Tunnelrat81

After researching 7 speed freewheels a few months ago, I decided to drop the extra money on an IRD (interloc racing design). I had read that the earlier models had some serious durability issues, that that supposedly been addressed in the latest iteration of the same freewheel.

I had my LBS order one up and was confident that enough time would have passed for the 'bad' ones to be flushed off of the shelves, and neglected to have them specifically verify that I'd be getting the latest edition.

Freewheel arrived, and my shop lubed it up with Phil Wood FW oil and spun it onto my wheel. It rides beautifully, and operation is amazingly quiet. Shifting on the IRD freewheel is AS SMOOTH with my Shimano 600 DT shifters as my Ultegra 10's shifting is on my newer bike. For the few months before the failure, I couldn't have been happier with the purchase (except for the exorbitant price).

Just last week on my commute home from work I coasted up to an uphill light and tried to initiate a trackstand....only to have the pedals drop about 120 degrees before engaging, almost causing me to fall over. I took it back to the shop and they did a full solvent flush and relube with phil wood oil again only to discover that instead of the ratchet sound while spinning the wheel in my hand, I was hearing something tumbling around inside the freewheel. I asked them to send it back for a warranty replacement, which they happily did, but I have mixed feelings about riding their stuff again. I'm hoping that what they originally sold me was the older failure-prone freewheel, and that they'll send their newest one back as a replacement. This bike, although being 26 lbs and having DT shifters, is my backup for longer/faster weekend rides when my other bike is down, and I need to count on a reliable drivetrain.

I understand that having been aware of the previous problems, I WAS taking somewhat of a gamble on this purchase, but really wanted to go with the nicest freewheel possible, trusting that I wouldn't have to deal with any of the previous problems. But only time will tell now.

Just thought I'd pass this along, and I'll try to update you once the new one shows up and I've got enough miles on it to start building trust again.

-Jeremy

operator

IRD makes nice things now? Rofl?

Tunnelrat81

I wouldn't mind hearing an explanation of your thoughts. I apparently don't have the history of the company, and experience to back up my assumptions like you do. I had heard from my LBS that they make good stuff, from other online sources that stated that other than the Mark 2 version (failure prone) of the 7 speed freewheel, that they were the best option for currently produced freewheels, and this is all I had to base my apparently ill informed comments on. I do value the input I get on this forum, but some context to complement the opinion would be nice. Thanks.

-Jeremy

operator

We sold a ****load of freewheels - 5/6/7 speed at our old shop. The only ones we really carried were shimano ones. Our shop was commuter oriented. Low maintenance, only bring it in when your bike blows up sort of deal. We've never had any problems with those excecpt for the typical winter "my freewheel" froze type of problems. Never heard of IRD being an exceptionally high quality freewheel manufacturer or we would've had that as an alternative. The shimano freewheels were cheap $12-$30 max and they worked.

Tunnelrat81

Not to split hairs here, but to laugh off the legitimacy of a brand based on the fact that the shop you worked in didn't carry them is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? I've gotten advice on this forum for LOTS of excellent products that my LBS doesn't carry or seem to know anything about. No big deal. I inform them so they'll have the opportunity to source it for me, and if they can't, I'll order online. I get the impression that most LBS's have certain suppliers that they work with and are familiar/trusting of the products that supplier sells, but not necessarily of products they don't.

Now don't get me wrong, I paid more for a freewheel that failed, and am posting somewhat of a warning to others doing research on here...HOWEVER, doing a bit of research on the product yourself would likely show you the same thing that I found in my own, that IRD DOES have a good number of happy customers, and apparently are capable of making quality stuff that people are willing to pay a premium for. They just happen to have some products that have a higher than acceptable failure rate mixed in. The specific complaint about the shimano freewheels is that they wear quickly. It was also important for me to have a 13 T cog in the cluster, where the shimano freewheels at my LBS only went down to 14. That's quite a difference.

Just noticed that even our beloved late Sheldon Brown held these IRD freewheels in high regard, so apparently my frivolity at purchasing an overpriced freewheel was grounded in something.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/freewheels.html

-Jeremy

operator

I figured you'd say that. Imagine that I didn't say that then re-read my post.

Besides the availability of different gear ranges there is no reason to pay a premium for IRD freewheels. The only thing your sheldon link boasts about is that. Durability argument is bogus when you factor in that the freewheel costs $20.

Panthers007

This bodes interesting. I have an IRD 7-spd. freewheel. I only ran it 100+ miles and it was smooth and silent. Now I have different hubs for cassettes on that bike - and was going to built a set of wheels around the IRD 7's. Me thinks I'll be keeping a standard Shimano freewheel kicking around.

Thanks!

meb

Which IRD freewheel failed?
Maybe a way of being sure of getting the improved IRD freewheels is to only get IRD freewheels that have the newer cog patterns.

What is the nature of your failure on this freewheel?

Slightly off topic but closely related, anyone know how those new Epoch 11-28 & 11-32 freewheels are holding up?

