Has anyone had success at finding new freewheels for their old bikes, specifically 6 speed ones? It seems that the only ones from Shimano have that ugly black large cog and the quality of the sunrace ones is less than desirable. So far I purchased a sunrace and was disappointed as it had some serious play and excessive wobble, and a Evo one (very good looking with ramps) that I could only get as a 7 speed but the chain will not run on the lowest cog. The bike is NR with english thread campy hubs and I would like the large cog to be a 28 and the small one 13 or 14.

No, but I've had sufficient success just keeping an eye out for old lightly used FWs. I'm pretty well stocked up on 5 and 6 speed units. Ex: Saturday at the transfer station I saw a POS mtn bike. The R wheel was removed so I grabbed it. 6 speed Falcon FW, 14-28. I took it home and removed the FW. I was surprised at the quality but not the wear. None. It's actually pretty rare to find a badly worn FW as most bike were just ridden around the block a bit all those years then stashed away then thrown away.

I made a 'tribute' Roholf sprocket checker and I know how to use it, know the feel of good vs worn. This Falcon was just fine. Bit of rust but unused. It's not ultra spaced but will serve on my Voyageur if ever needed. I don't worry about buying ugly new FWs.

Bought a fair number of 6 speed freewheels over the past few years, all my bikes with one free hub exception, are 6 speeds. Can’t beat the quality of the old Suntour ones, but that Shimano one with the big black low gear, and twisted teeth, shifts the best, absolutely no wobble. Have been switching all my bikes over to that freewheel, even the ones with Regina and Suntour. If you search eBay, you can get the previous model, without the black low gear, and Shimano graphics, shifts just as well, just a bit heavier.
Tim

Thanks for that info. I didn't realize they were that good and they are cheap enough that I could take 10 min dissemble and paint that cog.

Interloc Racing Design . IRD
I own 2 of them and I like them.

Regina Oro 6 speed 12-17 freewheel New in Box! BSC thread

Or you could wait for your buddy [MENTION=412879]texaspandj[/MENTION] to send you one .


IMG_0324 by mark westi, on Flickr

If there is a lockring you will find that a challenge to remove.

Some of the modern freewheels have the smallest cog threaded on so are easier to remove for disassembly.

I've removed the Sunrace lockring by filing two flats on the generous lockring flange and wrenching it off.
The Shimano lockring has too minimal of a flange by appearances, though I have removed them with more traumatic methods. Not so easy to get heavily tightened back on though.

For friction-shift applications, I generally use the older Shimano Uniglide 6s and 7s freewheels, lots of good used ones out there.
You really only need the full Hyperglide-style cogs for use with handlebar shifters (for when shifting while up off of the saddle).

Re: the black cog. I'd probably just mask off the rest, hit it with some copper-colored spray paint, and call it a day.

I'm having trouble finding a 5-speed freewheel for my rebuild as well (for downtube friction shifters). Same issue - seeing a lot of Shimano on eBay, but they all have the extra large cog. Looking for a regular 14-28t, but not be super cheap in quality. (the original was 14-17-19-21-24 but those don't exist anymore apparently)

6 speed FWs are easy enough to find at eBay.... It's the 7 speed FWs that are harder to find and usually quite a bit more expensive.....

IRD makes a 14-16-20-24-28 (and a 13-15-17-20-24, which has a decent progression.)

You might check with Pastor Bob in New Hampshire. He runs a little side business The Freewheel Spa and is very fair . He may have what you are looking for or could build you one. He is a regular here on bike forums. Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

Great Idea thanks!

I have a 7 speed Evo cheepie on my Moser and it shifts great and runs true but when I put it on my hub on the Jackson there is not enough room for the chain to clear the smallest cog(120 spacing). Maybe if I found a 30-14 7 speed I would give it a try as I have lots of room to move my axle in the dropouts and could add a washer or two.

All I could find was this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IRD...cAAOSwBKBcbLv9
Does it use a standard freewheel removal tool? or some weirdo older one that's hard to find?

Also considering this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Shi...QAAOSwE9hckU-q
and this one
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Shimano...ox!77042!US!-1
Though the seller's description basically saying these are cheap isn't exactly persuading me...

Of all those, I'd buy the UG one in a heartbeat. Even cheap Shimano freewheels work really well, and zero miles. Worth it.

IRD has an online shop, though: https://store.interlocracing.com/cl5fr.html

Thanks for those links. I have been using ebay.ca for my searches and was getting far fewer results. Both of the links you posted to sellers have just what I am looking for !

As far as quality, just about anything shimano is good quality for every day use. I cannot see any issues with them.

+ 1 -I have a 6 speed IRD Classica FW with 14-32 spread I like. You have to decide if they are $45 prettier than Shimano though

Sweet. Thanks. This, I think, just made my day a lot easier. Would you recommend the Shimano one over the IRD? It's replacing a Maillard Atom 70 5-speed freewheel - do you think the spacing will be the same/close enough?

And I found a $12 new Sachs FW in the used FW box at Citybikes, my go to store for my older bikes. No box,no history, but also it clearly had never seen a chain. Bearngs were the stiff feel you'd expect a 30 yo untouched FW to feel like. 13-28 in the gaps I wanted. Shoot me.

Ben

I PMed you.

I'm enough of a gearing dweeb that the uneven jumps from 14-16-20 on the IRD would probably bug me eventually. It depends how picky you are about that kind of thing.

[MENTION=463764]76SLT[/MENTION], thanks for posting, didn’t know they existed, silver does look better on higher end older bikes. Only problem is right now, no 6 speed freewheels in stock, and they are 4 times the price of comparable Shimano. Still if they get them back in stock, will order for my Bianchi, and Trek TX900.
Thanks again, Tim

I use the Shimano 6 speed freewheel, but take a wheel to the large sprocket and cut it off, then file the nubs smooth. Ends up as a 5 speed with fantastic clearance between the spokes and inside sprocket. Works really well with my Nuovo Record derailleurs.

The SunRace freewheels that are all chromed seem better made than the others with mixed cogs in zinc or chrome finish and some in carbon blue/black steel.

I've used a SunRace chromed 7-speed 13-25 for a couple of years and really like it. Behaves well with my Suntour GPX Accushift system, and I've even occasionally tried it on my bikes with Shimano components -- worked well on both.

I'm trying to find the 7-speed 13-28 version of the same all-chromed SunRace but can't find it, although it's listed on the SunRace website. Might be worth checking into. I think they make a 6-speed version too.