Originally Posted by davester

I don't know what the heck they are thinking. The earlier generation had the nice ramps to aid shifting but the innards had weak pawl springs that broke (and left me nearly stranded halfway up Mount Hamilton). They then went off the market and came back with a "new improved" version that eliminated the shift ramps. What happened? I suspect that they just shifted from one crummy Chinese vendor to another Chinese vendor that had stronger springs but said "we don't do ramps". The springs haven't broken on my newer IRD freewheel, but the locknut did come unscrewed on a ride, vomiting ball bearings all over the road. Count me as no longer swayed by IRD's marketing ad copy. Here's what they say on their website, with my comments in parentheses:

• Special teeth profiles (Don't look special to me. What does this even mean. Also, what happened to the ramps that were one of the best reasons for getting your earlier version?)
  
• Fully chrome-plated cogs (That's nice, but Suntour Perfect and Winner cogs didn't need chrome plating...is this actually necessary)
  
• Heat-treated for durability (Not sure I believe this...got any proof that your cogs are more durable? Is the chrome plating heat-treated? If not, how does heat treating the cogs help anything?)
  
• Alloy and polycarbonate glass fiber spacers (Aluminum and plastic...so what!)
  
• Double row precision bearings (Is double row better? Do other freewheels have only a single row? How precise is "precision"?...aren't all bearings precision?)
  
• Labyrinth seals (Draw us a diagram. I didn't see any labyrinth seals when mine disassembled itself on the road. Does this keep out dust? dirt? water?...or keep it in?)