Today I broke the freewheel on my bike. It is a "Falcon" brand, 14 teeth on the small cog, 28 on the largest, 7 cogs, with less than 150 miles on it. Can someone please tell me if I am on the right track as far as replacing it?

1- Clamp Park tool FR-7 into a vise.
2- Put wheel/tire combo onto the tool.
3- Turn the wheel in the normal "loosen" direction really hard.

Eventually the freewheel and cogs unscrew. So far so good?

NEXT:
1- Buy this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SHIMANO-7-SP...item43ab4b8015
2- Tap foot expectantly while I wait for it to arrive.
3- Lightly grease the threads on the hub
4- Very carefully, so as to avoid crossthreading, screw the new freewheel onto the hub.
5- Get it pretty tight with my fingers, BUT, it will actually self-tighten as I ride.
6- Put wheel on bike, ride a little.
7- Readjust everything on the rear derailer.

Does that cover it all?

What do I need to know about anything involving shifting, spacers, derailers, any of that?

Thanks so much for your assistance! I love doing my own work. Saving money is nice too.

It's imperative that the freewheel remover is securely clamped against the freewheel, otherwise it'll slip up (no pun) and you'll chip a prong.

Use the axle hut or QR to hold the remover on tightly, then put it in the vise. Turn the wheel to the left to remove, but the moment the freewheel breaks loose, stop and loosen the nut or skewer, otherwise as the freewheel moves out it'll damage the axle or skewer.

Other than that, you have it, so go ahead.

Necessary for the old 2 prong and 4 prong freewheels, but really not with the newer Shimano splined freewheels. The splines are so deep it won't slip especially when used in a bench vise as described.

If you don't have a bench vise a wall can be substituted but doesn't work as well. Have the wheel upright and roll it to a nearby wall so you don't have to try and hang onto it while you crank on the tool.

This is a little nitpicky, but I'd say heavily grease the threads. As long as you don't make a mess with it you want as much grease on there as possible to make it easier to remove the next time.

Ah, yes, I had seen these ideas somewhere. Thank you for the reminder.

I'll probably use the QR to hold it in just for belt-and-suspenders safety. But, I see what you mean - I was surprised that they recommended nutting on that big deep splined tool... Thanks for the tip re: the wall.


I'd love for a tiny tube of actual anti-seize to fall into my lap... I will make sure to put plenty of grease on.

Thanks, both of you! The part and tool are ordered. Will be doing the job later next week.

I leave the axle nut about 1/8 turn loose, maybe not even that much. That's enough to hold the freewheel remover in place, but loose enough to give the freewheel room to loosen. If you don't have a solid bench vise, I've removed a lot of freewheels using a BIG (15") Crescent wrench. Hold the wheel vertically in front of you and push down on both sides at the same time.

If your freewheel really only has about 150 miles on it, it'll probably come loose fairly easily.

I hope so!