Bicycle Mechanics - sticky freewheel?

i just picked up a panasonic made schwinn letour for 12 bucks as a beater. i dont really wanna throw too much money or work into it but the freewheel seems pretty sticky. sometimes it will coast a bit but most of the time it sticks up and slacks the chain. is this likely an issue that could be solved by cleaning and lubing it somehow or will i likely need to replace something?

Drip light lube (Tri-Flow works well) into the thin gap between the outer shell and the stationary inner core while rotating the cogs. Enough oil should loosen the dried lube and make the freewheel work properly again. If you can remove the freewheel from the hub, do the same with the gap at the rear of the freewheel.

Disassembly of a freewheel for cleaning is for the very dedicated and wannabe watchmakers and shouldn't be necessary

i just picked up a panasonic made schwinn letour for 12 bucks as a beater. i dont really wanna throw too much money or work into it but the freewheel seems pretty sticky. sometimes it will coast a bit but most of the time it sticks up and slacks the chain. is this likely an issue that could be solved by cleaning and lubing it somehow or will i likely need to replace something?

Like the Hillbilly said, drip a little lube in it and it should free up. If it were my bike, I'd take the freewheel off, soak it in kerosene, clean it thoroughly, then drip Phil Tenacious Oil in from the backside. Freewheels treated this way don't seize up, and they're very quiet. I'm obsessive, though.

thanks for the quick resposes guys im gonna give those suggestions a try

Make sure the spoke protector isn't jamming the freewheel.

hey guys i ended up getting the triflow and low and behold the freewheel is now freewheelin! total cost spent for my ommuter bike $13.77. could use some new brake pads though

hey guys i ended up getting the triflow and low and behold the freewheel is now freewheelin! total cost spent for my ommuter bike $13.77. could use some new brake pads though

Stopping is important. Of course, new pads may double the amount you've invested.:)

or you could buy a real bike and not waste your time on garbage
Panasonic made decent to very good bikes when they were in the market. It's not a Colnago but it's not a Huffy either. It's certainly worth $12 and a bit of TLC to have a useful beater/rainbike/errand runner.

or you could buy a real bike and not waste your time on garbage

And you should stop making snide replies to threads that are 6 weeks old. :notamused: