Dr.Hairybiker said:
My freehub on my 2003 Vigorelli, with Cosmos wheels, is starting to clunk and knock a little. It's also wobbling considerably more than it did. It has about 8500 miles on it.
I've never had a freehub apart before. If the freehub is on the way out, can it be fixed by replacing the freehub body by itself? Or are there parts on the wheel itself that are worn out?
I checked on-line at Airbomb, and they show only one freehub body for Mavic wheels. Is that the case? If I buy the freehub body they advertise, will that be the one that fits my wheel?
Basically, I'm trying to save the wheel. It's been a good wheel other than this problem.
My impression is that there are only two different freehubs for MAVIC wheels -- Campagnolo or Shimano -- regardless of the hub, beginning with the Helium wheelset.
My recollection is that the "
flaw" in MAVIC's freehub body (or, hub) is that (as of a few years ago ... maybe, they've "fixed" it since then) MAVIC spec'd a
bushing when a bearing would have been better (somewhere in the middle of the hub) --
a NYLON bushing is what I seem to recall reading. And, the bushing can wear out with as little as 3000 miles of use ... particularly, if riding on mountain roads where there may be a lot of freewheeling/coasting. Since my Ksyrium SL wheels had ~2000 miles and I ride on mountain roads, I decided to sell my wheels since it just wasn't a "future" problem that I wanted to confront.
My other recollection is that the freehub is removed by accessing the bolt that secures the freehub from the NON-driveside of the hub ...
If you take the rear hub apart & find a Nylon bushing, then that is probably the culprit. Whether or not that is available, separately, is unknown. Whether or not you can find a bearing to subsitute for it (you'll need to find a "bearing" shop), then that may solve your problem ... or, not.
You might be able to make shims (!) from the plastic caps used on Milk jugs while you try to track down a replacement bearing OR decide if it's worth ~ $60 (?) for a new freehub. Even if you don't want to USE a shim made from the cap of a Milk jug, putting one in "for the moment" & reassembling the hub will let you know if THAT is the problem.
