So this may be an ignorant simpleton type question, but how do I get this off? The two small depressions seem too flimsy to be it, and I haven't seen a tool that would fit, so that's gotta be access to the innards, right? Is it two chainwhips, one on a rear cog and another on a front one and turn the front one counter clockwise?
7 speed freewheel, Suntour Japan. It's on an old Bianchi Eros (Japan). Everything seems to be Suntour Radius stuff, the shifters are on the downtube, front is micro-ratcheting friction type, rear is indexed, marked Radius Accushift Plus.
7 speed freewheel, 13 tooth to 23 tooth. Marked Suntour Japan



Closer view

Are there splines on the inside for a remover-tool to grab on to? I can't tell from the photos. That center hole actually looks smooth though.

There are no splines or notches, just those two itty-bitty holes on either side of the bearing cone. It's nothing like my other Suntour 6spd freewheel which takes a Park tool, no problem.

I can't tell for sure, but if it's on a cheap steel hub, it isn't a standard screw-on freewheel. It's sort of a cassette hub hybrid, using the outside of a freewheel body, and the inner part is one with the hub. These are fairly common on low end bikes, though rare in bikes sold through the LBS channel.

You take it apart by loosening the outer bearing cone with a pin spanner (I think it's a left hand thread, but don't hold me to that), and the mechanism comes apart like a freewheel with the balls falling all over the floor.

These were not designed for easy service, the assumption being that the bike would spend it's life collecting dust, or the wheel would fall apart long before the hub or freewheel unit would need service.

Those 2 pin spanner holes are typically, for the bearings in the freewheel ..

I'd just replace the whole wheel , in this situation..

Remove outer cog using chain whips and the last 6 slide off?

=8-)

If I'm not mistaken, that's one of Suntour's crazy inverted freehubs where the cone is built into the hub, and the cup threads onto the axle. In which case you'll either live with it, or get a new wheel and freewheel/cassette.

Never seen on of those before????

I'd remove the the retaining ring and dissemble the freewheel. You should then be able to clamp it in a vise with a couple of small pieces of ply wood to protect it and turn the wheel to remove it.....maybe.

What a weirdo PITA... I'd go destructive removal to salvage the spokes and bugger the whole mess off for a Shimano freehub FTW.

It's a Suntour Alloy hub, 32 hole, marked 7s. It does use the inverted cup for about 20 3/16" bearings. The wheels are bronze colored Araya double wall w/eyelets. It's from a Bianchi Eros with indexed shifting. I'm surprised to find a poor quality set up on a Japanese Bianchi made for LBS sales.

I'm way too fat for this bike, I'd taco the narrow 32 spoke wheels in minutes. What I wanted to do was take this freewheel off and use it on a new wheel (actually an old spare one) on the same bike, avoiding compatability issues with the existing indexed shifter & derailleur. This is an old school entry level LBS "racing" road bike, late eighties, early nineties. 126mm rear dropout spacing.
I just wanted to take the thing for a gentle ride on a spare set of wheels & enjoy the relative nimbleness & quick response versus the cruiser & heavy touring bikes I have to ride now.
From looking at Sheldon Browns archives it seems that the Suntour Freewheel used a somewhat unique offset assymetrical tooth & sprocket arrangement (that he liked) and I was concerned that if I just went & bought a new 7spd freewheel that it wouldn't work properly on the bike, I'd perhaps have to change shifters/deraileur.

Put those wheels in a Museum!

=8-)

Yea, nice rims , carefully loosen all the spokes, a part of a turn at a time,
so you can re-use the rims
and have another wheel built with a hub you actually can,
in the future, service.

What do you weigh? You may be surprised how strong these wheels are... they can prolly handle a 90-100kg rider if built properly. Maybe throw a 2-4mm spacer under the left locknut to take some dish out (and just jam it in the frame) if you're heavier... the 25mm tyres should be appropriate for guys up to about 90kg, too.

As for the odd spacing of the Suntour freewheel, it shouldn't be too hard to replicate it on a Shimano freehub by messing around with spacers.

Thanks Kimmo, but I'm 122kg, way to heavy for these rims, even with 28 or 32mm tires. I was concerned that the Suntour indexed shifter & deraileur wouldn't work properly if I put on a different wheel with a shimano 7speed freewheel. I guess I could try it. All I wanted to do was pop some wheels on this bike & go for a nice gentle ride & enjoy it a bit, untill I've lost enough weight to ride it properly. I'm going to put a 28mm tire on the front, & depending on fit, may go with a 32mm on the rear, I don't need tiny 25mm tires. I'm not speedy, but I enjoy the "nimbleness" & "quick response" of this type of bike versus what I ride now.

That's it, go ahead, make fun of my old stuff!

You're right to be concerned; it won't work properly because:

So what you do is get a wheel with a 7spd Shimano freehub, dismantle the cassette, and take 0.2mm off the outer three spacers.

Actually, you shouldn't need to worry about the cast-in spacer on the last cog since the derailleur usually sits on the limit screw for that one.

Now I'm wondering if 0.6mm overall discrepancy is worth the trouble... try it normal first.

A belated thanks for all your help guys. By the way, I called Park & the guy new immediately what it was, he said use two chainwhips, one on the smallest cog, the other a few cogs back. The small cog acts as the lock ring on a modern cassette.

Like this (except this is in the tightening position)


Here is the front locking cog shown


Looks sorta like a modern freehub/cassette once it's apart


Except the cup & cone are reversed on the drive side of the hub! The cone is here


The cup is here, on the axle!


And the bearings are 3/16" not 1/4". And there's like a dozen of them!