The Chainlink

Freewheel lifespan?

So my boyfriend has had a Novara Buzz One bike for almost 2 years and the freewheel on the flip flop hub has died.  He's a fair-weather 3 season rider commuting less than 10 miles round trip, so there's around 3000 miles on it.  I've never had anything like this happen on any of my bikes (10+ speeds, I think all with cassettes but not sure about my old Schwinn and Peugeot), so I don't know how long freewheels are supposed to last.  Thoughts/advice?

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on June 27, 2014 at 1:31pm

Died in what way? Doesn't spin? Parts are falling out of it? Does he normally ride fixed or free?

Freewheels should last a long, long time. I ride vintage bikes (none newer than early 80s). All my freewheels (SunTour, Regina, Shimano, etc) are fine. I doubt any of them are newer than late 80s. I do have a single-speed freewheel on my fixed gear commuter. I've literally never used it, as I set the bike up fixed from the get go. I don't have a BMX-style freewheel remover, so I couldn't take it off when I mounted the rear wheel.

Permalink Reply by Eli on June 27, 2014 at 1:39pm

I have had terrible luck with single-speed freewheels, which seem mostly to be very poorly made. Even long before they actually die completely , they develop a very noticeable wobble and start to make all kinds of noise and generally feel like they're barely holding together. The exception is the White Industries freewheel, which IMO is well worth the high price. (I bought mine from Smart Bike Parts after the winter destroyed my old freewheel; they even installed it for free.)

Permalink Reply by Jamais716 on June 27, 2014 at 1:40pm

Died as in when he pedals, it moves the chain, the chain turns the freewheel, and the freewheel spins freely in either direction, rendering it a nice push bike.  Looking up details after the fact, the fact that it was occasionally knocking while pedaling and the pedals were turning while walking the bike, were signs that something was amiss.  However, he took it into a shop last week (one that I've gone to and is generally known to be a good place) and the mechanic said the sound was normal and related to the "age" of the bike.  This sounded off to me since the bike isn't old and intermittent sounds mean trouble in my mind.

Trying to decide if he should take it into a local shop and just pay to replace the freewheel or if it has died sufficiently prematurely that it's worth taking to REI and arguing for them to replace it under warranty as a defect.

Permalink Reply by Gecko on June 27, 2014 at 1:53pm

I would say it's definitely a premature failure on a 2-year-old bike.  My current freewheel (low-end Shimano) has been on my commuter for over 5 years through all seasons and many thousands of miles and is still going strong.  I also have BMXes with old Dicta freewheels (exactly the same as what came on your boyfriend's bike) that are still going after 20-odd years and thousands of miles.  I have even successfully resurrected some that I thought were dead.  Sometimes you truly get a lemon, but most often they are fairly robust freewheels, which is why they continue to be used and are essentially unchanged from the original design.

If the bike (most importantly the freewheel) is still under warranty, I would see about arguing for a replacement.  In the meantime, you can try spraying some Tri-Flow inside the freewheel and working it back and forth a bit while tapping with a piece of wood to see if you can free up the pawls inside and get them to catch again.  Unfortunately I've found that the ones that spin freely both ways are usually truly toasted.  Sometimes, even if you manage to get the pawls freed up, the freewheel still skips occasionally.  Worst case, a brand new freewheel is less than $20 at your friendly LBS, and since it's a pretty quick procedure, some shops may not even charge labor to replace it.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on June 27, 2014 at 2:27pm

This is just completely wrong. 


rwein5 said:

Don't know if this is possible on a single speed, but on fixed gear bikes it's not uncommon for the hub threads to be stripped if the install is not done right, resulting in the same spinning motion he's now getting. 

If it's a flip flop, install the new freewheel on the current unused side. And make sure it's done properly, or you'll run the risk of stripping threads again.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on June 27, 2014 at 2:41pm

Evidently not. 

rwein5 said:

Tell that to my stripped hub from 2006! S'pose my fixed gear knowledge doesn't apply here, then?

