Roasted

I've grown apart from the BMX/freestyle era. Now I'm into mountain biking and such, but my little brother who's got a Rhyno freestyle bike asked me this afternoon why his chain was messed up. At first glance, it looked 110% fine. I took it for a ride and I figured out what the problem was.

When you are going downhill pretty fast and stop pedaling, every so often you feel something "grab" as if it's trying to turn the pedals. It's not hard like it'll grab and turn the pedals no matter what, but it's enough you can feel it's not right.

I took the wheel off and spun the gear and it spun just fine. It didn't hesitate or anything, just kept spinning. But once back on the bike, it was doing the same stuff. My other brother has the exact same bike (they're matching Rhyno's) and his doesn't do this, yet their chain tension seems to be the same.

What can I do to fix this?

FireTeamCharlie

Its probably the freewheel.

CMcMahon

The main problem is that it's a Walmart bike, and has a factory guarantee to self-destruct.

hypersnazz

The freewheel internals are probably slightly out of round (because freewheels are cheap and disposable), and the drag only shows up when it's under tension, which is why the thing spins fine when you take it off the bike. Probably nothing to worry about.

Roasted

I understand it is a wal mart bike, however... instead of shooting your mouth off with your thoughts on the bike self destructing perhaps we could make some progress over figuring out this problem. He is 10 years old, I highly doubt he needs a 400 dollar freestyle bike.

Now, back to the subject... What exactly is the freewheel?

Roasted

Under tension? But if this were the case, wouldn't it only make sense that it would do this drag while pedaling? Because it doesn't do it while pedaling, it only does it when you are freely coasting and you stop pedaling. You folks know when you stop pedaling you hear that high speed clicking... at that point is when it starts... but from what I've seen, it only does it as slower speeds. I coasted to about 10 mph before it started up.

CMcMahon

The freewheel is the rear "sprocket"; it's the gear that spins freely on the back hub. I've bent several of them, and what you're describing is pretty much what always alerted me to the problem. So, basically, you could just get a new freewheel.

And you could get a bike for about $150 or $200 at any bike shop that's vastly superior to a Walmart bike, and probably even has the handlebars facing the correct direction and with brakes that work semi-decently.

FireTeamCharlie

Oil it up, if that down work, give it a love tap. BTW, Beerman hates anything cheap like Walmart bikes and foams at the mouth at the mention of cheap crap.

CMcMahon

Like the kid who wants an expensive bike so he can impress his neighbors should even be talking about that subject.

The fact that I could walk into a Walmart and point out at least a dozen design flaws on any of the bikes for sale there, without even going into the materials used or improperly installed parts, is enough to explain why I don't like them.

Roasted

Yeah, I kind of figured that. There's these kind of people on every type of forum. I mean, you go onto a car audio forum and read about someone who just wants to add a LITTLE bass to their setup, but then all of these brand-*****s jump on their case saying NO YOU NEED THIS SUBWOOFER CUZ IT RULES (yet that woofer costs 800 dollars). Makes sense, doesn't it? My brothers put about 10 miles on their bikes a week. I highly doubt they need anything more than a damn wally mart bike anyway. And to be completely honest, the bikes they have look VERY comparable to the freestyle bike I used to have, which was bought in a bike shop. I have no clue where their bikes came from, whether it was wal mart or toys r us I'm not sure.

Back to the topic: His chain is already oiled up pretty nicely, anymore added would just cause a huge amount of excess oil to fling around. How much does a freewheel cost?

Roasted

Dear "Beerman,"

There is something you don't understand. You are obviously a more skilled and devoted biker than some other folks. There ARE people... I repeat, THERE ARE PEOPLE out there who don't need these higher end bikes as much of the forum users ride. Bottom line is, my brothers are quite young yet, they can't even pull a wheelie. These bikes are just for them to putt around the neighborhood on with some spiffy looking pegs, simple as that. Now, if they were going over 10 foot jumps and trying to act like some of the BMX guys on ESPN2, then I'd say hell no get a different bike.

There are different bikes for different people. Despite the fact 99% of wal mart bikes are trash for trails and actual jumping, there are people who just get them to putt around, simple as that.

With that being said, it would be nice in the future if you understand someone's situation and reasoning behind why they bought the bike they did before you shoot your mouth off.

Thank you,

Roasted.

CMcMahon

About $20, with installation, at most bike shops.

And it's not the fact that I'm an "anti-cheap products bastard", it's the fact that those bikes are about as safe as a 2000 Ford Explorer with Firestone ATX tires.

Roasted

Ford Exploders you mean?

I really don't know what to tell you, I agree to a certain extent, but the frame is solid, the wheels are tight, and nothing is coming off of the bike, so going 20 mph down the street won't hurt... I know that much.

hypersnazz

$10-20 for a freewheel.

His problem with Wal-Mart bikes is the same problem everyone's got with 'em. They're cheap, obscenely heavy, prone to breaking and they'll never roll smooth or work right unless you're one of the lucky few and you don't actually go ride 'em...ever. There's a good reason many bike shops *refuse* to do any work on Wal-Mart bikes. Every time I've done work on one at the shop myself it's been a diasaster and required twice as long and probably wound up costing the customer more than the difference between that and a real bike.

CMcMahon

That's true. Just wait until they start jumping off curbs, though. Trust me, I know from experience; back in the day, me and the neighbors had a pile of assorted crappy bike parts three feet high in the backyard collected from the Toys-R-Us bikes of other kids in the neighborhood. I figure that we broke one of those pieced together bikes every other week, jumping off curbs and hopping up stairs.

FireTeamCharlie

I agree with you there but that kid probably isn't doing tail whips, and hitting jumps. And my expensive bike serves its purpose, I jump the thing, grind, do tail whips, and other bmx tricks I may not be that good but i god damn try.

hypersnazz

Until the kid starts beating it up, the bike starts breaking and the replacement costs of all the parts exceed what you would have paid in the first place for the right bike (which honestly isn't that much). I too know the sad downward spiral of piles and piles of broken stems, bent axles, tacoed wheels, tweaked forks and cracked frames littering the toolshed.

FireTeamCharlie

Thats what the woods next to my house looks like.

KinetikBiker

i agree with almost everyone in that, yes the bikes are unsafe, yes there fine for what those kids are doing and, yes the people that put the "wall-mart" bikes dont know what they are doing and hopped a fence to get here and now try to build bikes for a living...as far as freewheels, how in the hell did these kids break or blow out their freewheels...ive only blow out 4 or 5 and im over 100 pounds...

hypersnazz

QED, my son. Once again I am amazed by your ability to to inadvertently prove the point you argued against.

*bows*

KinetikBiker

QED.....who the hell is that...i almost get what your saying...

try not to be funny...its not working for you...

hypersnazz

Quod erat demonstrandum, go look it up. And try not to pretend to understand my subtle and complex sense of humor.

Roasted

Instead of trying to argue that my brothers will outgrow the ability of their wal mart bikes tomorrow, which I hate to burst your bubble but I highly doubt they'll be jumping sh*t by next week, and talk about the freewheel like this thread is about.

How can you tell by the naked eye that the freewheel is goofed up? It looks absolutely fine to me, no bends or breaks anywhere. I was wondering if maybe the inside of the sprocket wasn't lubricated right, or something?

hypersnazz

You can't. If it's that big a deal, bite the bullet and buy a $12 freewheel and a $5 removal tool.

Roasted

All of the sites I have saved are mountain bike related.

Can you suggest any sites to get these items at?

Thanks in advance.