need help removing broken freewheel

In article <[email hidden]>,

Carl said:

I've got myself in a real spot. I've got a wheel that has a Campy
Record hub and a Regina freewheel. I was going to remove the freewheel
to replace it with one that has larger cogs (hope I'm using the right
term - I'm trying to make it easier to go up hill). The freewheel tool
for this freewheel is the type that has two prongs that extend down
into two matching slots in a ring on the front of the freewheel. Well,
I succeeded in breaking the two prongs and the ring that the slots
were in in the process and still haven't made any progress in
loosening the freewheel. If you want to know how I broke these let me
know - it's a long painful story that I won't inflict on everyone.

Bottom line is, I can't figure out how to get this freewheel off now
that the normal method is out of the question. The only thing I can
think of is to try and cut it off very carefully with a grinder. That
seems quite risky and brutal.

If the freewheel is already toast, then you can just take it
completely apart and clamp the remainder of the freewheel body in
a vise. You want to disassemble the body so all the teeny bits
fall out and then clamp onto what's left. Grinding some flats
sometimes helps if you can't get a good grip on it.

--Paul

(Carl) said:

I've got myself in a real spot. I've got a wheel that has a Campy
Record hub and a Regina freewheel. I was going to remove the freewheel
to replace it with one that has larger cogs (hope I'm using the right
term - I'm trying to make it easier to go up hill). The freewheel tool
for this freewheel is the type that has two prongs that extend down
into two matching slots in a ring on the front of the freewheel. Well,
I succeeded in breaking the two prongs and the ring that the slots
were in in the process and still haven't made any progress in
loosening the freewheel. If you want to know how I broke these let me
know - it's a long painful story that I won't inflict on everyone.

The next time I hope you'll use Sheldon's excellent advice to use the
hub QR's to hold the freewheel tool onto the freewheel when you try to
remove it.

There are at least 3 ways to get the freewheel off now.

1. Buy a chain whip and use it on the largest (outside) cog. better
yet, take the freewheel to a shop and this is probably the first
thing they will try.

2. Use a freewheel vice.

3. (This is one i've actually done, I think) - get 2 tall medium
sized screw drivers, clamp them into a vice vertically, and then
lay the wheel horizontally onto the vice, and find a pair of holes
in the backside of the freewheel body where you can insert the
screwdriver tips firmly. Drivers must be at least 150 mm long,
and smaller tips can pass through campy large-flange holes and
into the freewheel (this is what I actually did when I was a
teen.) No need to thread through the hub holes if you have
small-flange hubs and a decent to wide ratio freewheel.

now, gently rotate the rim in the vice by a small amount, maybe an
inch or two. The screwdrivers will hold the freewheel in place
from the backside, and the spokes will twist the hub away from the
freewheel.

voila !

- Don "Love my Vise" Gillies
San Diego, CA

[email hidden] (Paul Southworth) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
<snip>

Quoted message said:

If the freewheel is already toast, then you can just take it
completely apart and clamp the remainder of the freewheel body in
a vise. You want to disassemble the body so all the teeny bits
fall out and then clamp onto what's left. Grinding some flats
sometimes helps if you can't get a good grip on it.

--Paul

Old-school bike mechanics (like me) used to do this- not all the time,
but those old Regina freewheels were awful easy to strip out. Even
the Bicycle Research tool would take the lugs off of the freewheel
body occasionally.

As Paul says, disassembling the freewheel with a punch as described by
Sheldon:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html#disassembly . You should
be able to grip the inner freewheel body with a large bench vise or
pipe wrench and loosen it. Dispose of the old freewheel artistically.

Jeff

On 25 May 2004 18:19:27 -0700 [email hidden] (Donald Gillies)

Quoted message said:

There are at least 3 ways to get the freewheel off now.

1. Buy a chain whip and use it on the largest (outside) cog. better
yet, take the freewheel to a shop and this is probably the first
thing they will try.

2. Use a freewheel vice.

3. (This is one i've actually done, I think) - get 2 tall medium
sized screw drivers, clamp them into a vice vertically, and then
lay the wheel horizontally onto the vice, and find a pair of holes
in the backside of the freewheel body where you can insert the
screwdriver tips firmly. Drivers must be at least 150 mm long,
and smaller tips can pass through campy large-flange holes and
into the freewheel (this is what I actually did when I was a
teen.) No need to thread through the hub holes if you have
small-flange hubs and a decent to wide ratio freewheel.

now, gently rotate the rim in the vice by a small amount, maybe an
inch or two. The screwdrivers will hold the freewheel in place
from the backside, and the spokes will twist the hub away from the
freewheel.

I've been trying to understand these suggestions, but I don't think
any of them actually work. The freewheel will "freewheel" in each
case.

If you've misused the freewheel tool such that you've ruined the drive
slots, then your only other option is to disassemble the freewheel and
clamp directly on the inner body. Cyclo even made a special plate for
this, years ago. The plate has drive dogs which will slip into the
pawl spaces in the inner body. But the cogs, lockring, outer body,
pawls, springs and bearings all need to be removed first. Fortunately
this is easier than it may sound.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney [email hidden]
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

Carl said:

I've got myself in a real spot. I've got a wheel that has a Campy
Record hub and a Regina freewheel. I was going to remove the freewheel
to replace it with one that has larger cogs (hope I'm using the right
term - I'm trying to make it easier to go up hill). The freewheel tool
for this freewheel is the type that has two prongs that extend down
into two matching slots in a ring on the front of the freewheel. Well,
I succeeded in breaking the two prongs and the ring that the slots
were in in the process and still haven't made any progress in
loosening the freewheel. If you want to know how I broke these let me
know - it's a long painful story that I won't inflict on everyone.

