Freewheel removal...

[look 171]

All freewheel are pretty much the same, if that's has a freewheel on the bike. If the existing freewheel is dry, I would just buy another. They are somewhere around 19-30 bucks. For the most part, freewheels are pretty durable unless you drown it in the sea for a week.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Can you pull the back wheel off the bike and post a pic of the freewheel up close from the same angle as the youtube french freewheel video?

Most of the newer bikes will have some indexing for tools like the ones previously pictured, but not all do.

That french hub's freewheel YT video looks integral to the hub, and needs to be dissassembled? What a hassle. Most aren't that bad- but not always. Back in the 80-90's some really lousy economy department store bikes had the same deal, no threaded hub/freewheel, or way to unscrew it. They were total POS. When that failed, the whole bike needed to be thrown out, as a new wheel/freewheel was worth more than a new department store bike.

I saw this a lot in the bike shops I worked at as a teenager. The one exception was a dude who had ridden from California to Virginia on his Murray (or Huffy or something). His rear wheel basically fell apart in Richmond. We GAVE him a new rear wheel assembly to get him the rest of the way.

The peanut gallery needs to see a pic of the wheel by itself to see what it is. Good luck.

[Scott Douglas]

OK, got the wheel to my house this morning.
Looks like I'm in luck. All I need is the correct tool and it'll be off, no disassembly required of the freewheel.

Now to find a bike shop that is open today...

[Scott Douglas]

OK, got it done!
Man, that freewheel didn't want to come off at all. Talk about tight! I thought I was gonna crack my sawed-in-half sternum. It finally broke loose though.
Wheel bearings were bone dry so I lubed them. Made a jury rigged system for truing the wheel. It's not perfect but I didn't want to break any more spokes so didn't give it the full monty on adjusting it true. It might have .015" runout total.




Felt good to help out an old friend. When he suggested using super glue on the broken spoke I just knew I had to do something.
Plus, I've got a new tool now too. The Shimano wrench should work on my own bikes too.

[rwest]

Great job!

I like tinkering on bikes, so have helped a few people in the neighborhood with bike repairs too.

Been a long time since I have replaced a freewheel though.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Nice work! Glad to see that it had an honest to goodness freewheel (and you were able to get it off).
Really makes accessing the broken spoke a doable thing. I love those older drivetrains. They are rock solid. Last forever.

and...
Good to know there's also superglue in a pinch!

[Scott Douglas]

When I first tried getting the freewheel off I thought having the lever arm torque of the rim diameter was going to make it a cinch. Then the vise started twisting on my. I clamp it to my bench when I need it. Tightened it with helpers on the clamp handles. Still no go. Got bigger clamps, and REALLY tightened them. Still no budging. Am I turning the wrong way? Double checked, nope, I got it right or correct.
Finally gave it one more steady constant hard pull and it CRACKED when it let go.
I was really beginning to have my doubts if I was going to get it off.
No telling how this bike had been treated during its life so I'm sure weather, water and dirt all played a part in making it tight.

[herr_oberst]

Nice work! Did you put a thin layer of bearing grease on the freewheel threads before you put it back together? It's an unfortunate given that you have two dissimilar metals on threads that are designed to tighten every time you reef on the pedals!

In the history of mankind, freewheels that have been on a long time will never come off without a fight. That "CRACK" is as satisfying as it is frightening!

[Scott Douglas]

I used a nice greasy rag to wipe off the threads before putting the freewheel back on. I fully expect to need to take it off again for more broken spoke repair in the future.
It is an old garage sale bike my friend bought some years ago. I'd seen it and rode over to his house to tell him about it and he'd already bought it!
I am more than happy he did as I didn't need another bike hanging around. I really am spoiled by the perfect riding position my Trek Shift 1 provides. It's so nice not to be leaning over the bars like this Motobecane has you doing, or my Diamond Back Ascent for that matter.

[jim72911t]

15 thou runout is pretty impressive, especially without a truing stand!

