Theoretical advantages of one design over another don't necessarily translate to real advantages in the real world.

My only beef with freewheels is the lack of availability of quality choices. This was not always the case - as already stated, that's all we had until the '80s.

You said you hadn't heard of freewheels being weaker and more prone to axle snapping, so I explained why.
You now say you are aware of the differences and argue that it basically wasn't a big deal.

OK ,cool I guess.

When spacing went from 120mm to 126mm, the unsupported section grew. When axles went from 126mm to 130mm, the unsupported section grew. When bikes went to 130mm spacing, you saw a significant transition to freehubs.
A 135mm freewheel has even more unsupported axle.


What happened 70 years ago on 120mm spacing is moot here.
Argue that it doesn't matter much, if you want, but it's a real difference that has been looked into and tested.

I'm aware of the design difference but I have not heard of extensive axle failures. And apparently, I'm not alone:


You do realize that you can strengthen the unsupported section with more and stronger material? An engineer estimates the forces being applied to the axle, adds a factor of safety, and chooses the material and geometric characteristics accordingly.

Again, I am not aware of a huge increase in broken axles due to the use of freewheels. If you have any reports to the contrary, I'd be interested. I've had no problems with the G.1 so far, even on heavy washboard. And I'm part of a group of owners of the bike and have not heard a single instance of axle failure.

P.S. I just realized that you're the same person in the other thread about photo usage rights - you appear to have edited out a snarky sentence referencing that. If you've come here to pick a fight, no thanks.

That's not surprising since you are new to cycling and the changeover happened nearly 40 years ago! Here's Sheldon Brown from BITD explaining why freehubs are superior. Link That said, freewheels are cheaper and seem fine for casual use.

Please don't tell the Credit Lyonnaise women that I am new to cycling!

Sorry, guess I made some assumptions based on your apparent unfamiliarity with the activity.

I am not sure what I edited that you are referring to, but whatever it is, I didn't edit anything to be less snarky.

I didn't come here to pick a fight- you mentioned you hadn't heard of a well established issue, so I I formed you about the well established issue. What fight was I picking?


I am sure axles weren't snapping by the hour or anything like that. But still- it was, and still is, a known design limitation.
And no, you can't just add more material due to size limitations. That reality is also well established.
But hey, apparently I am wrong and all those years it was super easy to fix the known design issue. I can't believe nobody told the bike components companies to change their freewheel design.
^ I believe a heliocromatic hub did actually solve the issue. Im sure you already knew that though, since you so casually state how simple it would have been to fix the issue.
...oh wait- the issue was fixed, buy switching to a freehub.

Show me the broken axles.

Um...what now?
You want me to show you axles that have broken thru the decades?

Bro, I don't collect broken axles so no I can't show you the broken axles.
It's clearly clown time.

This is so stupid. I've broken two freewheel axles on 7s/8s wheels within 4000 miles of road riding, and replaced dozens working in bike shops and co-ops in the early 2000s through last year. Old guys used to pass down knowledge to the next generation so we knew about stuff like this, now they just argue nonsense on bikeforums and shill their low quality social media monetization attempts.

You have a cycling focused youtube, tiktok, instagram, substack, and your own personal website - and you don't know that axle durability with freewheel hubs is an issue?



https://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-001/FAIL-165.html

I conducted a survey of Ozark Trail G.1 owners on a Facebook group with 776 owners, asking them what issues they've had with the stock parts. 84 people responded. Here are the results:



The 1% for broken axle is a rounding error. 0 people have had problems with their axles.



The owners group includes people competing with the G.1 and one person riding across the country with one. I do not know if either of them are part of the survey responses, but the cross country rider, Neil Aneja left Virginia in early July and is now in Davenport Iowa. He's got two rear panniers and a trunk bag, enough weight to break the rack 3 times but I've heard no reports of axle failure.

Credit: Neil Aneja (https://www.instagram.com/neil.aneja/)

The group also includes a lot of newer riders - only 36% of riders have ridden 5+ years. For a lot of the riders, going 10 miles is an accomplishment.

I have openly questioned why Walmart went with a 2x7 drivetrain, when a 1x9 or something else would be much easier for a newer rider to master - no issues of double-shifting or cross chaining to worry about. The only possible answer that makes sense is price point. The $248 G.1 is generating a buzz that similar bikes priced over $300 did not generate. And perhaps somewhere in their marketing data (past sales trends, focus groups, surveys, etc...) Walmart sensed that they had to keep the price down. It seems to be working; the Medium is consistently out of stock. Will that decision come back to bite them with failed rear axles? Based on the survey responses, not yet. And based on the mileage many of these riders are doing, many may never experience a problem.

If you're doing 4,000 miles on an axle and breaking it, you're not likely the target market for this bike, and Walmart may be threading the needle by keeping the price low with a 7 speed freewheel while using 135mm spacing so that more seasoned/advanced riders can upgrade if they want to - which many have done. It's also possible that Walmart specified a stronger axle that's better than the ones you've dealt with.

Regarding my knowledge of this issue - my first two bikes were freewheels but I haven't ridden them since the early 90s. As a sole proprietor, I can't know everything and I don't have the backing of an editorial team to fill in the blanks that I have. I am riding the G.1 stock to give other folks impressions on the stock bike.

