I have a bike with a slight buckle on the rear wheel. The rim is not actually bent sideways but length ways, sort of like a vertical bump in the rim. When I spin the wheel (holding the axle in my hand) it slows down and sort of "swings" back and forth where the bump is in a sort of pendulum motion before stopping. The wheel seems perfectly rideable however, and the bump isn't so bad as to be noticeable (although I haven't ridden at high speed myself, the bike belongs to my girlfriend).

The other problem I had since picking up this bike (a mid 80's Raleigh) is a sticking freewheel. This caused the chain to droop when trying to move the pedals backwards. I swiftly replaced this, but now on inspecting the rear wheel, the new freewheel (cheap one from Halfords, £12) is beginning to stick as well. I've removed the freewheel and tried lubricating but it spins and sticks intermittently, making a nasty grinding sound when I turn with my hands.

The cup and cone adjustment on the wheel felt like it could be too tight so I removed the axle and bearings, degreased, regreased and repacked them. On inspection of the axle it looked like it was ever so slightly bent but no more than the axle on my own 70's Falcon bike, which I serviced the other day and hasn't been giving me any problems.

Before I replace the freewheel for the second time, I just want to know whether any of the problems above could be causing the freewheel to break? The fact that two freewheels on the same bike have both crapped out makes me worry it could be the bike, not the freewheel that is the problem. But it seems unlikely to me?

Am I just unlucky that the new one I bought has failed already? It seems ridiculous that a brand new freewheel (even a cheap one from Halfords) would fail so soon (within 100 miles), although I wouldn't be surprised if the freewheels sold on bikes back in the 70s/80s are much better quality than the new part.