Freewheel problems

[Vegan]

I just got my bike out for the first time in like 3 years and everything seems like it's still alright except one thing. Sometimes when I pedal, its like it doesn't start moving the chain or something. My pedal will just fly down and I'll smack my knee on the handlebars. I have no idea why this happens, is there a way to fix this or will I have to buy something.

[Riots]

Sounds like your hub is slipping. What hub do you have?

[Vegan]

I have no clue. My bike is an eastern ace of spades complete that I bought like 5 years ago.

[Riots]

Well, I really don't know but maybe you can open the hub, and take a look at it. See if anything looks weird to you. It really sounds like your hub is slipping, but don't take my word for it and wait for somebody that knows what their talking about and help you.

[Vegan]

Alright dude, thanks. If all else fails I'll take it to the bike shop. I'm sure I'd do more damage than good if I tried to mess with it.

[jwnolte]

it probably has a freewheel that is slipping. most people will tell you to buy a new one, but there is a big chance that you can "fix" yours.

read about fixing freewheels here:

freewheel thread #1 (http://www.bmx-forum.com/showthread.php?t=88245&highlight=freewheel)
freewheel thread #2 (http://www.bmx-forum.com/showthread.php?t=102782&highlight=freewheel)

or just read this freewheel advice from George French:

freewheels are not disposable. you can clean and fix them 99% of the time, but most people are too lazy or not mechanically inclined enough to do it. here is a guide to freewheel maintainance by George of G-sport:

We regularly seem to get posts on here about freewheel problems. Most people tend to simply replace the offending freewheel with a new one but that isn’t always the best solution.

If a cassette hub has problems people take the time to fix it because buying a whole new wheel isn’t really a viable option for most people. In a very similar way most freewheel problems can be fixed, often without even taking it apart.

SLIPPING:-
Cassettes sometimes slip if the pawls get glued down, the solution is to clean them out and use a thin oil that doesn’t get sticky to lube the pawls.
Exactly the same thing can happen to a freewheel, (only more easily due to the bigger gaps).
To solve it you can take the freewheel apart and clean everything really well, lightly oil the inside and then re-assemble BUT there is an easier way. Spray WD-40 in through the gap at the edge between the part with the teeth on and the body. Spray an absolute shit load in there to wash all the crap out then ride. 9 times out of 10 that are all it takes. It’s worth doing regularly (say once a month) just to keep it slick.
The only thing you need to be careful of is NOT to get any WD 40 down in the hub bearings, in there it will wash the grease out and result in excessive bearing wear.

DRAGGING:-
A less common problem with freewheels is serious drag that can pull the cranks round. If the freewheel is reasonably well lubed (do the WD40 thing first to check) then the problem is probably with the shim washers.
A freewheel works a lot like an unsealed bearing hub.
The outer part with the teeth is shaped like the cup of the hub and the inner part is in two parts that are like cones.
When you screw the freewheel together the cones tighten down on the ball bearings against the cups of the outer part.
Obviously there is no room for lock-nuts and stuff like that in a freewheel so the tension is set by "shimming" the gap between the two parts of the body so that when it fully tightens the gap is just right.
Sometimes these shim washers can get slightly squashed (or in some cases they even fail to put enough in there in the first place).

To fix it take the top off the freewheel (with lots of freewheels this can be done on the wheel, if you cant see the cap then the chances are that it has the cap against the hub and will need to be taken off the wheel to do it)
Do the last few turns very slowly and have some newspaper underneath to catch any balls that fall out.
Inside you will see the pawls and the very very thin shim washers round the central core.
You will need to take another old freewheel apart to get some spare shim washers (I have never seen anyone selling them as spares) replace any dodgy ones or add one if necessary.
You should probably give everything a really good clean while you have it open too.

To reassemble use some basic cheap grease to glue the bearings into the cups of the freewheel outside (don’t be tempted to use some fancy grease it will probably be too sticky) and gently reassemble it all. Do the cap part up as tight as you can but don’t worry about it too much as it will self tighten....

It is well worth the effort of doing this! A freewheel you have "fixed" will last much longer than a new one which might have the same problem again.
Remember YOU will take a lot more care with your own freewheel than some guy in India being paid 8 pence to put it together....

G.


(i will add, make sure you do NOT get WD-40 or any sort of de-greaser inside your hub. WD-40 will kill the grease in your hub bearings, which is definately bad.)

[Vegan]

That doesn't sound too hard. I'll try that first.

[Vegan]

Just got back from riding and it got way worse. After I coast a little, I could pedal like 6 or 7 full turns without it catching. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to clean it out, if that doesn't work my friend said he might have an old one laying around at home.

[jwnolte]

what hub do you have?

do you have a freewheel or a cassette? if the bike is a few years old, it's probably a freewheel.

[Pau1]

i had a freewheel and the same thing happened to me. jwnolte told me to do the same thing, and at first it didn't work. but the next day or so the freewheel was engaging way better. it still skipped once in a while but it wasn't bad.

[Vegan]

Thanks dudes, cleaning the freewheel fixed it.

[hoffmanrida67]

your freewheel is toast, same thing happened to me, its becasue the pawls aren't fully engaging and it slips.