Bike Forums - View Single Post - Mystery lockring in Suntour freewheel

03-31-07, 03:05 PM

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metabike

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Quote:

Originally Posted by darsu

I'm trying to remove a freewheel cassette. It's the Suntour two-notch kind that should open with a Park Tool FR-2. I've got the tool, but that notched ring vetoes my most muscular pleas for withdrawal.

To get to my situation, picture the cog stack protruding about 1cm further out than the freewheel body; then imagine an 18-spline lockring on the surface of the outer edge of the freewheel body. What the heck is that? It resembles a BB lockring. Diameter ~31 mm. It can't be holding the cogs together because it's deep inside and doesn't even ratchet with the cog assembly. Whatever it is, Park Tool doesn't make a tool for it. Do I need to open that lockring in order to get the notched ring to unscrew, or is it irrelevant for my task?

Fit the tool onto the freewheel & run the skewer thru w/o the spring on the tool side - don't tighten the skewer totally because you need some room for the eventual turn of the freewheel body. Then put clamp the tool into a good vise & use the wheel to turn the freewheel off. I remember many a stubborn freewheels but none that ever beat me.

Don't worry about your mystery lockring - freewheel bodies thread onto the hub w/o any "lockring". Now about your mystery lockring - the last sprocket of many freewheels is threaded onto the body and that is probably what you're describing. I suppose they had dedicated splined tools but I never really used one since a guy can actually remove the threaded sprockets with a pair of chainwhips (i.e. you can change sprockets w/o removing the freewheel body from the hub).

One last thought: Working with a freewheel should give you a new-found appreciation for modern cassettes (I sure don't miss 'em)!

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