Clunk, clunk, clunk...?

It's not everytime...sometimes it'll do it, then stop. Sometimes it doesn't do it. Sometimes, while its going clunk if I spin the freewheel backwards (pedal backwards) a couple of times it stops when pedaling resumes.

The cranks are tight. The reason I suspect the freewheel is there is some play in it.

Help? Where should I look? Can the play in the FW be tightened up? The hubs are campy...will any FW fit?

Here's a nice, picture-heavy thread on servicing freewheels:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...!!-Photo-heavy

There is a locking/outer race, which should have two holes. By using a thin pin spanner or punch & hammer, you should be able to get rid of the play. These are left-threaded, so counter-clockwise to tighten.

However, if there is so much play that one of the very small ball bearings came out of place (causing the clunk, clunk noise), you may have to take the freewheel apart using the instructions in the link above and service it.

Re threading, does your hub have a groove between the flange and the FW threads? Here's some more info on identifying threading on your hub:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-which-thread

Ok. So it says England 1.370 x 24 on the hub and the FW is a Suntour. I think I will swap it for a Winner Pro I have and maybe have Pastorbob rebuild it.

The old SunTour 8.8.8 freewheels used shims of varying thickness to set the bearing adjustment. If this is what you have, you may have problems sourcing the shims. In this case, replacing the freewheel may be your best bet. The New Winner series freewheels didn't use shims and could be adjusted with a special wrench, if necessary:

I'd be glad to help out. Is it a Suntour Perfect? Easy to adjust and I have plenty of spare parts.

I don't know what model it is. It isn't marked with anything except Suntour Maede Industries. How do I determine the model?

And Bob, it'll be coming your way.

Don't know about a clunk, but I have a freewheel that goes "whee!" and chortles gleefully as it freewheels in the drive direction when I set out from standing start and my groin makes a sudden and painful rendezvous with the top tube!

Pastorbob == freewheel medic. lol epic!

An almost NOS Regina freewheel I got about a year ago had a clunk in it too when it freewheels......turns out the inner body was hitting some of the outer body ramps because of a pinched up area in the inner body forging that was meant to hold a circular pawl spring in place. I ground down that high area with my Dremel to clear the pawl ramps and everything was quite after that. In fact it's now my most quite ever FW. Something that might also be happening in your FW.

Thank you! Perfects, ProComps, Alphas and New Winners are all named on the retaining ring.
Sounds as if your freewheel needs some serious intensive care.
Well, someone needs to have compassion for the poor, dirty, and neglected freewheel.
Great remedy!

Ok...so here is an update. I swapped the FW's. I took off the Suntour AP (finally saw the markings) that seems to be knocking. I replaced it with a Winner Pro. I will report any noise changes after tomorrow mornings 5:30 ride!

I think it's beyond that. It is a Sachs 80s vintage freewheel purchased NOS off Ebay and it was acting up from the beginning. I noticed that it got worse in cold weather, and theorized that the grease perhaps was getting hard. After spraying copious amounts of WD40 into the internals (without disassembly), it did indeed improve, but still tended to skip. I took it out of service, and in due course, completely dismantled, cleaned & reassembled it with fresh grease. However it is still acting up, so I'm chalking it up either to a faulty design or defective unit, or combination of the two. I've taken it out of service again, and may yet do a forensic teardown, or I may just salvage the cogs. My current theory is that the pawl springs are too weak, whether by design, or defect. When/if I tear it down, I'll see if it makes sense to try to tweak them a bit to make them stronger.

So to report back on this mornings ride...after the FW change. NO more clunk, clunk.

Now I just need to find out if the AP is worth rebuilding. Pastorbob, What do you think?

That tool looks like siamese twins kicking back.

Essthreetee - You may have a crack in the freewheel body. I had a tandem freewheel on my randonneuse (for reliability!) and 40 miles out on a randonnee it began clunking under load. Does your noise get louder if you get out of the saddle and stand on the pedals? If so, there is probably a crack opening and closing under the varying pedaling loads.

You can send it to me and I'll open it up and take a look. Can't hurt to take it apart and see what is going on inside.

Did you keep the pawls grease free?

I guess the compression spring could be bad or maybe there is a burr on one pawl.

Well, they weren't grease free when I took it apart, so I regreased them when I reassembled it. If the pawls are sensitive to the amount or type of grease in order to work correctly, that is what I would call a frail design. If that's the case, I can have another go and make sure they have exactly the right type and amount of lubrication, even if that means none at all. But the FW was disfunctional already when it first came into my possession, so it's not like the reason it's effed up is because I worked on it. Quite possibly with all the skipping at high torque, the pawls and the corresponding ratchet corners are rounded off, so it may be a bit of a basket case by now, however, I did not note any appreciable shrapnel the first time I took it apart, so who knows?

In my experience servicing NOS Sachs freewheels, the original grease turns a caramel brown and tends to be all over the place. My guess is heat and humidity ruin the grease over the decades and gravity causes it to migrate to the pawls.

I use a sticky synthetic grease, Super Lube, just in the races, and enough to hold the bearings in place for assembly. I place a drop of high grade machine oil on the pivot of each pawl. I then use my finger to rub a moderate coat of the same oil on the ratchet teeth. If the freewheel body had shown signs of rust before cleaning, I rub the body inside and out with Super Lube as a preventative.



Here is a Sachs outer body ready for assembly which received a "rub-down" in the Spa. Also notice the "glistening" on the ratchet teeth? That's the oil.

Thanks for the Sachs-specific tips, Bob. Next time I have a workshop to work in, I'll give that a try.