HillRider

Just to throw another idea into the mix:

Nashbar sells their private-label 7-speed freewheels for about $25 and have a 13x32 configuration available. I 'm pretty sure these are made by Sun Race and, while not the smoothest shifting things around, they seem to be reliable enough.
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...1_10000_201527

Bike Tools Etc also sells them under the Sun Race name and has a 13x28 for $20. Here is their part number SUNRACE 7sp INDEX FREEWHEEL, 13-28T (Item #SU-HG71) $19.00

Finally, The Third Hand has both Sun Race and various Shimano 7-speed freewheels including a pre-indeved 13x28 for even less.
https://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi...id=17246125195

Tunnelrat81

The one that failed on me was a 13-28 gear range. From what I can gather, it was the Mark II version of the freewheel that was most prone to failure, and that they've since come out with a Mark III version that supposedly has improved durability. The failure I experienced was simply missed engagement. Anytime I was freewheeling and then started pedaling, the engagement point would be anywhere from maybe 75 degrees - 180 degrees before the Pawls engaged. Once the problem started, was able to ride my 7 mi. round trip to work 2-3 more times while the problem slowly worsened. It acted like there was thick grease inside that was causing the Pawls to stick...however, this was shown to be an incomplete explanation once they serviced the freewheel and I could hear something rattling around inside. I suppose there could have been a gummy grease problem to begin with because they said when they soaked it and then pushed air through it to get the solvent out, chunks of hard grease of some kind came out...but that doesn't explain the broken parts inside.

Before purchasing I had contacted an online retailer about this and he responded by saying that for a long time they didn't stock the part because of the high failure rate...but that they've been pleased with the performance of the Mark III version, and so had started offering the freewheel. My thought is that unlike an online retailer who is easily reachable by those in search of freewheels, my LBS's supplier still had a few Mark II's on the shelf and sent it out. Surprised though that IRD would continue allowing this freewheel to be sold knowing that it's likely going to fail. Since IRD HAS to know that they have a problem product, I'd expect them to pull the Mark II's off the shelves as quickly as possible before more damage is done. Worst case scenario would be that the one I had WAS a Mark III, and that the replacement will be no better. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm going to call the LBS when the new one arrives to have them check the box for anything that might indicate Mark II vs. Mark III before installing. If it's a Mark II, I'll try my best to refuse it and get a refund.

OLDYELLR

I see that Harris also both Shimano and IRD 13-28 7-speed freewheels. I have that Shimano and it works great. The IRD is more than twice the price and we've heard complaints about them. What's the attraction of the IRD?

Tunnelrat81

There may not be any. But I'm hoping that the one I got was old stock and will be replaced by a buttery smooth AND reliable freewheel. Only time will tell.

-Jeremy

operator

Nothing that justifies a 2x price increase.

HillRider

Actually 2.5X. The Shimano and Sun Race freewheels listed by Harris are $20 and the IRD is $50. BTW, the Shimano freewheels are also "buttery smooth and reliable" without needing a newer version to fix systematic problems.

OLDYELLR

Okay, to answer my own question, I just remembered why people might choose the IRD over the Shimano; the IRD looks more "vintage", while the Shimano may be a bit gaudy for a vintage bike, with its 6 gold cogs and black large cog with white lettering announcing the brand name. However, it doesn't bother me to have it on an almost 30-year-old bike that originally had a 14-21 6-speed block.

helicomatic

I'll withhold my personal opinion on IRD freewheels, but there is a prototype Mark IV sitting on my desk that has considerably less play in the freewheel bearing than the Mark III version. Release date unknown.

Tunnelrat81

Unbelievable. Well I guess that makes me the idiot for spending so much on a product that claims to be so much more than it is and continues to move from one shortcoming to the next.

Oh, and OLDYELLR, I can't say that the color/design didn't have something to do with my decision, but my biggest concern with the shimano option was based on the reports that the teeth/gears wear out much more quickly than original high quality FW's. This may simply be an opinion, but it was enough to tip the scales.

Seriously, is it really that hard to re-engineer a product that has been around for more than half a century without it sucking?

-Jeremy

HillRider

That's one knock I've never heard against Shimano freewheels or cassettes. My experience with both is that they are more than acceptably durable and long lived.

meb

IRD has ratios you no longer can get in Shimano now that Shimano has pulled the plug on the variety they once had. Th 5 speed IRDs are available in Hyperglide-something Shimano never went back and redesigned into their 5 sppeds. Reports are the newest IRD were as good in quality as the Shimanos.
i'd go with Shimano if you can find them in the ratios you want-but that is getting harder as the Shimano selection diminsihes.

meb

Early Shimanos were not as strong on the metalurgy as the established European competitors. They and Suntour still drove the Europeans out of business with the superiority of the rest of their freewheel design.

HillRider

Early Shimano isn't the issue here. We're looking at current production.

bmwstbill

I've got a 7 speed Suntour SIS Rear DR. Which of the freewheels will shift the best with what I have?

Are all the freewheels now Chinese or are some Tiawanese or Malasyan?
bill

canopus 

I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much on a freewheel that wasn't NOS Regina. So i went with Sunrace freewheels from Third Hand. At $12 on sale I can pick up quite a few and have them as backups or stock as needed. So far they haven't left me out on the road somewhere, of course this is only their first year so we will see on the longevity of them.