hey hi!

I just bought a Norco Monterey SL seem to be Early 1990's

The bike is Like new, the guy who use to own it ride it maybe 2-3 weeks in the summer a while ago!

The thing is, it was in "storage" so when I did a ride with it, something was strip in the gear
I meen I was pedaling like in butter and sometime it was back to normal?
My guess is the freewheel have a little problem?

Can it be something else?

Freewheel is not engaging? Flush the freehub/wheel with wd-40 and relube. It may also be unsolvable if it's cold weather and water is contaminating the spring action.

Given it's age, I agree with Operator that it's probably a sticky or rusty ratchet mechanism. Is it a Freewheel or Freehub/cassette?

For a freewheel, remove it and give it a long soak in kerosene, or mineral spirits, then drain it well and lube with a light to medium machine oil.

Freehubs are slightly more difficult to service, because many don't come off easily and you don't want to wash the grease from the hub bearings while flushing the ratchet mechanism. If you're not sure how to dis-assemble the mechanism, a visit to the LBS might be called for, but it shouldn't be an expensive job. (ask how much before they start working on it)

Yep, what Operator said. It would be nice to get the freewheel off the wheel to do this since it makes it easier to dunk and flush the freewheel without washing the grease out of the bearings. In fact it's a good idea to do it this way anyhow so that you can clean and repack the wheel bearings since this is an old bike. Same with the front, the steering head bearings and the bottom bracket. If you don't want to buy the freewheel removal tool then take the rear wheel into a bike shop and pay them to snap it loose.

A liter of mineral spirits dumped in a container that holds the freewheel will do a good job of cleaning out the old lube and grunge. Use solvent resistant gloves while cleaning it. Contact with your skin isn't doing you any good over the long run. Spin it while in the solvent and then lift and spin it slowly in the air while it's draining. Dip and repeat until it feels clean and no more grunge is coming out. Drain for an hour. To lube it squirt a generous amount of thicker motor oil into the gap between the fixed and moving portions and spin it around to spread the oil. Let the excess drain out for a few hours and wipe off the outside so it's dry to the touch but still protected by a thin film. If it wasn't damaged by rust before it'll feel silky smooth now. If it is still sketchy and rough then it had rusted from the years of neglect and you'll need a replacement. When you re=install this one or the replacement be sure to use grease or never seize on the wheel hub threads where the freewheel screws on.

The Monterey SL is a pretty darn nice bike. I got the frame and fork for one and built it up from spare parts and a couple of bought items as my first single speed. It wasn't the top end of the line by any means but it rode well, sucked up a lot of road bumps nicely as only a good quality steel frame can do. And it generally scooted along easily and quickly enough to make me feel like I was in better shape than I really was. What you have is definetly a keeper.

Yes, it's not engaging but it's intermitent (the firs time it appen, I almost fell of my bike. I was waiting on a red light standing on the bike)!

It's a freewheel, not a free hub/cassette so can't be the hub right?

I also have a "bike coop" near my place there is all the tools we need and there is volunteer tech to help. It cost 5$ a month to be member. The slogan is "dot it youself"!

And about the Monterey SL i got it for 60$ I will post some pictures soon in the c&v forum.
She's like new (NOS) hehe! I will do some mods on it maybe. I'm more a 70's bike guy than 90's white San Marco saddle (still look awsome)!

If this thing really is 20 years old and was only ridden a couple of weeks a year since new, the absolute first thing you should do is disassemble, clean and relube the hubs, headset and bottom bracket. I expect the original grease looks like dry rubber cement by now.

Several years ago I bought a used bike that had sat unridden for almost 20 years. The grease had dried and hardened to the point that any riding would have ruined all of the bearings.

Here is a tip from my LBS mechanic. I had a mid 90s bike the same problem. I was going to replace or switch out the freewheel hub. The mechanic said to heat it gently with a torch. I took a Mapp gas torch and heated the hub. It worked like a charm.

Saved me a lot of work and some money. You might consider trying it. I don't think it can hurt.

Best regards,

Mike

Yes it can hurt. That's the kind of thing you do when you *know* the freehub problem is caused by water and cold temperatures AND when the person is in a rush to use their bike.

Yes i should lub/grease everything on it is case, just a little refresh!


In the same thread,

I have a question about freewheel. I will try to save this one for sure, but this is a 6 gears wheel and the small one is 14 theets and the front big ring is 52t is there any free wheel with like 13 or 12t on market for the small one?

IRD makes 13-whatever.

Haha, i found this thread at the same time, same problem than mine!

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-IRD-Freewheel

Unless you're a serious speed demon you won't need one less than the 14 tooth small cog. About the only time I ever use anything less than 15 or 16 is going downhill with a tailwind... Unless you already know that you're a fast enough rider to make use of the smaller cogs why bother. All it does is move the chain further up the cluster to get to the gear you need and in the process messes up the chainline.

Yes i already have a discussion with another member of BF about the ratio etc..
But i'm asking that because i need a higher ratio. well i really would like to try it. 52/14 is no enough for me (i mean maybe its just the way i ride). I prefer torque than pedalling a high rpm

I build me a fixed gear an i ride it 52/16! Maybe i'm just a serious speed demon! hehe!

If its no good it will be for going downhill with a tailwind!