I see that they make 9 speed freewheels and wondered if anyone has used them?

I have considered the possibility of upgrading my hybrid bike to a 9 speed but would have to get a new wheelset as mine uses a freewheel. Would this work for now until I found a new wheelset for it? The bike does have 135 rear spacing.

Do know that I need to get a new chain, right shifter and rear derailleur.

If you really want nine sprockets on the rear cluster, get a wheel with a "freehub" rather than a freewheel, and a nine-sprocket cassette to mount on it.

The problem with a nine-sprocket freewheel is that the more sprockets you pile onto the freewheel, the longer the unsupported lever arm on the hub axle, and the greater the propensity to bend or break the hub axle. My experience is that anything over seven sprockets on a freewheel is problematic.

A freehub system is superior because incorporating the ratchet mechanism into the hub allows the drive side bearing to be located closer to the dropout, minimizing the unsupported lever arm on the axle and reducing the likelihood of axle failure.

Generally if you have a more modern bike with a freewheel then I would just ride the bike into the ground as intended and get the bike you really want. If you have the desire to convert this one do as JohnDThompson said and get a proper wheel that can support a cassette using a free hub. The only reason to use a 9 speed freewheel is...well I am sure there is one but I cannot think about one at the moment.

The bigger question might be what do you have on the rear already? If you have a free hub, then the nine speed freewheel wheel will require a entirely new hub. Which might be about as much as a entire new wheel if you have to get all the stuff to lace it in yourself.

If you do have a freewheel on the rear, then you need to know what your RD (rear derailleur) can handle. You might be buying one of those too. And it will require a new shift lever if you are indexed and it is for less than a 9 speed rear.

A free hub will be a better choice. They were designed for the wider spacing when bike got more sprockets on the rear. Even people with 5 speed FW's were getting bent or broken axles occasionally BITD and still today.

Do not waste cash on that 9 sp. freewheel.there is no real advantage to adding one or two more cog, unless you're trying to increase range of gearing, and that leads to needing a 9 sp., chain, that is longer, a 9 speed shifter, and a different derailleur capable of taking up the extra slack.

Direct Disadvantage? you still have an over-stressed hub design that loves to bend axles. AND the 9sp. freewheels i've seen are from a company called Falcon, and should be AVOIDED, Period.

Advantage? bragging fodder....and your 7-8-9(!)sp. Derailleur will still work on a 9 speed setup. unless you go for a far wider gear range... 10 sp. is where the Pull Ratios begin to change significantly.

before you ask,,, a seven or 8 speed shifter won't work to just shift 7 speeds on a 9 speed freewheel or cassette, since the distance from one cog to another changes with gear counts.

best plan? get an 8-9-10 sp. Freehub/Cassette wheel assy, a 10 sp. Der. and Shifter, then mount it all up at once.

your maximum TOTAL tooth change from small/small, to large/large cogs will need to be considered, as will your riding area terrain.

Please do not second guess what you read above. It will NOT be different when YOU do it.

It is a BAD idea. Period.

Jus' say'n

PS what sort of hybrid has a freewheel ?

Generally speaking, freewheels are found on bikes with much narrower hubs than you can mount an 8+ freewheel on without modification of the frame, rear wheel and possibly rear derailleur.

9 speed freewheels exist mainly for e-bikes that have oversized axles in their motor hubs.

most of the hybrids sold have freewheels.
the ones that don't are exceptions, and still tend to be not high quality.
gel seats, "comfort pedals", twist shifters, and those extremely heavy "adjustable" steering stems are common to the category too.
i see those stems beaten and molested into recyclable junk every now and then.
the gel seats tend to lose their covers or peel apart after just a few rides on warm days.
most of the people that buy them shop prices, not good parts.
quite a few get ridden once, then hung on a garage wall... molding fringe still on the tires 5 years later.
"I need new tires!" proclaim the wallflower bike owners, since the TUBES lost air while hanging around for 5 years....

Finding a new wheelset with a freehub for rim brakes has been difficult, most all wheels have been for narrow rims for road bikes.

Not much in the way of new hybrids out there that interest me. Don't care for the colors, or lack there of that I care for, black and grey do no interest me as that is what most come in these days.

That is weird. I can find tons of them both 135mm rim brake compatible wheels and bikes with different colors. You might need a trip to your local bike shop or step up to google.

do they have 21-25mm internal rim width? I guess that’s roughly what he’s looking for

So which is it? Seems the desire has changed from your original question about putting a 9 speed freewheel on your bike of unknown model and speeds on the rear. And now you seem to just be wanting a new wheelset for your bike of unknown model and number of speeds on the rear.


Wanting more speeds on the rear seems to suggest you didn't have the gear ratios you needed. Wanting a new wheelset seems to suggest your wheels are worn out. Which generally isn't likely. Though there can be many valid reasons, that you haven't stated.

So knowing more about why you think you want to change either will get you better suggestions.

it seems you missed the part about a freewheel hub with a 135mm O.L.D. bending axles easily, and the advice given about a freeHUB being a better choice for people wanting more gear selections.

What width tire do you want to run? It's perfectly fine to run wider tires on your current 'narrow' rim.

What bike is this? Chances are it is a low spec bike that is not worth throwing money into.

How do you figure that?