Permalink Reply by Idiot who lost their keys on June 27, 2014 at 3:25pm

I've had this happen a few times in the last 3 years of year round riding, with both a shimano and a dicta freewheel. (I think both times I also helped kill them with using too much white lithium spray.)

The most recent time I flushed the freewheel with Penetrating Oil and it did free up the pawls, but honestly it was pretty crunchy even after multiple flushes. I think if the bike is ridden year round the bearings on the cheaper freewheels simply can't take our salty roads. 

I've since moved to white industries freewheels, although I've also had good luck with ACS crossfires as well.

FYI - if you do some simple searches you'll find the failure rate for Dicta and new Shimano freewheels appear to be fairly high.

Permalink Reply by Gecko on June 27, 2014 at 3:50pm

Fixed threads and freewheel threads are different sizes and configurations, and some hubs have one side for each.  In this case, one side is freewheel-threaded and the other side is fixed-threaded (still technically a "flip-flop" hub).  A proper fixed-thread setup has a smaller-diameter step toward the outside for the lockring.  I can understand your logic if you have a hub with fixed/fixed both sides (usually meant for keeping different-size cogs on the same wheel) but this is a different kind of beast.  And FWIW I've only stripped out ONE freewheel-threaded hub in all my years of riding BMX and SS, and that was instantly apparent, and clearly due to improper installation.  If he has been riding for nearly 2 years on it with no issues, then it's most likely the freewheel has gone bad.

rwein5 said:

Don't know if this is possible on a single speed, but on fixed gear bikes it's not uncommon for the hub threads to be stripped if the install is not done right, resulting in the same spinning motion he's now getting. 

If it's a flip flop, install the new freewheel on the current unused side. And make sure it's done properly, or you'll run the risk of stripping threads again.

On the freewheels I've had this happen to, most often it's also a function of the chain being too tight or having a particularly tight spot in the crank circle.  Given proper lubrication and chain tension, my most recent commuter freewheel has lasted well beyond what I expected given the conditions.


Idiot who lost their keys said:

I've had this happen a few times in the last 3 years of year round riding, with both a shimano and a dicta freewheel. (I think both times I also helped kill them with using too much white lithium spray.)

The most recent time I flushed the freewheel with Penetrating Oil and it did free up the pawls, but honestly it was pretty crunchy even after multiple flushes. I think if the bike is ridden year round the bearings on the cheaper freewheels simply can't take our salty roads.

Permalink Reply by Tandemonium on June 27, 2014 at 4:32pm

My freehub failed on my winter mtb this winter. Same thing, spins free in both directions. I guess it is due to gunk preventing the pawls from opening up and locking the hub; and that the extreme cold makes it worse. Leading up to that, the hub would 'slip' sometimes when I started off. I must have worn down the pawls when partially engaged to the point it would never work. It happens i guess. It is a cheap part to replace on a flip-flop hub though so I wouldn't worry too much.

Permalink Reply by Michael A on June 27, 2014 at 4:43pm

It is a $25 part, it passed away, time to move on.  If you are concerned with poor quality freewheels you can purchase a White industries freewheel for about $80. Also a flip flop hub can come in several flavors, fixed/fixed, fixed/free. I have successfully been using a White freewheel on a fix/fix wheel for about a year now.

Permalink Reply by Tandemonium on June 27, 2014 at 4:51pm

+1

Michael A said:

It is a $25 part, it passed away, time to move on.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 28, 2014 at 3:28pm

+2

They don't make 'em like they used to, and Chicago winters are brutal.  He could try spraying some lube in there like tri-flow from time to time to help prolong the lifespan.

On all my freehubs I winterize them yearly by flushing and relubing using my Morningstar Freehub buddy.  It's harder to do something like this with a freewheel but it can be done with some effort and some improvised tools to pump solvent and then fresh lube through.  But in the end...$25 part.

Michael A said:

It is a $25 part, it passed away, time to move on.  If you are concerned with poor quality freewheels you can purchase a White industries freewheel for about $80. Also a flip flop hub can come in several flavors, fixed/fixed, fixed/free. I have successfully been using a White freewheel on a fix/fix wheel for about a year now.

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