Bicycle Mechanics - my freewheel

now that i bought my 2 notches tool and took out the freewheel, i installed it back on after i took out the backing plate.

the freewheel screwed in FINE, smoothly. (This isn't my first time taking out the rear wheel and doing this)

So i put the wheel back on to the bike.:) what do u know? the freewheel swirls..:crash:

it doesn't have any plays but it looks like its SWIRLING. what's wrong with my wheel?:twitchy:


So i took out the wheel again and just rotated it with my hands holding onto the tips of the thread.(axle)
The freewheel swirls...
So i trued the spokes. the wheel doesn't spin perfectly straight but my freewheel swirls more than my wheel touching the brake cause of truing.

Try examining the cogs on the the freewheel/cassette. Do you notice how some are beveled on one side? And others lean the other way? Notice by looking straight on the sides - some are shaped differently. This is called 'ramping' and it's built-in to help the chain shift smoother ad faster from one cog to the next.

This is perfectly normal. What you are observing "swirling" is an optical-illusion.

Try examining the cogs on the the freewheel/cassette. Do you notice how some are beveled on one side? And others lean the other way? Notice by looking straight on the sides - some are shaped differently. This is called 'ramping' and it's built-in to help the chain shift smoother ad faster from one cog to the next.

This is perfectly normal. What you are observing "swirling" is an optical-illusion.

everything looks flat and fine. but ONCE i start to spin it, it swirls like a wave going around the freewheel.

this wasn't this severe before i took it out

I am not sure what you mean by "swirl". Maybe you mean "wobble". The consensus on this forum seems to be that this wobble is normal. For example, see
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=564066&highlight=wobble

Normal wobble and optical illusion. Judge a freewheel by sound and feel, not how it looks.

Check your rear axle to see if it is bent. Freewheels are notorious for bending axles.

If your freewheel tool has two notches, may we assume it's a fairly old freewheel? Heck, even my freewheels have internal splines, although I haven't made the leap to cassettes yet. :) Could even be that the sprocket teeth aren't ramped. They weren't on the last SunTour freewheel I used, and for which I still have the remover somewhere. In any event, if I spin one of my Shimano freewheels, there's a slight but obvious eccentricity as it goes round at speed. It doesn't affect the ride, though.

I think the freewheels that used two notches to remove them were made by SunTour, were they not?

The one I had was (ironically, on my Sun), but I think others also had the same pattern.

Always hold the remover-tool onto the freewheel with the QR. With all of them - but especially the 2-notch Suntour. They can break - both tool and freewheel.

Normal wobble and optical illusion. Judge a freewheel by sound and feel, not how it looks.

i believe it wobbles, and definitely, optical illusion. it feels and sounds ok when i shift.
BUT it didn't wobbles this much before i took out the rear wheel.

It is very noticable that it wobbles.

I think the freewheels that used two notches to remove them were made by SunTour, were they not?

My freewheel has 2 notch so it is very old... around 80's.

also it is from sun tour.

Axle couldn't b bent cause i checked.. perfectly straight