masi61

I have two NOS Dura Ace 7400 7-speed freewheel bodies that I got at a good price. I only have the cogs to complete one freewheel though. I keep hearing about 3D printing obsolete parts. My magic wish is that someone will start 3D printing some Uniglide cogs in all of the sizes to make a nice 12-26 or 12-28 Dura Ace freewheel.

beicster 

Will that cause spacing problems on 120 OLD hubs?

ThermionicScott 

I'm curious about that, too. You can see how there is some freewheel body "left over" on the 5-speed units:



I guess as long as that doesn't stick out past the DS locknut and interfere with the dropout, one should be good.

Narhay

I've had this issue with new 5 speed freewheels that use a lockring on the outer threaded portion of the hub body like sunrace. Essentially wider than their contemporary counterparts.

Slightspeed

i can't see my beard while I'm riding either. 😃

SurferRosa

Not for me. I "had" two bikes with 120mm spacing, and both used IRD freewheels. I gave one bike to my nephew. The IRD freewheel on the other, my grocery getter, started to skip on the second smallest cog. So I replaced it with a 5-speed Shimano one ... without any writing on it. Didn't need to make any hub spacing changes upon replacement.

I was a proponent of IRD, but I won't be buying any more of them after two failures. The other was a busted pawl that was far more concerning than a skipping cog.

I will say that IRD did replace one of them for free. I guess I still have that one, and it still works.

davester

Which generation of IRD freewheel broke? It is widely known that the first generation (the Defiant) had flawed pawl springs which snapped. I had one of these. IRD acknowledged the problem and brought out the second generation (the Classica) which is a better version of the Defiant with strengthened pawl springs. I have three of these and haven't had a problem. They disappeared because IRD was having supply problems with their manufacturer according to the IRD distributor (Merrysales). The current generation (the Cyclone) appears to be manufactured in a completely different way than the others and I suspect is from a different manufacturer altogether. So, there are three completely different freewheels that have been sold under the IRD name. Failure on one model does not mean that the other models are no good. Note also that IRD is now offering repair kits for the Defiant and Cyclone series that included new pawls. I am tempted to buy one of these to repair my defunct Defiant.

BFisher

IRD comes across to me as just another brand selling someone else's stuff at a markup higher than their reputation should allow.

I look up 7 speed freewheels, for example, and see Shimano - with a proven track record for service - for $14 to $20.

Sunrace - with a bit less of a reputation for quality - for $10 to $16.

IRD - with a well known quality issue in the past - seems to come in at $45 to $70, unless I'm missing the good sources. Even their rebranded drilled aero brake levers come in at $50 to $60+! That's a $20 - $25 dollar set of levers at best.

To each their own, but I'll pass.

SurferRosa

Not 100 percent sure, but I think it was a Defiant with the busted pawl, and a Classica with the skipping cog. They both looked very similar to me, though one was a 5- and one a 6-speed.

davester

In some ways I'd agree with you. However, Sunrace and Shimano only come in an extremely limited selection of cog sizes and cog numbers. If you're putting lots of miles on your bikes then you need to have the gearing dialed in the way you want it and IRD (or something vintage that may be difficult to find) is the only game in town for doing that in many cases.

Classtime 

I had a 5 speed Classica on my PX-10 and was quite happy with it. I do wish they were more more affordable but even at the current prices, and if you compare with vintage NOS, AND you notice that individual cogs are 7 bucks each, the price is fair.

noglider 

Is it true that IRD just buys other companies' stuff? I somehow got the idea that they make the cranksets that are branded Holdsworth and Velo Orange, but I really don't know.

BFisher

I gotta say, my opinion about "selling someone else's stuff" was the impression I've gotten, and may not be correct. I've read that their old stuff was very good, and there is more information about them on MOMBAT. But it doesn't seem like the company is owned, or run, by the same folks anymore. I believe, and please correct me if wrong, that their parts are outsourced, which isn't a bad thing at all. Whose aren't? But for me, and it's just a personal thing, their pricing doesn't align with what I see from them. They aren't the only ones.

Again, I could be all wrong about them. As I said, options are great. If their parts really do command their prices, then more power to them.

drisee

Feel compelled to share my opinion on IRD freewheels with the community here based on recent experiences. Unfortunately it's a negative one.

I've had two IRD freewheels running on a vintage '85 MTB with a triple crank. Both 6-speed cyclone versions. One recently broke on a ride after two years of service. I'm not even sure what happened, it just came apart on a ride. This is after i had been experiencing a knocking sound with it under load. Finally just gave out.

IRD was nice enough to send me a new one, same model. On my first ride after the install this one was also failing, making a loud grinding/knocking sound. IMO it really shows poor quality if it's failing on it's first ride out of the garage. Are they even testing these before giving the final green light for distribution? Where's the quality control.

As such i've gone back to trying to find vintage shimano to work for my needs. Much better in terms of quality. I just don't like the look or any new freewheels, aesthetically speaking.

