Bicycle Mechanics - How to strip a thread hub: A tutorial

I've started to overhaul my wife's 20 year old Raleigh 10-speed for her to use as an in-town errand bike. I was feeling good, picked up the tools and parts, and have been working on it a bit each night.

Tonight I was going to remove the 5-speed freewheel, something I had done with my bike of that era. I had the correct 2-prong freewheel tool. As suggested by a helpful LBS mechanic, I used the QR skewer to hold the tool against the freewheel to prevent slippage. After tugging a bit with the tool in a vise, I finally got the freewheel to turn.

It started coming off OK, but then bound up a bit. Fearing that I'd strip the threads, I backed off, and started again. Again & again.

To make a long story short, by leaving the #$*!# QR on, I prevented the freewheel from screwing off the hub and stripped the hub threads. Rats! ALl I have left are the 5-6 threads closest to the hub. I feel so stupid. Now I can add building a wheel to my overhaul project, once I can find a used 120mm 36 spoke rear hub.

Check through nashbar or through performance, they should have some hubs in that size.

That advice to leave the skewers on is so bogus. It caught me out once. Now I just put the tool in a vice, rest the wheel on top, and turn.

That advice to leave the skewers on is so bogus. It caught me out once. Now I just put the tool in a vice, rest the wheel on top, and turn.It isn't bogus. As soon as he noticed the first movement of the freewheel,he should have removed it.It's job was done.But brains have to be on all the time.

Now I can add building a wheel to my overhaul project, once I can find a used 120mm 36 spoke rear hub.

You could also take a 126mm rear hub and remove 6mm worth of spacers from the freewheel side. The axle may work as is but if it turns out to be too long, you could replace it with a shorter one or just saw it off. I've respaced 130mm down to 126mm and didn't have to replace or saw the axle.

FWIW - I always put a skewer on to hold the FW tool. But I leave it really loose and also leave the non-drive side spring in there.

Immediately after I saw the damage I'd done I realized what I had done wrong. In retrospect it makes perfect sense to remove the skewer once the freewhell started turning. Ahh, this is what we call experience.

I found a replacement wheel at bikeprtsusa.com, with the same rim even, for $26. Even with the added shipping costs, the lesson isn't too expensive.

That advice to leave the skewers on is so bogus. It caught me out once. Now I just put the tool in a vice, rest the wheel on top, and turn.
Your freewheel(s) must not require the old style (two pronged) tool! It's hard enough to keep them properly engaged *with* the QR!

I use a Shimano splined tool which works on Shimano and Sachs models. It has a good 1" of engagement. Can you still buy freewheels which use the 2-pronged version?

I took a bike maintence class this past summer, and when removing a cassette (I know, a cassette is different from a freewheel) they had a tool that stuck in the splines, and then there was like this shaft coming from the middle that where the q/r would go. The idea is that the shaft would keep the tool in straight while turning. I think it was pedros brand, but it was only for the lockring on shimano cassettes. I just thought it was a good idea.