Although I didn't state it as bluntly as you have, I did mention it in my first reply to this thread that free hubs are a better choice due to bending or broken axles in even the narrower 5 speed hubs for freewheels that will have been in the 126 to 130mm wide spacing.

read up... from the post i quoted previously... "So which is it? Seems the desire has changed from your original question about putting a 9 speed freewheel on your bike of unknown model and speeds on the rear. And now you seem to just be wanting a new wheelset for your bike of unknown model and number of speeds on the rear.


Wanting more speeds on the rear seems to suggest you didn't have the gear ratios you needed. Wanting a new wheelset seems to suggest your wheels are worn out. Which generally isn't likely. Though there can be many valid reasons, that you haven't stated.

So knowing more about why you think you want to change either will get you better suggestions."

that's how i determined that you are confused and/or uninformed.

and here's what you called "Bluntly"..

"Do not waste cash on that 9 sp. freewheel. There is no real advantage to adding one or two more cog, unless you're trying to increase range of gearing, and that leads to needing a 9 sp., chain, that is longer, a 9 speed shifter, and a different derailleur capable of taking up the extra slack.

Direct Disadvantage? you still have an over-stressed hub design that loves to bend axles. AND the 9sp. freewheels i've seen are from a company called Falcon, and should be AVOIDED, Period.

Advantage? bragging fodder....and your 7-8-9(!)sp. Derailleur will still work on a 9 speed setup. unless you go for a far wider gear range... 10 sp. is where the Pull Ratios begin to change significantly.

before you ask,,, a seven or 8 speed shifter won't work to just shift 7 speeds on a 9 speed freewheel or cassette, since the distance from one cog to another changes with gear counts.

best plan? get an 8-9-10 sp. Freehub/Cassette wheel assy, a 10 sp. Der. and Shifter, then mount it all up at once.

your maximum TOTAL tooth change from small/small, to large/large cogs will need to be considered, as will your riding area terrain."

I have no idea what you seem to find wrong with that. Or why it seems to have prodded post this as a reply to me...
You need to do some clarification or just not worry about it as you probably should have done in the first place. My conversation in this thread up until your reply to me was entirely intended to be with the OP. Only the OP knows for certain the answers to the questions I asked.

"You are Confused" is the determination.
your "conversation" amounted to repeating what had already been said, then demanding answers in another post that won't change a thing.
you must have failed to read anyone else's responses.
the OP most likely doesn't care to mention the bike .. that is their choice.
i hope this is now clear enough.

It did seem odd that it wasn’t obvious he wanted a new wheel to get rid of the freewheel

If you are a person who actually uses the full range of gears on your bike (many don't), more gears can be a benefit. You needn't limit yourself to 9 gears, you can run up to 11 on an HG hub (or even 12 with aftermarket cassettes). Choose a gear range suitable for the terrain in your area. For myself, I also ride motorcycles, and ride my bicycles like motorcycles, I always shift down as I come to a stop, and shift up after I start, and as I pick up speed. More gears makes it easier to find the best cadence for a particular speed and terrain, and this increases my pedaling efficiency.

I am sorry what was a question I had, developed into this.

I enquired into the 9 speed freewheel as I had not been able to find a wheelset with wide rims that are rim brake capable as I was thinking about running 35 to 38 wide tires. I didn't think I could run tires that wide on narrow road bike rims. My 2016 Diamondback Insight 1 has 135mm spacing, it currently has a 3x8 drivetrain.

If I can run wide tires on a road bike rim, I would probably go to a 10 or 11 speed drivetrain. I do use all my gears, like having closer spacing so I didn't have such big jumps when changing gears and I do need to have a bigger granny gear as I get older and don't have the legs I used to and have no interest in a ebike.

As far as just getting a new bike,almost everything is going to a 1x system these days, which I would not prefer, rather have a front derrailer either a 2x or 3x. I am not crazy about a lot of the current bikes that are available plus my bike is in perfect condition.

I appreciate everyone's help but apologize for causing such a problem.

Don't worry, this happens frequently. No apology needed. Ignore the noise and extract what info is useful for you. Your post above should clarify things for most of the people here. I also prefer to have close ratio gearing which requires a 2 or 3 chainring setup to get a wide range. I don't see any 1x setups that would work for what I need.

Till the OP states a reason, I try not to assume.

And it seems to bother another excessively that I attempt to draw more information from the OP.

Yes there are a few. You could also get one built but honestly I don't see an issue running a wider tire on say a 19mm and then you have TK535/Deore wheels from Q that are popular for touring and commuting.

As far as tire width, IMO, you can run as wide a tire on your current rims as will fit on that bike without posing clearance issues to the frame or components. Unless you happen to ride that bike like they do in the X-games.

As for needing a granny gear, Is that just occasionally or often that you need lower ratios? If you just started riding more often, your legs will get stronger. But a change to a freewheel with those big low sprockets will probably require RD and other changes too. Your bike will shift into all the low ratios won't it? And you do use them before tiring yourself out in the higher ratios at a low cadence don't you?

It's hard for me to believe that a 3 x 8 doesn't have a low enough gear ratio. At least if you are riding roads. If you are off road, then I'm oblivious to that type of cycling. But perhaps a crank with smaller sprockets or getting smaller rings for the existing crank might be a good choice. And if the RD will allow you to get freewheel with a few more teeth on the low sprocket, then you might be able to handle those steeper places you are needing the granny gear for.