crater

how can I remove a freewheel with out a freewheel remover....ive tried the screwdriver+hammer method and i get nowhere

roughrider504

That will never work. Remover or nothing. Sometimes its hard to get it off with a remover, so yeah.

carleton

If something else could remove the freewheel then that thing would be called the "freewheel remover"...and you'd still need it to remove the freewheel. Either way, you'd have to get a freewheel remover.

pinkrobe

I had to use an impact gun and Liquid Wrench to get one off yesterday. Grrrr. Regardless, you need the freewheel remover.

marqueemoon

Just get the right tool for the job.

use your quick release or track nut (you may have to thread the nut on backwards)to hold the freewheel tool in place
clamp freewheel tool in place in a vise with wheel horizontal and the tool/freewheel side facing down
gently turn the wheel *counterclockwise* until you feel the freewheel loosen. get a friend to help turn if it's being stubborn
loosen up your qr or track nut and keep turning
wipe down the threads on the hub and freewheel
grease the **** out of both before threading the freewheel back on or installing a new one

squeakywheel

You'll never be able to remove it without the right tool. I don't think they are very expensive.

Those things are on pretty tight after you ride around on them for a while.


Edit: I guess I assumed you are talking about a BMX freewheel like a Shimano or ACS one. If you are going to be messing with singlespeeds, you should have the tool to remove them.

Maybe you are talking about a multi-gear freewheel? You just want to remove it once and then thread on a BMX freewheel or cog? I have removed one without the right tool. There are several different standards for the removal tools on these. It isn't worth owning them because there are too many varieties and you don't use them but once. Anyway, the one I removed had a 1/4 inch slot. I clamped a piece of 1/4 inch steel in a bench vise with a corner sticking up. Put the freewheel slot over the corner and turned the wheel like I was making a left turn driving the bus. Worked great.

I have another one I've never figured out how to unthread. It has a more compex interface for the removal tool. When I decide to do something with that hub, I'll just take it to a bike shop and pay them to remove it.