Freehub problem

Tom or Mary said:

It seems as if every bike I purchase, I have a problem with the freehub
freezing. After a little research, I find that maintenace is not a routine
chore, unless you have a special tool or two. Any suggestions on preventing
this? I asked my local bikeshop about it, and the person there suggested
that that "was life." I have never had such a problem with freewheels. I
ride all year round in the Northeast.

Last time my freehub stopped freewheeling well I just bought a cheap hub
and swapped the freehubs. In my case it was Shimano hubs, and it was
certainly a heck of a lot easier than rebuilding the wheel. Your milage
may vary depending on your tolerance to this sort of tom-foolery.

As to preventing it, I suppose you could take it off occasionally and do
a degreaser/oil cleaning/flushing cycle on it occasionally. Short of
that I can't think what else you could do.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
"But Huey, you PROMISED!"
"Tell 'em I lied."

Tom or Mary said:

It seems as if every bike I purchase, I have a problem with the freehub
freezing. After a little research, I find that maintenace is not a routine
chore, unless you have a special tool or two. Any suggestions on preventing
this? I asked my local bikeshop about it, and the person there suggested
that that "was life." I have never had such a problem with freewheels. I
ride all year round in the Northeast.

Thanks

Tom

If shimano, remove frequently, flush with a spray lube and then lube
with Mobil One automotive oil. If Campagnolo, take off, clean, light
grease on pawl teeth, replace.

Nice answer from the dimbulb LBS wrench.

Tom or Mary said:

It seems as if every bike I purchase, I have a problem with the freehub
freezing. After a little research, I find that maintenace is not a routine
chore, unless you have a special tool or two. Any suggestions on preventing
this? I asked my local bikeshop about it, and the person there suggested
that that "was life." I have never had such a problem with freewheels. I
ride all year round in the Northeast.

Thanks

Tom

In addition to what's already been suggested, there's a tool called the
Freehub Buddy by Morningstar that flushes Shimano freehubs with
whatever is desired. It works by popping in where the dust seal usually
lives after the axle, cone and dust seal have been removed. Morninstar
also makes replacement dust seals that are more made to be removed and
reinstalled than the shi ones are. It works well.

I'll second that. The only minor glitch is that it's almost impossible
to remove the dust seal, and once you've removed it, you've ruined it.
So you have to buy Morningstars' replacement dust seal. It's ~$5. A
bargin compared to a new freehub & it's reusable for the life of the
f'hub, which should be a long time w/ proper maintenance, & usable for
the next life of the next hub. But there are three different dust seals
models, so you have to choose the correct one. Bike Tools Etc.
www.biketoolsetc.com have them + the freehub buddy. If you are closer
the east coast, delivery is quicker from Harris celery. I use it on all
my Shimano free hubs. I think it's obvious that Shimano doesn't want
their freehub serviced. They would prefer you to ruin them, throw them
away & buy a new one.

I think the FreeHub Buddy & dust seal are a good deal, John

john said:

I think the FreeHub Buddy & dust seal are a good deal, John

Isn't it easier to just take off the freehub at lube it from the
backside with oil? You need a big 10mm hex wrench... but it isn't a big
problem if you are packing the hubs anyway.

Ron Ruff said:

john said:

I think the FreeHub Buddy & dust seal are a good deal, John

Isn't it easier to just take off the freehub at lube it from the
backside with oil? You need a big 10mm hex wrench... but it isn't a big
problem if you are packing the hubs anyway.

Then you're just dripping stuff in still. The freehub buddy injects
lube/grease in under pressure, and pushes the old stuff out. If you
want to be really thorough you can also flush it with solvent and then
blow compressed air in through the freehub buddy, so that there's a
reasonable chance of it actually being clean inside. Its neat.

Nate Knutson said:

Ron Ruff said:

john said:

I think the FreeHub Buddy & dust seal are a good deal, John

Isn't it easier to just take off the freehub at lube it from the
backside with oil? You need a big 10mm hex wrench... but it isn't a big
problem if you are packing the hubs anyway.

Then you're just dripping stuff in still. The freehub buddy injects
lube/grease in under pressure, and pushes the old stuff out. If you
want to be really thorough you can also flush it with solvent and then
blow compressed air in through the freehub buddy, so that there's a
reasonable chance of it actually being clean inside. Its neat.

The OP is a winter biker, complaining of FH freezing. For these
circumstances, I don't think greasing the freehub is a good idea (pawls
stick). I don't know why he's freezing them, I have never had that
problem despite riding all winter in Boston.

Peter Cole wrote

Quoted message said:

The OP is a winter biker, complaining of FH freezing. For these
circumstances, I don't think greasing the freehub is a good idea (pawls
stick). I don't know why he's freezing them, I have never had that
problem despite riding all winter in Boston.

Hi Paul

Virtually any viscosity lube can be used, including Aerosol spray
lubes, Phil Lube, 90 wt gear oil, and Outboard motor gear oil, not just
grease.

Again it's a product that I like a lot, John