removal tool on a bench mounted vise, then using the leverage of the wheel itself to remove the freewheel?

The first time I tried to remove a freewheel, I did it _after_ unlacing the rim. Doh!! :mad2:


----------



## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

+1 what he said...this was my first thought too...use a vice and the wheel for leverage


----------



## lml1x (Jan 2, 2003)

The FW's can get on there pretty tight. Have you tried putting the freewheel tool in a vise, putting the wheel on top of it and then grabbing the wheel and turning? This gives you a lot more leverage.


----------



## lml1x (Jan 2, 2003)

Scooper said:


> The first time I tried to remove a freewheel, I did it _after_ unlacing the rim. Doh!! :mad2:


I once got an awesome deal on a Philwood freewheel hub because someone had done just that. I managed to get the freewheel off after building 1/2 a wheel around it and then reinforcing the wheel by sandwiching it in some 2x4's.


----------



## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

OK, newbie, since nobody told you how this works, let me be the one. You need the correct freewheel tool, a 1' breaker bar, and a rubber mallet. Put the tool on the breaker bar (you may need a 3/8" to 1/2" adapter), hold the wheel securely with your free hand and your body, then *hit the bejeezus* out of the end of the breaker bar, until the freewheel comes out.

But, alas, having re-read your post, I have the feeling that you've already turned your wheel into a piece of scrap metal. Hang your head in shame, come up with a new persona, and start posting under that name...


----------



## rootfreak (May 17, 2007)

Its OK! I haven't killed the wheel just yet. I don't have a vice, so that's out of the question at the moment (though it would probably be the best solution). Forgive me, but I don't know what a breaker bar is. If it's a cheap alternative, I may consider.


----------



## mc68881rc (Sep 29, 2005)

Breaker Bar = really long pipe that you can slip over socket wrench to add leverage.

I've had luck with the following. One person holds the wheel and makes sure freewheel removal tools stays straight. Second person slips really long pipe on socket wrench and slowly (really slow) pushes on pipe to loosen freewheel. Once the thread lock breaks, stop remove the pipe and do everything as normal.


----------



## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

rootfreak said:


> ......... I don't have a vice, so that's out of the question at the moment (though it would probably be the best solution). ..............r.


Yes, you DO have a *vice*, and it's unpreparedness, followed by inexperience. 

On the other hand, if you meant *vise*, you don't really need one of those......


----------



## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Dude,
Put the complete wheel into the trunk of your auto.
Drive to local LBS.
Give the man money.


----------



## Guest (Dec 23, 2007)

rootfreak said:


> Let's see if anyone remembers how to do this. What is supposed to be a three minute job of removing a freewheel has turned into two hours with nothing accomplished. My problem resides in the outer cone. It will not come loose no matter how much force I exert (I am attempting to loosen in the correct, clockwise direction). My method consists of a nail in one of the spanner holes with a hammer at the other end of the nail. I would think the force of the hammer would be more than enough to free the cone. There is no rust, so that is not why it is sticking. There is a lot of play between the cogs and the center spindle. Other than that I don't know what to tell you. I hate freewheels, no wonder they became obsolete.



Freewheels are from obsolete.

I, and many others, use them regularly.

I use them in all manner of combinations.

They are very easy to use, they are a great system and if you use the right ones they offer infinite gearing choices.

Of, course, if you don't know what you're doing ........................


----------



## steelbikerider (Feb 7, 2005)

As an old timer, I remember having to remove Regina Freewheels this way. The 2 prong remover could easily slip even when tight with a skewer. A center punch and hammer would remove the cup and cone and a pipe wrench would take off the freewheel body. The freewheel was toast unless you wanted to reassemble with all of the loose pearings, pawls and springs laying around but it was easier than finding the correct cog for a Regina freewheel.


----------



## davy tutens (Dec 23, 2007)

after inserting splined tool or 2 peg or 4 peg tool and trying to turn the free wheel off using a large spanner or even going for a scaffolding tube over the spanner or tool in the vice method and even trying this with the help of someone else for more torque.....the piece de la resistance(still requires a vice) is to insert the bottom cogs into the jaws of a vice and tighten to the point where the cogs jam against the free wheel(takes a bit of force) and then turn the freewheel off...or whats left of it :O)

brutal i know.regrease threads on hub and attach new free wheel.


----------



## RHankey (Sep 7, 2007)

A hammer and nail (or a pin wrench) will not remove any freewheel from the hub. A pin wrench will get you to the pawls and freewheel bearings. A hammer and nail will likely mangle the freehweel before it loosens anything. A pair of chainwhips is required to remove the cogs from a freewheel.

If you're trying to remove the freewheel from the hub and you don't have a vise, then use the hub's QR to clamp the correct freewheel tool securely in the splines of the freewheel and use a breaker bar on a wrench and turn counter clockwise. Once loosened, you can loosen the QR a bit. I wouldn't ues the breaker bar method without clamping the tool in place with the QR else you risk damaging the splines, at which point your hub and freewheel will never part ways.

My personal preferred method is to clamp the removal tool facing up in a vise, then set the wheel on the tool and turning counter clockwise while holding onto the rim and pushing down firmly on the wheel. Even with this method, depending on the type of spline system used, it's advisable to use the QR to calmp the tool to wheel while turning.

The correct freewheel tool varies by make, and in some instances year of freewheel. For some hub/freewheel combinations, you need to remove the outermost drive side axle nut so the freewheel removal tool can slide onto the freewheel splines. If you have this problem, you might want to grind down the diameter of this nut prior to re-installing it so you don't need to remove it next time.


----------



## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Freewheels can be messy. I ordered a Paramount custom tandem in the mid 70's. It came with a Regina 5 spd freewheel. We actually bent the pawls climbing a steep hill & had to remove it upon returning home. (until we got home, we had to ride it like a fixed gear). I replaced it with a Sun Tour heavy duty tandem freewheel.

If it were me, I let it soak overnight after hitting it hard with some PB Blaster or Liduid Wrench. Find a friend who has a vice, and use the method described by a few posters above. You might also try heat. If you have a small propane, hand-held torch, try heating the steel freewheel body. It might expand enough to facilitate removal. If that didn't work, I'd head for the LBS.


----------



## single1x1 (Mar 26, 2005)

Acs freewheel spanner tool!! I use a acs FW spanner tool, it's basicly a FW tool that is welded onto a long lever, put tool on FW tighten wheel bolt or QR some to hold it on then push down, with FW on right side standing up, but it sounds like in you situation you would need to give the tool 3 or so good hits with a rubber mallet to loosen it up. I havn't used this on multi speed fw but it always works on the SS fw's. The tool is about the best $20 tool ever invented, at Dan's bmx mailorder or could probably be ordered through a LBS


----------



## rootfreak (May 17, 2007)

I FINALLY got it off. After 5 minutes with the breaker bar, it came free. Thanks everyone for all your helpful input.


----------