[Scott Douglas]

Here's a short video of the wheel being looked at for true.
https://youtu.be/k5rLh7S4JL0

[john70t]

Originally Posted by jim72911t

15 thou runout is pretty impressive, especially without a truing stand!

(It's better than beating a steel rim flat on a vise or table with a 2x4. Using a sander to fine tune. 15 mph max)

Nice job.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Here's a short video of the wheel being looked at for true.
https://youtu.be/k5rLh7S4JL0

I am throwing a monkey wrench into your fix. It is dished? That means the rim must be center the outer most of the axle so it is in the middle or dead center of the frame.

To be honest, on the bike, it is a lot better then what it was before it came to you.

Nice work BTW

[Scott Douglas]

No monkey wrench throwing allowed here!
It sits pretty good in the frame. It wasn't perfect to begin with, but it's not any worse off now. I think I need to do some work on the brakes though.
I think the cantilever arms on the rear brake are sticky so it doesn't allow the shoes to pull evenly or return fully.
Remember, this was a yard sale bike that was used up when bought. I'd just like to get it as safe as possible for its 80 yr old rider.

Sorry the video is so crappy. My hands were pretty dirty and I don't like handling even my 'garage' cameras with hands that dirty. It was a quick and dirty video grab.
Get it?
Quick and dirty....


(I'll see myself out now)

[herr_oberst]

There's a spring tension screw on the brakes, it's a tiny black screw, I can see it in the picture. One on each arm. Be careful with that screw, it's JIS, not phillips and easy to cam-out. But I'd also recommend removing the brake arms and greasing the bosses. While those brake arms are off, you might see three holes where the spring tails grip the frame; you can increase spring tension there, too. And if you're feeling adventurous and froggy you could take apart and lube up the cable, but pay heed, it's easy to fray the end of a cable and not be able to get it back into the housing.

Edit, get a piece of 100 grit sandpaper and give the rubber brake pads a swipe; they've surely hardened by now. And scotchbrite the wheel rims.

[fastfredracing]

Back yard mechanic here. I used to give them a little brap with an air hammer, and a sharp pointed chisel .

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

There's a spring tension screw on the brakes, it's a tiny black screw, I can see it in the picture. One on each arm. Be careful with that screw, it's JIS, not phillips and easy to cam-out. But I'd also recommend removing the brake arms and greasing the bosses. While those brake arms are off, you might see three holes where the spring tails grip the frame; you can increase spring tension there, too. And if you're feeling adventurous and froggy you could take apart and lube up the cable, but pay heed, it's easy to fray the end of a cable and not be able to get it back into the housing.

Edit, get a piece of 100 grit sandpaper and give the rubber brake pads a swipe; they've surely hardened by now. And scotchbrite the wheel rims.

Thanks for the suggestions!
I looked at the brakes yesterday but didn't have my second set of eyeballs on for close inspection.
I WON'T be removing the cable from the housing, trust me on that one. I think the pivot lube and some scotch brite work will be in order though, and possibly a scuff of the pads and rim.
I just so happen to have a set of JIS screw drivers for my camera lenses so those should keep the screws happy.
Thanks again!

[look 171]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

There's a spring tension screw on the brakes, it's a tiny black screw, I can see it in the picture. One on each arm. Be careful with that screw, it's JIS, not phillips and easy to cam-out. But I'd also recommend removing the brake arms and greasing the bosses. While those brake arms are off, you might see three holes where the spring tails grip the frame; you can increase spring tension there, too. And if you're feeling adventurous and froggy you could take apart and lube up the cable, but pay heed, it's easy to fray the end of a cable and not be able to get it back into the housing.

Edit, get a piece of 100 grit sandpaper and give the rubber brake pads a swipe; they've surely hardened by now. And scotchbrite the wheel rims.

clean and/or lube would be my choice. Use the screw when possible but I use that screw only for fine adj. Instead, I bend the spring outward to create more tension on the weak side of the caliper. Just a little will do and works like magic. We did this after we ate siht in the dirt and bang up something to get us home. It turned out to be a great trick and the brake stayed center for a very long time