So you had less than 100 people vote in your poll? And then have a bunch of error responses that are 0 votes but show 1%? How many people actually voted in the poll? What a waste of time.

You couldn't even address this point:

There aren't any stronger axles for this application, and Walmart wouldn't spec them if they were because it would be cheaper to use a cassette hub if that were the case.

Now you want to show humility? "I can't know everything" - you sure were brash a few posts ago.

Take the freewheel off and post pictures of the axle. Better yet, take the axle out and post pictures.

Don't just post hypotheticals. You have the bike, you're an experienced cyclist - let's see what's going on.

It's understandable that a "bike" which costs no more than some coffee pots (and can be found two aisles over) may not have current specs. As you say, most of the buyers won't know or care. But better stuff is better. It's baffling why anyone other than the clueless 10 mile riders would waste time with something like this.

I declare Spoonrobot to be the winner of this long debate. Time to close the thread.

If the purpose of the thread is to discuss broken axles I would agree.

My quick review of the G.1 which I bought for my girlfriend(small) and her daughter(medium). I had the daughter build hers from the box with the tools that was provided. The daughter had no mechanic or assembly experience.

My girl friend is 5'8 and her daughter is 5'10. Both bikes seems to have the correct sizes and proportion for their bodies. The seat post(medium) are high enough to handle even me at 5'11.

Assembling the bikes was relative easy to do with the tools provided. The hardest thing to do was lining up the handle bars where this is a mark guide on the handle bar themselves. I recommend wire cutters to clip the zip ties and a bike rack to hold the bike from the saddle post. Both bikes came without the chains on the sprockets and there was no instruction on how to put the chain back on. This was easy for me, but someone(like my step daughter) it was hard to comprehend.

Both bikes came with small cheap pedals which looks good for a child, not an adult. So I replace pedals on both bikes with MTB pedals(for right now). I also had to add water bottle cages since they were not included. The saddles are very basic and stiff, I am letting my girlfriend and her daugther ride the bikes with the include saddles then add new saddles so they can tell the difference. I also replaced the handlebar tape because one was halfway unwrapped and the other was sticky. I found out the handlebar wrap was started from the center of the bar to the ends instead of the other way. This may be a smart idea but it was not wrapped tight and poorly secured. The reflectors are very cheap plastic rings, I broke one by tightening it since it came loose. The tires has been pumped up with the tubes included. I will buy spares later and maybe go tubeless.

The riding of the bikes at first was great for my girlfriend and daughter who has never had brakes on the handlebars(they are used to back pedal breaks). I informed them that I will be adjust the breaks slow over the next few weeks to be stronger. The chain was very dry, so I had to add lubricant before they rode a lot more. I noticed that the daughter bike had some noise and the back wheel had to be trued. The local LBS did this for $20 for me. Now my girl friend bike I had to cut the end of the derailer cable because it was too long otherwise it was clicking on the bike with turning the crankshaft.

After they bikes 5 miles, everything seems to be secured and I did adjust the gear shifts a little to make shifting a bit better. At the end of this week we are going to try to bike 50(5 days) miles and see the condition of the bikes each day.

I was at Walmart this last weekend and found another G.1 Explorer(medium) discounted at $70 unboxed. I snatched it up immediately. There was also 2 other G.1 there (Small) at full price.

The bike had rust all over the chain, brakes, cables, wheels, ect... Looks like it was left outside all this time.

So I going to use it as my $70 "work bike" to practice my frame painting(spray.bike) and teach the kids to do "bike mechanics"(replacing and adjusting the breaks and gears) on it.

I might for the fun of it try to convert it to a road bike, any suggestion on parts?

Wow, you got a deal! There's an active Facebook group that I belong to. Lot's of new riders there but also a lot of more experienced riders who couldn't turn down a deal. Plenty of folks looking at upgrading, and there's a lot of talk about the Sensah brand.

The bike as it is works fine on the road. If I was going to convert mine to 100% road, the first things I'd do would be a pair of faster rolling slick tires and maybe a new, un-flared drop bar. Next would be a new drivetrain with a new rear wheel. Or replacing the stock fork and seatpost to save some weight.

I might do some upgrades over the winter. I'll probably shop on AliExpress. Haven't purchased much (if anything) from there. But their prices are good and I've heard that they're pretty reputable. Would be cool to see what an additional $248 in upgrades would get me.

Yeah after looking at it, I know the chain, the brakes, shifter cabling will have to be replaced at least. I am looking a new gear set so I can get at least do something like 2x10 gear set for the road riding.

If you didn't already know this, note that you'll need a new rear wheel to go beyond the 7 speed freewheel. I guess they had to use a freewheel to hit the $248 pricepoint...

Yep, that is why I am planning to just strip everything and build it from the frame up. Just found a little rust on the bottom of the frame, so I am will also have to sand it down and reprime, and then repaint.

You should not have to do that. Get some fine steel wool and scrub a bit. The rust will disappear.

You are going to buy new shifters, brakes, chain, cassette, cables, housing, bar tape, crankset, and wheels?
Why buy the bike in the first place?...just buy an inexpensive aluminum frameset.

Also, the frame is aluminum so there shouldn't be rust on the frame.

Good video of a guy who went from the G.1 to a Specialized gravel bike