Anyways, just wanted to share for those researching IRD freewheels. They look nice but from my experience they're all looks.

Steel Charlie

I've been using Shimano for about 35 years and don't recall ever having a problem with any of them.

steelbikeguy

Any idea what part of the freewheel failed?

I only mention this because SunTour Perfects & Pro-Compes sometimes had the bearing cone slowly loosen, eventually allowing the bearings to get out and escape into the wild.
When the cone was loose, there was enough play in the bearings to allow the outer body to move. In some instances, when the chain was on the right or left of the freewheel, the outer body would pivot on the pawls, rocking left and right twice(?) per wheel rotation. It produces a distinctive knocking sound every time the outer body pivots on the pawls and hits the inner body.

It didn't happen often, but once you find yourself stranded because the freewheel has come apart, you start to recognize the signs.
For me, I had time to contemplate it as I walked the bike to the nearest bike shop to buy new bearings.
I've had it happen twice with these models, and heard the noise once with the New Winners with adjustable bearings. I quickly readjusted the bearings when I got home!

Steve in Peoria

Andrew_G

I vote for Sachs-Maillard freewheels, if you can get them. I bought somer a few some years ago; their overall quality is definitely nicer than IRD. I'm currently using one IRD FW on an intermittent basis, without issues so far. But I'll go back to Sachs when the IRD is worn out or exhibits problems.

(ADDENDUM: Earlier Defiant 2 FWs were ISO thread, but later ones were English thread. I saw this both in print (web shop advertisements) and also in my personal experience. And my Defiant 2 freewheel doesn't fully sit on a Campy NR hub; the length of the threads within the body are a bit short. I now install a 1mm thick freewheel spacer on to the hub before installing the IRD FW.)

Otherwise, the IRD Defiant cranksets as well as the Holdsworth and Velo Orange cranksets are all made in Taiwan by Andel.

(ANDEL ENTERPRISE CO.,LTD.)


I read a few years ago on Classic Rendezvous that the Rene Herse cranks are also made by Andel.


Andrew G.

repechage

I called them, Perfect failures. This was way back, went to Everest and later the Suntour ultra 6- no problems with those.
‘I have a pair of the v2 IRD freewheels. Ok, not a fan of the plating they use.
NOS freewheels are becoming scarce.
French threaded freewheels are becoming hens teeth.
‘the way of things.

Classtime 

My 5 speed IRD worked great on my PX-10 with a HG-71 chain. BUT at first the lock ring did loosen during a ride. After tightening, it loosened again. After a little loctite it never happened again and I was happy. Lots of ratios to choose from which is really cool. I would buy again and before first use apply loctite. Maybe I used the blue stuff that comes with Phil Wood BBs because I'm afraid of the red.

Spaghetti Legs 

I have a couple of bought new IRD Cyclones with each only have a few hundred miles on them. One is on my Merckx that I used at Cino. Day 2 long climb, I was getting all kinds of grinding noises and squeaks from the freewheel, would go away for a little bit if I backpedaled - I suppose swishing the grease around. To be fair, the piles of dust I rode through on day 1 were pretty extreme but I didn’t hear any other freewheel death screeching out there. Back home, I cleaned it off, removed the outer lock ring and put some Phil’s tenacious in there and it seems to spin fairly smooth. I haven’t had a chance to ride the Merckx again but I’ll do it soon and report back.

Update - rode it today and every hill it sounded like someone walking across a carpet of metallic potato chips.

tiger1964 

I think I have only one IRD freewheel. It makes all kinds of interesting noises, which I find annoying.

ehcoplex 

The 7-speed IRD freewheel I have started making noise and not spinning freely after maybe 200mi. IRD were also not very helpful (and gave me wrong info) when I was ordering cogs to make up a 'custom' freewheel (the whole reason I went with an IRD was to get exactly the gearing setup I wanted). I'm sure there are folks who have had good IRD experiences, but I doubt I'll ever buy anything from them again. From now on I think I'll stick with either old Suntours or live with the limited cog options on cheap new Sunrace or 'Shimano' freewheels.

kunsunoke 

IRD says the Cyclone Mark 1 cogs are fully chromium plated. The quality of that chromium plating appears VERY sketchy. It's as if they thought they could just spooge trivalent chrome directly over the steel cogs with minimal surface preparation. That didn't work for the Italians back in the 60s (when the chromium plating solutions were a lot more aggressive), so it's sure as hell not gonna work now.

IRD appear to have learned nothing from the Defiant debacle.

I'll stick with my vintage MIJ freewheels, thanks.

El Chaba

In my experience, it is a worthwhile thing to chase down a NOS or excellent used freewheel of one of the better brands/models from the era in which they were current. We all know that they are expensive, but worth the cost in my opinion. I treat them as valuable parts and change chains very early in the wear cycle to preserve their life for as long as possible. The quality of the new freewheels is just way too sketchy to be depended upon.