Help removing freewheel
 

I just purchased a used wheelset and need help removing the freewheel from my current set and installing it on the new set.

The freewheel is a Super Maillard 700 Course

Do I need spline like tool to remove the freewheel (gold outer ring)?

or

A notch like tool to remove the freewheel (black inner ring)

Thanks!

You need a notch tool and not just any tool but exactly the right one. Others will chime in with the appropriate part numbers, methods, and perhaps links to Sheldon Brown's website but I just wanted to give you a heads up in the mean time.

Thanks!

Do you know what the splined ring is for?

That splined ring you see is actually the removable outer bearing race. Many people mistake it for splines to remove the FW from the hub...
Don't remove the ring unless you plan to service (clean/grease) the bearings and races.....but you can even do that without taking the bearings and race off the FW, like many here do.....

Thanks a lot for the help!

Would you know which exact tool is needed to remove this freewheel?

There are several FW removal tools (and the matching FW removal notches) that are pretty similar, but enough different that they don't always work in a mix or match fashion. Do you have a measuring the distances between the sets. I don't believe I've ever seen this notch set on a Maillard so I am not familiar with which tool matches. If you find a Sutherland's manual online there might be a guide there.

Guessing this one. Sounds like a Suntour remover might work.

http://www.amazon.ca/VAR-Freewheel-M...ewheel+remover

This says Maillard 409, 410, 411;
VAR 413, 186
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.as...7E3B8&Enum=114

I have a removal tool that I use on my notched Maillard FWs. I don't remember if it's a Park made tool, but I can look at it tonight and forward you the information.

Maillard used the same standard as Suntour on their 2-notch freewheels, so a Park FR-2 or equivalent will work fine. The EXTREMELY key thing with using one of these though is the proper securing of it to the freewheel before trying to force it. 2-notch freewheels are infamous for stripping or breaking either themselves or the tool during removal. (That's why Suntour switched to 4-notch, and Maillard switched to splined after a few years.) Make sure the tool is perfectly engaged with the notches, centered, and snuggly held in place by an axle nut or quick-release skewer to prevent it from shifting out of place when spun. I find that clamping it in a bench vise (so the wheel is horizontal) and using both sides of the rim/tire for leverage is safer and more successful than just pushing on a wrench. Spraying some penetrating oil at the junction between the hub and freewheel body beforehand can be a good idea too. Once you've loosened it slightly - like a quarter turn - you can remove the nut/QR and spin it the rest of the way off.

This is great advice. Make sure that 2-notch tool is firmly held there as Torchy said by the QR or nut. Then you gotta just get it unstuck and then get rid of the QR or nut before continuing to turn it -- otherwise you'll break your QR or axle.

If you don't have a bench vice, then you can use a big wrench and a pipe over the wrench handle for more leverage, which is what I do. Make sure the wheel has a tube and a tire on it too as it helps support everything when applying huge forces. Just put the tire down on the floor, lean on it with one arm along the tire, preventing it from rolling, and then use all your weight on the wrench. Helps if you are kind of heavy, like me :)

I have the Park tool, it might fit your freewheel. It certainly fits my Suntours. Or get the one from VAR. VAR usually have excellent quality.

Here is is a good video:
Removing a bicycle freewheel the proper way | TheBikeTube.com - YouTube

And don't forget to get the freewheel remover secured tight!

My old VAR catalog suggests the VAR #413, but the description says that this also works on SunTour 2-prong freewheels:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/var413.jpg

I have one of the "official" Normandy/Maillard tools, and compared to the SunTour the prongs are thinner, so you might need to do a little grinding to fit the SunTour tool:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/normand...r-fw-tools.jpg

I appreciate everyone's help, I will try and locate the tool this weekend!

Sorry, I forgot to get back with you about the tool I use for my notched Maillard FWs.
I checked it and it's a Park Tools FR2. I think you can still get it at most better stocked bike shops or have them order it from Park.

Now that you mention it, I went to my local bike shop last night and they seemed to have every other Park tool but that model.

I may check a bigger store tonight.

Thanks again for the help!

Nothing to add -- get the right tool, snug it down. I favor the bench vise method, myself.

If you have sufficient space (I don't), you can do what Jim Cunningham did at CyclArt -- mount a waist-high bench vise on a vertical pipe secured to the floor in the middle of the workroom. This works great for fixed BB cup removal, as well.