Hi, it’s been awhile. This is my Schwinn Woodlands I got new in 1988. I’ve been slowly renewing parts on it with OEM looking parts, as time and money allows. I’ve never done anything with the chain besides lube and clean it occasionally. Last year I had a cracked link so I decided to replace it with a Walmart chain listed for 5 speeds. 1/2”, 3/32-1/8”.

Well even after matching the length, the new chain skipped like crazy on the two smallest sprockets. I thought perhaps it was low tension from the derailleur, so I tried a NOS Shimano Tourney, same model as the original, and no change. I put the original back on but with new jockey wheels as the originals had noticeable slop. No change. Tried shortening the chain to increase tension. No change. Bought an extra new chain.

So I replaced the cracked link and put the old chain back on. Works great again but ain’t gonna last forever. I read a lot about worn freewheel teeth causing skip with a new chain. But I’ve found many pictures with sprockets that look similar to mine and people say it’s not really that worn at all. It also runs great, a few years ago I pulled it apart and cleaned and lubed the internals. I ride 90% on paved trails.

This freewheel seems hard to find, it’s a Shimano MF-Z012 with 14-17-21-26-32 teeth. Most I see top out at 28, and my 32 is really important to me for hills. If anything I’d go bigger, but absolutely not smaller. I don’t want to buy another freewheel if it’s not needed. I’m also reading that there are different tooth forms, etc. that would behave differently. Mine is a friction shift, no indexing.

Granted the old chain has some old lube buildup, but it looks a bit different. It looks heavier, and all the plates appear to be straight. More like an old BMX. Where the new chain has scalloped plates and while the inside width is the same, it’s definitely lighter and more twisty and flexy.

So to get to my questions. How does my freewheel look for wear? And is there a different type of chain I should be getting?