crazzywolfie

i was just wondering if there is any tip to make the free wheel easier to remove in the future because i am just about to install a new free wheel and don't want to have such a hard time removing it next time.

Scheherezade 

Grease the threads that the freewheel screws into on the rear hub.

John Montgomery

Nature of the beast - they're always tough to get off. The only thing you can do is get a good coating of grease or anti-seize on the threads.

reptilezs

bigger muscles

crazzywolfie

i was thinking about using grease but anti-seize sounds better. i got enough muscle

wrk101

+1 Anti seize.

reptilezs

seriously though next time brace the wheel on a wall or door jamb, secure freehweel tool with skewer or nut and grab your big breaker bar. should spin right off

cyclist2000

I don't know how much trouble that you had but I used to put the put the freewheel tool on the wheel, held in place with the skewer. I would then put the tool in a vice with the wheel horizontal. Turn the wheel counterclockwise. It should unscrew pretty easy. Greasing the threads or anti-seize will help in the future but since each pedal stroke tightens the freewheel it will always be tough to take off.

fietsbob

not each pedal stroke the first few do the job , Freewheel butts up against a shoulder machined in the hubshell ..

DannoXYZ 

There's still a significant amount of torque on the freewheel if you're in the granny-ring/big-cog gear and hammering up a hill. I've broken bench-vices and granite counter-tops trying to muscle freewheels off. I find using longer moment-arm from a 18-24" breaker-bar results in less brute-force shenanginans.

Wrapping 2-layers of teflon plumbing-tape around the hub's threads before installing the freewheel really helps in removing it later. Be sure to wrap it clockwise in the direction of threading to prevent it from bunching up and getting scraped off when you install the freewheel.

crazzywolfie

thanks for the advise. i bought some anti-seize but i think i might try the Teflon tape because i still have some Teflon tape left over from 2 weeks ago when i hooked up my compressor, air lines and air tools.

DieselDan

If you have all of that, then get a bench vise. Clamp the tool in the vise, align the freewheel into the tool, then turn the wheel counter-clockwise to remove the freewheel. I know this is a shop method and will offend the anti-bike shop snobs on the board.

hobkirk

+1 (first time I've ever done that) - I saw the tech do it on my wheel at a grade A bike shop and it was really slick. If it's a big horizontal vise, the wheel will be completely horizontal if the tool is seated properly. You can also insert the tool and then clamp it - it's reassuring seeing the tool mesh into the receptacle but it makes tightening the vise more awkward.

LarDasse74

I always called this "The bus driver turning left" And it never fails with modern multi-spline freewheels. Removing older four-prong and two-prong freewheels can be a pain, though.

FBinNY 

There are a number of ways to make freewheels easier to remove. Unfortunately none are practical or desireable. The simple fact is that a freewheel will always take slightly more torque to remove than you applied when riding.

So the keys to easy removal.

1- no large sprockets, stick to straight block freewheels.
2- no granny gears, too much leverage, so higher chain tension and torque.
3- shorter cranks, though the difference between 165 and 175 is only about 6%
4- no hill climbing
5- no sprinting
6- no hard acceleration
7- no heavy riders
8- no standing on pedals

So in short use your bike only on level ground, making sure never to work hard. It helps if you only weight 125# or less.

If those conditions are unacceptable to you, buy a good quality remover, work on your arm strength and use the vise and left turn technique described above.

crazzywolfie

^thats pretty much impossible for me. i live in a hilly town and i weight 200#.

i would like to get a vise but i'm not quite sure where to get a good one or where to mount it if i can find one. the workbench that i had built in my basement was not strong enough or heavy enough to bolt a vise to plus i had to take my workbench out of the basement when the basement flooded almost 2 month ago. apparently the basement will start being returned to its original state in 2 weeks. heres an old picture of my workbench before the flood

vredstein

You won't need a giant vice, but you won't want a dinky hobbyist vice. A 4" vice would do. Use a 6" x 6" piece of 1/2" thick mdf or plywood as a base between the vice and the bench top.

Sixty Fiver

I have the upper body strength of a little girl and a really bad back... and yet... have met very few freewheels that could defeat me.

A bench vise is the best tool to use, and is the shop preferred method, and there should be no issue with multi splined freewheels and 2 , 3, and 4 pronged models should have the tool secured with a nut / washer so they don't slip and frag the freewheel detentes.

Barring a bench vise... I have also use a long box end wrench on the tool .

When you put the freewheel back on make sure the threads on the freewheel and hub are clean and greased.

dnomel

I've often wondered where or what freewheels tighten down onto. Do they hit the outward end of the threaded hub, or a shoulder inward? I hope they don't sometimes just run out of thread on the hub and tighten up that way. Grease everything, teflon tapes sounds good too.

FBinNY 

They get to the last thread and butt up against the shoulder. After that they're like any other nut in that you loosen with the same torque you tightened it with. The only problem is that they're torqued down by all the strength you can muster in your legs. If you stood on the pedals climbing up some wall, than that's the kind of torque you'll need to remove them.