Bottom line is, I can't figure out how to get this freewheel off now
that the normal method is out of the question. The only thing I can
think of is to try and cut it off very carefully with a grinder. That
seems quite risky and brutal.

First, see if you can remove it by properly securing the
tool in the stumps, fastened tightly with a skewer. MOunt
the tool in a vise and rock it so the tool's pegs mate into
the slots as well as possible. Retighten the skewer.

If you can get a purchase that way ( and that's how you're
supposed to use that tool) then give the wheel a spin. If
the freewheel moves, unscrew the skewer right away so you
don't snap it as the freewheel lifts.

Failing that, several methods to destroy the freewheel can
be used. One way is to slit the cover plate with a disc
grinder , knock that off, drop the outer half of the body in
the trash and grab the inner body itself in a vise. Unscrew
the wheel. That is the fastest way once you've given up.

The Schwinn shop manual suggests removing the axle and using
a 3/4"~1" EZ-Out in the body. Yikes.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

cdgrove-<< Bottom line is, I can't figure out how to get this freewheel off now
that the normal method is out of the question. The only thing I can
think of is to try and cut it off very carefully with a grinder. That
seems quite risky and brutal. >><BR><BR>

Take it apart, all but the final portion that is attached to the hub and use a
dremel disc cutter to cut it off in sections.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Carl said:

I've got myself in a real spot. I've got a wheel that has a Campy
Record hub and a Regina freewheel.

Venerable wheel

Quoted message said:

Well,
I succeeded in breaking the two prongs and the ring that the slots
were in in the process and still haven't made any progress in
loosening the freewheel.

OK, now the freewheel is ruined, but that's not really a problem I
suppose. Why it happened is. You need to use a quick-release to hold the
tool against the freewheel (not too tight) while you loosen the
freewheel (in a vise is best).

Quoted message said:

Bottom line is, I can't figure out how to get this freewheel off now
that the normal method is out of the question. The only thing I can
think of is to try and cut it off very carefully with a grinder.

There is a small plate on the end of the freewheel, surrounding the part
that you ruined. There are two holes (not all the way through) in it.
Use a drift to loosen this plate. It should not be too hard to do. Then,
the cogs and the outer shell will come off, freeing zillions of little
bearings, a few springs and a couple other bits. Sweep that all into the
trash. Then, you can grab what is left in the jaws of a really big pipe
wrench and get it unscrewed. It will take a lot of effort, though.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Let's not escape into mathematics. Let's stay with reality. --
_`\(,_ | Michael Crichton
(_)/ (_) |

Carl Fogel said:

Bottom line is, I can't figure out how to get this freewheel off now
that the normal method is out of the question. The only thing I can
think of is to try and cut it off very carefully with a grinder.
That seems quite risky and brutal.

By all means don't do that, you will only damage the hub threads when
the FW core is near separation. Take the FW apart by using a pointed
punch to drive the cone (the plate with two holes and embossed text)
counter-clockwise (it is a left hand thread) to unscrew it. A pile of
1/8" bearing balls will come out as you lift the sprocket shell off.

Now you can remove the core using a pipe wrench. This does not cause
serious damage. I have reused such cores after replacing broken spokes.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

There has been a LOT of bad advice on this thread.

Getting close to correct said:

By all means don't do that, you will only damage the hub threads when
the FW core is near separation.

Keerect.

Quoted message said:

Take the FW apart by using a pointed
punch to drive the cone (the plate with two holes and embossed text)
counter-clockwise (it is a left hand thread) to unscrew it.

He meant to say "clockwise."

See also: http://sheldonbrown.com/freewheels

Sheldon "Deasil, Not Widdershins" Brown
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| It is good to learn from your mistakes; |
| It is better to learn from the mistakes of others. |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Quoted message said:

Carl Fogel said:

Bottom line is, I can't figure out how to get this freewheel off now
that the normal method is out of the question. The only thing I can
think of is to try and cut it off very carefully with a grinder.
That seems quite risky and brutal.

By all means don't do that, you will only damage the hub threads when
the FW core is near separation. Take the FW apart by using a pointed
punch to drive the cone (the plate with two holes and embossed text)
counter-clockwise (it is a left hand thread) to unscrew it. A pile of
1/8" bearing balls will come out as you lift the sprocket shell off.

Now you can remove the core using a pipe wrench. This does not cause
serious damage. I have reused such cores after replacing broken spokes.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

Dear Jobst,

Alas, this Carl is not me, but a real person, with a real
bicycle problem, who will appreciate your real solution.

I'm just a pack of eight basset hounds nosing at the
keyboard in hopes of producing the works of William
Shaksper.

Christopher Marlen, Marley, Marlo, Marlow, Marlowe, Merling,
Merlin, and Morley.

Jim Adney said:

I've been trying to understand these suggestions, but I don't think
any of them actually work. The freewheel will "freewheel" in each
case.

Gosh, I think that you are indeed correct. Next time, I'll try to do
a better job of recollecting my practices from 30 years ago !!

- Don Gillies