Bike freewheel installation

Do not force a freewheel -- you will ruin the hub. A bottom-bracket cup can serve as a thread gauge for a freewheel: Dimensions are usually marked on cups.

Hold the threads of the bottom-bracket cup against those of the hub, and look in between, against the light. If the threads engage tightly all the way across, the thread pitch is the same. If they rock across each other, it is different. You may check the thread pitch of a freewheel by threading an ISO left bottom-bracket cup into it not a right cup, which is left-threaded.

The cup will go in easily if the thread pitch is the same -- but do have a freewheel extractor tool handy so you can unscrew the cup. Freewheels screw onto the hub without any tools, then, as you ride the bike, your pedaling effort tightens them down.

A freewheel that has been ridden for a long time, especially by a strong rider with low gears, may be quite difficult to remove because the threads are so tight. Freewheel bodies have a larger diameter than the spoking flange of many hubs. Warning: loosen a freewheel before cutting the spokes to replace the rim , otherwise you may not be able to loosen the freewheel or to replace the spokes on the right side of the wheel.

The barrel between the flanges of many hubs will break if you respoke only the left side and then try to unscrew the freewheel. Although you can screw the freewheel on by hand, just by turning the sprockets clockwise, when you want to remove it, the sprockets don't help, because the freewheel's ratchet mechanism lets it spin freely counterclockwise. To remove a freewheel requires a special tool, commonly called a "freewheel puller " or "freewheel extractor", to grab hold of the core of the freewheel.

This tool is a splined unit that may be mounted in a vise or turned with a wrench. The splines engage matching splines in the interior always rotates with the wheel part of the freewheel body.

Different brands of freewheels have used different spline patterns, but there is a recent tendency to standardize on the Shimano pattern. Older freewheels had simple notches and matching extractors with two or four " bosses " prongs. The shape and spacing of these prongs would vary from one brand to another. It was very common for the prongs to get rounded off or broken, and to ruin the freewheel. Once the notches are damaged, or to remove and discard an old freewheel for which you have no tool, you must disassemble the freewheel and clamp the core into a vise -- left side of the wheel up -- then unscrew the wheel counterclockwise.

When using a boss-type freewheel puller, the tool should be secured against the freewheel by tightening down the axle nut or quick release skewer with the springs left off.

Once the freewheel has broken loose from the hub, remove the axle nut or skewer before unscrewing the freewheel any further -- or else you will break something. The usual technique for removing a freewheel from its hub is to clamp the freewheel puller into a solidly-mounted vise and unscrew the wheel from the freewheel. If your vise allows this, it works better if you clamp it so that the wheel is in a vertical position.

This gives you better purchase to turn the wheel. I used to work in a shop where we had a vise mounted sideways on a door frame for this purpose.

My present vise has an extra pivot that permits the jaws to be rotated degrees. Unfortunately, most vises lack this useful feature, so you may have to make do with a horizontal wheel orientation.

An alternate approach which I have found to work quite well for really obstinate freewheels is to use a suitable box wrench to hold the tool, and strike the wrench handle sharply with a big rubber mallet. I use a Park chain whip, because it has a hexagonal hole in the handle that fits Park freewheel pullers perfectly. Whatever method you use, it is best if the wheel has a tire installed and inflated. This will improve grip and reduce the risk of damaging the rim.

Installing a freewheel is quite easy, and requires no tools at all. Basically you just screw the freewheel on as you would screw the cap onto a jar. The final tightening will occur by "foot power" as soon as you ride up your first hill. You can feel the freewheel slip forward. Still, if you are building up a bicycle for someone else, it's a good idea to tighten the sprockets with a chain tool, or to pedal the bicycle in all the threaded sprockets, to avoid creating the impression that something is wrong.

The foot power is very considerable, and that's why it can be so hard to remove a freewheel that has been used for a while, especially on a bike with low gearing. To prevent future difficulty with removal, it is very important to grease the threads before screwing a freewheel onto your hub!

The type of grease used is not all that important, but you must use something. The anti-seize compound that is commonly used for spoke nipples also works. Make very sure that the freewheel is going on straight. Freewheel threads are unusually fine for their diameter, and the aluminium threads on the hub are soft, easily damaged if you cross-thread the freewheel. Again, if the freewheel is going on straight but starts to bind, don't force it: you have mismatched threads and will damage the hub.

This is easy to do, and generally requires no disassembly. Warning, though: unless the freewheel body is clean, the oil will carry grit and grime into the mechanism!

Hold the bicycle with the rear wheel off the ground, and leaning to the left at about a 45 degree angle. An assistant may be helpful for this.

Turn the pedals around a couple of times to get the wheel spinning fast, then let it coast helps to be in high gear for this. Look inside the smallest sprocket. You might also like. October 26, October 2, June 14, June 10, Leave a Comment Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment.

Privacy Policy Menu. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. If the tool fittings do not spin with the cogs, it is a threaded freewheel system. Before beginning the removal and installation process, you will need to determine the style or brand of cassette or freewheel you have.

The removal tool must fit the part correctly, or both may become damaged. Park Tool makes 4 different tools for the most common cassette lockring tool fitting. For an outline of the differences between the features of these tools, see the following video:. There are older model freewheels where the tool is no longer available. An old Shimano standard has 12 splines of approximately 20mm.

There is an older French Maillard freewheel with 24 splines with an approximate diameter of 31mm. Park Tool does not make tools for these freewheel systems. Turn remover only 1 full revolution counter-clockwise.

Loosen and remove skewer before continuing to remove freewheel. Continue to turn remover counter-clockwise until freewheel is unthreaded from hub.

Lift freewheel from hub. Lay wheel on bench, and hold flat. Hold freewheel so cogs are parallel to wheel rim and lower freewheel onto threads. Sight right side of hub and freewheel. Axle should appear centered in hole of freewheel.

If axle appears off center, freewheel may be cross-threaded on hub threads. Remove and realign. Begin threading cogs clockwise by hand until freewheel feels fully threaded. If a great deal of resistance is encountered, remove and attempt better thread alignment. Seat the freewheel: Use a chain whip to rotate the cogs clockwise until snug. This will fully seat the freewheel against hub.

Alternatively, install the wheel into the bike, apply the rear brake, and push down on the pedal.