Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,805
Likes: 1,772
From: Northern California
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
I've seen Chinese freewheels with ball bearings that had a large chip off of their round shape, so the freewheel wouldn't coast freely and had the chain dragging and even whipping as I coasted.
Some of these freewheels seem to be thrown together with no quality control inspection whatsoever, and some come heavily greased to cover up their rough bearings but which causes heavy drag.