ExpertTools

A good friend has an old Raleigh hybrid bike with a 3 x 6 drivetrain. The bike was in 2' of water, (and unfortunately never serviced afterward,) so now needs a full overhaul. The chain is quite rusty, and the freewheel felt like it was full of sand, (once I actually got it to turn at all).

Can someone recommend a replacement freewheel and an appropriate chain to match? I want to keep the cost as low as possible. Any help is appreciated.

It is a 6 speed Suntour 14-30:

Bill Kapaun

Use Expert Google for 6 speed freewheel.

dsbrantjr

If your friend can deal with a 14-28 freewheel they are available for less that $15: https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-MF-TZ.../dp/B001G0X2DA ; any 6-7-8 speed chain should suffice.

Besides the chain and freewheel, the wheel, bottom bracket and headset bearings should be serviced. Brakes and derailleur too;basically all of the moving parts should be looked after after immersion in water. Not much you can do about the frame except make sure it is dry and that there is no water trapped.

JanMM

Agree with Bill. ^^ Most of us have had no or little experience buying 6 speed freewheels in recent years. Any chain labeled 6/7/8 speed should work.

oldbobcat

Alas, SunTour has been out of the freewheel business for a couple of decades. Chinese aftermarket suppliers Sunlite and Sunrace have 14-28 units that are reasonably priced, available through your local bike shop or internet vendors. Sorry, the only new bikes available with 6-speed freewheels these days are kids' bikes and the stuff you buy at big-box stores and questionable Amazon partners, so the choices are limited.

ExpertTools

Thanks for the lead. I think 14-28 will be fine given that the bike has a tiny front inner chainring. What worries me is whether the threads of the freewheel will match the hub. Is there any way to know for sure? There is NO labeling of thread pitch on the hub.

I am well aware of the fact that I will need to redo all bearings and cables on the bike. The funny thing is that this bike was so lacking of maintenance prior being in this flood, that I'm worried that damage has been done beyond just the water damage. The front hub, and the drive side pedal, for example, were SO tight you could feel every ball bearing as you turned them. As much as I hate working on really low end bikes like this, I'm just trying to do the best I can for a good friend who frankly cares little about the quality of what he's riding.

ExpertTools

Thanks for the comments folks. I really appreciate the assistance.

Let me state one other problem that I have. I live in an area where all the LBS are absolutely crazy price wise. The one in my town, the bikes have a price range of $5k-12k. The shops in neighboring towns are not much better. I recently needed some tubular cement, and had to pay $10/tube. I understand a bit of mark-up over internet stores, but adding 150% over internet prices is too much for me. There are apparently enough very wealthy people in my area that are willing to pay their prices to keep them in business. Not to mention, with such a focus on high end bikes, it's virtually impossible to find anything for a low end bike like this. With the exception of the store in my own town, which is aimed at the real high end of things, the other stores are getting $3k+ for hybrid bikes. The only places to get an inexpensive bike in my area are a department store or big sporting goods store; and they don't stock parts.

So I really need to stay with internet purchases. Not so easy for me to bring the wheel into a LBS and make sure a freewheel fits.

Mr IGH

It's very rare to see anything except English else esp on a Raleigh, esp once 6 speed freewheels came out. I've only seen a SunTour freewheels in English threads. You hub will be English thread, the replacement freewheel will be also.

dwmckee

I believe our shop has several new old stock 6-speed hubs in a back drawer. Let me know if you want me to check out what gear ranges they are. we could sell cheap. I believe all are English thread. If this is friction shifting (and it likely is) then you could use a 7-speed as well and upgrade to more modern (less ancient?) components that will be easier to source.

JohnDThompson 

You hub and original freewheel are almost certainly ISO thread (1.37 x 24tpi); SunTour would explicitly mark metric thread freewheels, e.g.:

ExpertTools

It is a 14-30 gear range. Let me know if you have one you want to part with cheaply that's in good condition.

Thanks!

Randybb

I just replaced a 6-speed freewheel on an old bike with this one for $20 from my LBS. It's a lot cheaper online. It does the job.

Shimano Freewheel TZ20 6sp 14-28 DB

KD5NRH

If the cups aren't shot, ball bearings and grease are cheap. Personally, I don't think I've ever used a bike specific grease in a hub or BB; just whatever's cheapest by the tub down at AutoZone, or a marine grease for a utility bike that sees a lot of wet riding. Once you know the sizes, buying ball bearings marketed for bikes is pointless too; an industrial supply house will often sell you 100 for less than a bike-branded set.

scott967

I highly recommend using a freewheel that has shimano-style splines for removal. Those 2 and 4 notch ones are a royal pain to get off.

scott s.
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