Classic & Vintage - Whats going on with this freewheel? - Video content

I've got a freewheel that is just weird...it sort of moves up and down as you spin the wheel. I really can't describe it very well...see the video it's worth at least a thousand words.


View My Video (http://tinypic.com/r/e5qxdc/4)

I checked the axle and its definitely not bent. I also replaced all the hub bearings. Still does the same thing.

I had one that looked identical...but a bent axle was the cause (or so I thought...I'll have to dig that wheel out of the junk pile)

The machining on the inside threads and the outside threads are slightly out of the same axis. It's quite common, though usually not so pronounced.

Looks pretty normal to me. Some freewheels show more motion like this than others, but yours doesn't look outside the normal variation range. Bent axles won't make the freewheel move around like that - the axle is stationary so no matter how much it's bent it wouldn't cause the freewheel to move around.

Normal.

J

Yup, totally normal from what I hear. I have a NR hub with a Regina CX freewheel and it does the same thing. When this stuff was produced they just didn’t have the ability to get the machining tolerances as exact as we can today. Kind of annoying, but it’s just the way it is I guess.

if it really bothers you.........measure it all carefully and reverse the axle...you'll have to move the cones and cone nuts; but the other end of the axle may be straighter........ but I'm guessing that the only time you see it is when you're off the bike...........................

The fw threads on the hub(or the relationship of the sprockets to the fw's own threads)are not concentric with the bearing cups and the centerlines aren't parallel either. I never saw a bike without some wobble to the rear sprockets until recently. Some suggest it helps shifting, and I don't think they're being completely tongue-in-cheek.

Not limited to yesteryear production. Bought a new Shimano freewheel with the same problem. Returned it for an IRD at twice the price and am happier. It probably doesn't matter that much and it might even help with shifting!

The owner of the bike shop I worked in used to tell customers it's a "floating freewheel" and it does that to facilitate shifting. The mechanics always got a good laugh out of that.

Thanks guys, I kinda figured the axle had nothing to do with it being that the rim was perfectly true and just the freewheel was moving. Good thing I took it apart anyway, both sides were short a couple of bearings.

EXACT same thing happens on my Super Course, I was thinking of asking here about it but was struggling with how to word it. The general consensus is that it's normal then? It was really bugging me but I had no clue what to do about it.

i had no idea how to ask either so i just took a video :lol: thank xenu for cellphones!

Now the question is does it affect the ride? I had myself convinced that it was causing the chain the move around more than 'normal'. It's probably all in my head.

Man you guys are so outta touch. It's a BioPace freewheel. :D

:lol: we have a winner! :lol:

The Puch I just restored had the same play in the freewheel. I showed it to my LBS owner and he assured me it was normal.

I call it "wobbulating". You would think that with todays high tolerance machine tools, they could get the surfaces concentric! Now which part is not concentric, inside or outside race?

i'm hoping its the Freewheel thats a bit off and not the hub, but any way you cut it it doesn't like it has a negative effect

I had one once that was bad enough to throw off the indexed shifter.

I've had this happen before even after switching the freewheel onto a different wheel. It's just the pawls on the freewheel.

Yep mine has it as well, I thought it was me doing a bad job of the hub rebuild lol.. even though I did it pretty meticulously, good to know.

FW wobble had bugged me since the 80's. Even back then I couldn't figure out why the manufacturers cant get rid of this with better machining tolerances. This particular one seems to be one of the worst wobbles I've seen so far. It's really surprising why component comapnies can make close tolerance items like headsets and bottom brakckets, while FW makers still made stuff that did this, although as mentioned, they do not really afffect drivetrain performance.
Do threaded on FW today still do this??

Chombi

I am sure that the manufacturers have the ability to make freewheels concentric. How much $$$ are you willing to spend to get them concentric and how concentric do you want them to be? The tighter the tolerance, the more it costs to manufacture. There are a lot of parts on automobiles that have much tighter tolerances than is needed and each one of them drives up the cost of your car. The manufacturers don't have enough engineers to properly design so generic tolerances are used. Just a WA, but I would guess that there is at least $500 of cost savings in each car just in generic toleranceing. It could well be 3 or 4 times that amount. The customer pays the extra cost plus markup so the only person hurt is the engineers that got layed off. ......No, I am not an engineer.

I am sure that the manufacturers have the ability to make freewheels concentric. How much $$$ are you willing to spend to get them concentric and how concentric do you want them to be? The tighter the tolerance, the more it costs to manufacture. There are a lot of parts on automobiles that have much tighter tolerances than is needed and each one of them drives up the cost of your car. The manufacturers don't have enough engineers to properly design so generic tolerances are used. Just a WA, but I would guess that there is at least $500 of cost savings in each car just in generic toleranceing. It could well be 3 or 4 times that amount. The customer pays the extra cost plus markup so the only person hurt is the engineers that got layed off. ......No, I am not an engineer.

Thing is, I've encountered the wobbles on both cheap and expensive FWs (In fact my most unwobbly FW is not even my most expensive one.), so cost did not seem to affect whether it's present or not. Maybe they all just never bothered to update their milling equipment since pre-war times...or something. It must be the cursed "Gudenuff" approach to manufacturing that we are seeing here...no kittens killed here...move along.........Wow!, would you look at that new CF wrapped crank we're making for you too!!.....:rolleyes::p

Chombi

I take it the Freehub pretty much eliminated this problem, right?

No, those can be off center too. All you need is for the centerline of the freehub to be at a different location or angle than the centerline of the hub. There are several parts with tolerances where something could go wrong-the hub, the cups, the cones, the concentricity of the sprockets, the freehub parts, etc.

Besides, I've seen freehubs with a bit of runout, so it's not just my theory.

Not only is it normal, it's benign.

Wobbulating. That's a good one.