Originally Posted by
oldsrocket1965
If the axle is bent do you have to replace the entire wheel, or can you just replace the axle? Does the freewheel get damaged when the axle bends? I can see people dealing with just replacing inexpensive parts for a low end bike but if the whole wheel needs to be replaced that would quickly make the low-end bike more expensive to maintain than a bike with a freehub.
It all depends on how bad it is.
Usually a bent axle won't damage the freewheel, unless it is really bad, and perhaps takes out the tool splines.
Slightly bent, and I've straightened them, or they can be replaced cheaply enough.
Badly bent, big broken chunks out of bearings and cones, and it is quite possible the whole hub is toasted.
Unfortunately the USA is moving in a direction that it is often cheaper to replace than to do the simplest maintenance.
So, say you have a $50 wheel.
Vs an old wheel requiring $10 axle + cones + new bearings. + labor to disassemble, clean, repack, and reinstall the new parts. The rebuild quickly becomes as expensive for a shop to do as simply replacing the wheel (usually unmatched).