sknhgy 

First axel was fixed, under warranty, by LBS. 2 months later it breaks again-not under warranty.
It has been suggested to replace freewheel with freehub at my expense.
I'm considering this route because I cannot trust this bike the way it is.
Anyone who knows more than I do about this (I know very little) have any other suggestions before I go into the bike shop and grab my ankles?

miamijim

First, a few general questions.

1. how much do you weigh? If your heavy, switch.
2. what type of riding do you do? If you ride off-road, switch
3. how many speeds are you running? This relates to cost....

Broken axles are usualy caused by:

1. Hitting things or,
2. mis-aligned rear drop outs

sknhgy 

1. I'm hovering around 200lbs (nice trick huh? 200lbs and hovering).
2. Off road all the time. Mostly gravel. No jumps, bumps, etc. I ride conservatively.
3. 21

N.B. I have a good number of broken teeth on my sprockets-both front and back-and I don't know how they got there.

astrodaimler

+200lbs? Buy Phil Wood hubs and have LBS build a wheelset.
I sure hope Axel is okay. I love 80's music. "welcome to the jungle....."

mtnbiker4791

freewheel hubs have an inherently weaker axle set up compared to a cassette. Have the LBS show you the differences and you will see why. its all about the bearing placement. as farf as the "broken teeth" goes it is something you may have not noticed befor but there are teeth that are cut or smaller that aid in shifting along with the shifting ramps and pins. Shimano used too have teeth on the chainrings that looked like they were cracked and twisted alittle bit but that was part of the sis system

sknhgy 

So I probably need to go to the bike shop and have them fix me up with a freehub, whatever that is. I don't know the difference.
BTW, I think Axel is OK. I would never hurt anyone.

DieselDan

There's the problem. Inexperience.

ax0n

I'm 220 and I was bending/breaking freewheel axles. I bought a $50ish AlexRims wheel (cheapest they had with a freehub) and a $25 cassette and I was golden. I've been riding now for about 6 months on a freehub wheel and no problems. 220 pounds and I don't ride conservatively. I don't off road much, but I hop curbs, and I commute in a part of town with crappy roads.

sknhgy 

3. 21

I don't get it. I thought the 21 is how many speeds does my bike have. Am I missing something?

ax0n

He probably thought you were 21 years old. And everyone knows you don't really know how to ride a bike until you're 50. What were you thinking? Shame on you. Go ride a tricycle for another 30 years, then we'll talk about rear axles.


(the above post was dripping with sarcasm)

miamijim

At 200 lbs with the type of riding you do any generic freehub setup will work. I'm 190-ish and beat the heck out of my bike. There's nothing special on mine.