Originally Posted by
xroadcharlie
I have read about instances where a freewheel has fallen apart while riding, Its tiny ball bearings and perhaps other parts spewing out all over the roadway.
Here's a pic of those bearings.
As you can see, there are two races, one on each end of the "cylinder".
From the size of the bearings, I believe only light oil is needed for the bearings, same light oil used on pawls. A lot of folks mistakenly use grease on pawls and that glues them up.
I don't know how these are assembled from factory, I have to use grease to hold in the bottom bearings.
The top bearings actually don't need to be held in by grease as seen on the cogs. They can be dropped into the race right before the locknut is put back.
And for the heaters that think rebuilding freewheels are a waste of time, I can do it in about 30 minutes including the ultrasonic, and is much faster that going to a friend's LBS to buy one. From the quantity of bikes I flip, I do about two dozen of these each season. I love using my profits on beer and old cheese.