Mike552

The weather has been great for bike riding recently here in the NE and especially the Boston area. This would usually warrant getting one of my road bikes out but the DX5000 is getting a new paint job and the right side STI brifter on my Gran Premio kicked the bucket last week. I really wanted to go for a ride and so I decided to grab the Bridgestone, mostly because it's such a comfortable ride and so I will use any excuse to take it for a spin.

So I'm riding around yesterday evening and all of a sudden I start feeling a wobble. I look down at my front wheel and see nothing unusual. I peek at the rear wheel and also find nothing unusual. Everything is riding in a straight line... but I'm definitely getting a wobble. It was the first time that I felt unsafe on this bike.

I get home, flip the bike over, spin the wheels... nothing unusual. I then proceed to feel the spokes and realize that many of them are VERY loose. I figured that at this point, the wheels need a complete rebuild so it was time for disassembly. This is my only Suntour equipped bike (Suntour XC Pro). The rims are Ritchey and the hubs are Suntour with a 7spd cassette.


Here are my questions:
a) The freewheel seems to not want to come off. Is there a special trick to taking out these freewheels? I have the 2-pronged tool. Sheldon Brown recommends using a vice with the tool and spinning the wheel for better torque. Any other tricks?

b) What would cause roughly 10 out of 36 spokes to get loose within a short period of time? I ride this bike a lot... I would have noticed this before, for sure...

ironwood

Your post isn't clear as you say you have a seven speed cassette and then you say the free wheel won't come off. Do you havve a FW or cassette?

Mike552

Yes, sorry for the confusion -- Freewheel. It's been a few years since I worked on a freewheel but here I am now.

I actually have a full Deore LX 9spd group sitting in a drawer and ready to go, but I really like this Suntour XC Pro stuff and I'm trying to keep it alive if possible...

John E

The proper way to break a freewheel loose is to remove the QR skewer, install the tool, then replace the QR skewer with just a minute amount of play. Next, place the tool in a vise, with the axle pointing straight upward, grab the tire from opposite sides, and give it an abrupt anticlockwise jerk.

ironwood

Why don't you just try to tighten the spokes with a spoke wrench. Even if you don't have a truing stand, you can use the frame and brake pads to true the wheel. Putting the remover in a vice and turning the wheel should work. Just make sure you are turning to loosen and not to tighten.

GrayJay

Sheldon vice method of holding the remover tool definitly works better than using a large crescent wrench. Use the QR skewer and tighten it down fairly tight to keep the 2-pronge tool from slipping, breaking teeth. With tool tightly in a bench vise, apply torque to the rim at two opposite sides, with two lever arms each 300mm, you can probably generate more coupled leverage with this technique than the 2-teeth of the removal tool are capable of withstanding. Hopefully the threads let go before the teeth.

Mike552

John E & GrayJay-- that's what I'm afraid of. I think these threads are seized in there pretty good. I feel like I should spray some liquid wrench in there and let it settle for a few days before I try the "vice method". This freewheel probably hasn't been removed in 22 years.

ironwood, I'm the type of guy who tears something apart to the core if there is a noticeable problem. It's a mania that I have. Bicycle wheels are no exception. Anyways, I'm comfortable with wheel building.. I just finished building and truing a pair of Open Pro 4's on Dura Ace 7700 hubs so no problem there. I was just wondering as to what could cause a significant amount of spokes to go loose in a short period of time..

In any case, these Sun hubs need to be packed with new grease at the very least. I guess I could do that with the freewheel on, but it doesn't seem right to do it that way.

The Golden Boy 

XC Pro and XC Comp are the cat's pyjamas.

acoffin 

Personaly, I would tighten the spokes before busting out whoop#$$ on the freewheel. The QR & vice method mentioned above has always worked for me. If it hasn't been removed in decades it will probably take a lot of force to break it loose.