Hi all,

I'm attempting to overhaul the rear hub on a road, which has a shimano freewheel for which the FR-1 lockring tool does not fit.

I am positive that the hub is a Shimano and a freewheel. Has anyone ever encountered this issue????

The bike itself and (I assume) most of the components are from the mid to late seventies; could this partially explain?
Growing increasingly frustrated and want to ensure that I've exhausted all my options before I look at replacing anything (hub, wheel, etc.).

Thanks!

if the spline pattern is about 1/8" or so smaller in diameter than you have the old Shimano "boss" remover.

The giveaway is if you compare the hole in the freewheel to the axle cone and locknut. The old design was too small for a thin walled remover to slip over the locknut and into the freewheel.

Besides the right tool, you'll also need to remove either the locknut and spacers from the right, or the entire axle from the left. These hubs often (but not all the time) have a large "locknut" with built in spacer on the right, that comes off so the freewheel can be removed. Behind this part is the actual cone and locknut.

Given the cost of the tool, consider letting a bike shop or co-op charge you $5.00 or so to remove this for you if you're going to replace with a newer freewheel. To keep the cost down, remove the right side spacer or the entire axle (and loose balls) so all the mechanic needs to do is slip in the remover and pop off the freewheel.

I agree with FB- the earlier splined Shimano freewheels used a smaller-diameter tool than the ubiquitous FR-1.

Another source is Bike Tools Etc.:
https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...s-Splined&q=&s
, listed as "SMALL DIAMETER SHIMANO FW REMOVER (Item #UB-FW20)"

Here's one at a civilized price. Looking at the photo, I believe this is a CT-4 made here in the USA by Bicycle Research.

Over the years, Shimano used at least 3 mutually incompatible freewheel remover designs. Early Dura-Ace and 600 freewheels used a two-prong remover compatible with the old Regina two-prong design (but not compatible with the SunTour two-prong design). The entry level Shimano freewheels of that era used a splined design with a narrow-bodied extractor that required removing the outer locknut and spacers from the hub in order to seat the extractor tool (pictured on the right, below):



Later Dura-Ace and 600 freewheels used a splined design with a wider, thin wall extractor that fit over the locknut and spacers much like the Zeus and Phil freewheel removers (but not compatible with those). That tool is depicted on the left in the picture above.

Does your freewheel have any model designation on it?

I think bicycletool.com is Bicycle Research, but I hope they still have them in stock. The website's copyright date is 2009.

Thanks to everyone who replied for all of the information, it's been super helpful.

If only! But no, nothing that I could find. All it says is "Shimano Freewheel BA". (Whatever BA means, but google didn't seem to think it significant).

Did you find a remover yet? If you can't find one at a reasonable price, say less than $15.00, you're better off letting a dealer or co-op remove it for you, at a cost of $5-10.00.

Or if you have access to bench grinder here's how you can make your own remover for a buck or two. You'll need to remove the axle cone and locknut from the left, then slide the axle out to the right, and recover the loose balls (or buy new ones).

Now bring the wheel to a decent hardware store and look for a square or hex head bolt that is a jam fit into the splines of the freewheel. If you're lucky you'll find one, but most likely will buy the nearest bolt larger. Grind the faces until you can just jam it into the splines, then grind two flats into the shank just under the head so you can hold it in a vise.

Jam the bolt into the freewheel, mount in vise holding by the flats, and turn the wheel to the left. Don't be surprised at the amount of torque needed, it'll be a lot, and the spokes may creak or ping, but if you did a decent job making the remover the wheel will spin free.

Reading the descriptions, the third tool you described (pictured on left) sounds most likely.

BA is likely a date code.
Jan of either 1977 or 2003.
Since you said mid to late 70's, a 1977 model year seems plausible.

Any chance you could post a picture of it (the business end, where the remover would insert)?