Freehub reliability

OzCableguy said:

I keep breaking freewheels (Shimano Y3A398020). I'm up to my 3rd one in
as many weeks but the original one from when the bike was new lasted 7
months.

That's a Deore level freehub I think, which should be able to take a
reasonable amount of abuse. I've got one floating about that's quite a few
years old, and was used for racing with a 34 tooth sprocket for several of
those. It's now replaced with an XT hub because I built up a UST wheel,
but the original is still alive and kicking.

What's happening to those hubs? Are you riding through lots of mud or salt
water, or anything like that? Even then you should get more than a week
out of one, which makes me suspect that there's something more going on.

I'd be checking that the internal attachment bolt is firmly tightened,
that the axle isn't bent, and that your dropouts are straight. Any of
those could load up the internals so that there's a failure. It's also
worth checking that the cluster is tight and straight, since you can get
some odd ball behaviour. Double check that you don't have a clearance
issue on the inside as well being caused by a bent or broken spoke, though
that would normally mean that those freehubs would never work. Same deal
goes with junk caught in the spokes and jamming the cluster.

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
"Sanity is like money; you should just have enough to get by. Any more
and you turn into a freak" - rone, ASR

"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

That's a Deore level freehub I think, which should be able to take a
reasonable amount of abuse.

It's part of the Alivio FH-MC18 hub which I think is pretty close to where
it starts with Shimano.

Quoted message said:

What's happening to those hubs? Are you riding through lots of mud or salt
water, or anything like that? Even then you should get more than a week
out of one, which makes me suspect that there's something more going on.

It's dry & dusty at the moment but no one else I know is having these
issues. The 2 LBS's I've been talking to reckon I'm the only one that ever
breaks them. It seems to happen when I really put the power into it. eg
granny gear up a steep, steep incline where you're about half way between
losing traction and flipping over backwards.

Quoted message said:

I'd be checking that the internal attachment bolt is firmly tightened,
that the axle isn't bent, and that your dropouts are straight. Any of
those could load up the internals so that there's a failure. It's also
worth checking that the cluster is tight and straight, since you can get
some odd ball behaviour. Double check that you don't have a clearance
issue on the inside as well being caused by a bent or broken spoke, though
that would normally mean that those freehubs would never work. Same deal
goes with junk caught in the spokes and jamming the cluster.

Yeah, doesn't appear to be anything bent or out of alignment. The cassette
doesn't wobble like you'd normally get with a bent axle. The wheel's a
little bit out of true but nothing that should cause an issue. About the
only thing out of the ordinary is I've got the spokes done up a bit tighter
than standard. (I do that to my bikes as I break less spokes that way).
I did have to replace a disk rotor a couple of months ago. It got hit by a
rock and developed a permanent warp that defied straightening and would keep
coming back back when heated. While the replacement rotor cured the problem,
perhaps there was a deeper issue? I might get an LBS mechanic to examine
this one I think.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

I've done some googling and found several reports from other heavy & strong
riders destroying the cheaper Shimano hubs so I guess it is me after all.

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Hub/product_22108.shtml

"I am a strong, rather agressive technical rider. I have broken other parts,
but this is ridiculous. Between this and my other rig, I have sent back at
least TWO DOZEN on warranty, sometimes at a rate of one every 2 weeks.
If you have any strength in your legs, or if you plan to do any riding other
than at the local municipal park, avoid Shimano hubs. You have been warned."

"I've stripped 3 freehubs (broken pawls, stripped ratchets, etc) in the last
three years (2 LX and 1 XT, the freehubs are all the same strength AFAIK).
If you are a heavy or strong rider that rides uphill, Shimano hubs will not
last."

http://bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-292761.html

"OK, I broke another Shimano freehub today, I now have broken 5 of them.
....I ride on rough steep horse trails. I weigh 280 pounds. My bike is a Trek
Liquid. The freehub breaks when I am climbing, usually a steep hill with
some rocks or something. It makes a Loud Clunk and usually won't disengage.
Sometimes it won't engage, either way its screwed."

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:08:07 GMT

OzCableguy said:

I've done some googling and found several reports from other heavy & strong
riders destroying the cheaper Shimano hubs so I guess it is me after all.

THe geared hubs seem to die fairly easily too. Moz broke 2 and they
wouldn't replace the 2nd under warranty. Rohloffs take the hard work,
Shimano doesn't.

Zebee

OzCableguy said:

I keep breaking freewheels (Shimano Y3A398020). I'm up to my
3rd one in as many weeks but the original one from when the
bike was new lasted 7 months. I think it's because I'm too
heavy & my leg strength has reached a critical mass in the
last month or so for what the part was designed for. Is there
something stronger I can replace it with?

They seem to pop when I'm ascending steep bits of trail,
particularly if I give it everything I've got to hop over a
log or something.

It might be worth asking over on the rec.bicycles.tech
newsgroup.

John

On 2007-07-22, OzCableguy (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

http://bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-292761.html

"OK, I broke another Shimano freehub today, I now have broken 5 of them.
...I ride on rough steep horse trails. I weigh 280 pounds. My bike is a Trek
Liquid. The freehub breaks when I am climbing, usually a steep hill with
some rocks or something. It makes a Loud Clunk and usually won't disengage.
Sometimes it won't engage, either way its screwed."

Instant fixie conversion?

"Can't be bothered relacing a wheel with a fixie hub? Just hire me,
OzCableguy, to convert your already laced freehub into a fixed hub
with my massive thighs!"

