I'm in the process of replacing my singlespeed's wheels, and for the life of me I could not get the freewheel off the old wheel. I tried all the tricks...crescent wrench with a cheater bar, clamping the removal tool in a vice, etc, but the thing wouldn't budge. I ride my singlespeed mostly as a rain bike (very easy to clean when no gears and shifters!), and I guess the road grime and water literally froze the thing on there.

So are there any tricks or steps I can take now when I install a new one to prevent the thing from freezing onto the wheel? I used a lot of grease on the last install, but I wonder if that just made it easier for it to tighten even more when riding. I don't want to bust my knuckles again, or be stuck with another frozen freewheel when I try to take it off in the future!

Anti-seize compound.

Remove and re-install a couple times a year instead of waiting 'till it won't come off.

Use PB blaster penetrating catalyst to remove the current one. Works on both cars and bikes.

Use copper-based* anti-seize compound. That's the stuff that lasts.

There's a good chance your now-seized freewheel was installed without grease. Grease is technically all you need though.