--
TimC
If anyone tells me to work smarter, not harder, I will kick him
or her, hard, in a random body part. I will then kick him or her
a second time, "smarter, not harder," which is to say that on the
second strike, I'll use the same force, but target more carefully.
-- Catherine in Scary Devil Monastery

"OzCableguy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I keep breaking freewheels (Shimano Y3A398020). I'm up to my 3rd one in as
many weeks but the original one from when the bike was new lasted 7 months.
I think it's because I'm too heavy & my leg strength has reached a critical
mass in the last month or so for what the part was designed for. Is there
something stronger I can replace it with?

They seem to pop when I'm ascending steep bits of trail, particularly if I
give it everything I've got to hop over a log or something.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

Geeez, come on everybody. All he wants to hear is how big and strong he is.
He even admits this later on somewhere....Yes, cableguy, you're big, strong
and great.....cableguy, you're the 'barry dawson - cougar' of cycling.

"TimC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Instant fixie conversion?

"Can't be bothered relacing a wheel with a fixie hub? Just hire me,
OzCableguy, to convert your already laced freehub into a fixed hub
with my massive thighs!"

Hehe. At least I could've rode it home as a fixie in that case. The problem
with the first failure was it wouldn't engage at all after it popped. Same
sensation as a broken chain.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

"OnTheWagon"
<Path:wnb1!wnmaster2!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!128.230.129.106!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.icl.net!diablo.theplanet.net!news.theplanet.net!newspost.theplanet.net!not-for-mail>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Geeez, come on everybody. All he wants to hear is how big and strong he
is. He even admits this later on somewhere....Yes, cableguy, you're big,
strong and great.....cableguy, you're the 'barry dawson - cougar' of
cycling.

LOL! If only... No I only mentioned that as a possible factor so hopefully
I'd get a response from someone with a similar experience and a solution.
I just want to be able to ride as hard as I can without breaking something
or worrying about breaking something. Cheap parts don't pay off if they keep
breaking, and it's a long walk home.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

So you're a Clydesdale. There's lots of them out there.
Why don't you just buy a decent hub that wont break.
Chris King, White Bros, Hugi (new), Phil Wood.
These companies all make tandem rated hubs. you wont break these.
The old saying " do it once and do it right"

Cheers

Geoff

"geoffs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So you're a Clydesdale. There's lots of them out there.
Why don't you just buy a decent hub that wont break.
Chris King, White Bros, Hugi (new), Phil Wood.
These companies all make tandem rated hubs. you wont break these.
The old saying " do it once and do it right"

Cheers

Geoff

I have a cannondale (coda) freehub (135mm) if you're interested. If you can break it, I'll refund all.

Tomasso.

OzCableguy said:

Hehe. At least I could've rode it home as a fixie in that case. The
problem with the first failure was it wouldn't engage at all after it
popped. Same sensation as a broken chain.

Sounds like stripped pawls, which'd indicate that you're putting too much
power down (you beast!). If it is Alivio level, move up to a Deore freehub
body or higher. They seem to last pretty well - I'm reasonably light, but
have raced MTBs fairly hard without issues.

The other thing would be to check you're not stripping the internal
attachment - ie the freehub is working, but the whole thing is shifting
against the hub shell. Unlikely, but if you got highpoint to highpoint on
the splined interface it could do ugly things. That internal bolt needs to
be fairly tight, though the axle and QR should hold it together once it's
on. I'd expect nastier behaviour than a spinning freehub if that were the
problem, but bikes have a fantastic ability to throw odd symptoms.

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the Andes,
and I had to eat him - adferraro

"geoffs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So you're a Clydesdale. There's lots of them out there.
Why don't you just buy a decent hub that wont break.
Chris King, White Bros, Hugi (new), Phil Wood.
These companies all make tandem rated hubs. you wont break these.
The old saying " do it once and do it right"

Thanks to all. That's the kind of info I need.
I dropped into another LBS today and they had some Velocity wheels they were
clearing which they claimed has much, much stronger hub internals. It has a
far noisier ratchet anyway which I'm taking as a positive sign and so far
it's held together despite my best efforts to break it. ;-)
I've seen the Chris King's and Hugis mentioned a few times so I'll
definitely investigate those if I somehow manage to break this one too. OTOH
maybe it just has to last long enough to see me through to losing a few more
kgs then I can go back to the cheap & nasty one without fear. :-)

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

OzCableguy said:

Hehe. At least I could've rode it home as a fixie in that case. The problem
with the first failure was it wouldn't engage at all after it popped. Same
sensation as a broken chain.

now, if that was a screw on cluster, I'd tell you that you needed to
disassemble it and replace the paul springs. I'd also suggest getting a
cluster with four pauls, instead of two. BTDT in that era. The pauls
were an absolute mess. I ended up purchasing a cheap model of that brand
to canabalise it for the pauls. But I still had to walk home.

OzCableguy said:

OTOH
maybe it just has to last long enough to see me through to losing a few more
kgs then I can go back to the cheap & nasty one without fear. :-)

Err, maybe a change of technique to higher cadence and more spinning,
rather than just jumping on the pedals. BTDT.

And a consider otherways that allow for alternatives to just pure power
through the drive chain.

Sometimes, you are probably just going to have to accept that you are
just going to trash the bike (like 4WD owners who go in extreme 4WD
driving events and rollover and/or turtle).