Re: Rear wheel problem

[Ken]

"HP" > wrote in message
...
>
> Hi, I have an 80'ish Team Fuji road bike that I'm using to commute to
> school. A spoke on the freewheel side broke, and I had to get the
> freewheel off to put in a replacement. The freewheel takes a 4-prong
> SunTour removal tool, which I had. Anyway, I put on the extractor,
> screwed
> on the QR lever, and tried it with a 12" crescent, and it wouldn't budge.
> Tried it some more, and 2 of the 4 prongs broke. Then I took the thing to
> a neighbor's house and mounted it on a vise and tried again. The 3rd
> prong
> broke.
>
> So I went down to a LBS to see if they have any tricks, and they said the
> only thing left to do is to disassemble the freewheel and take out the
> cogs, then clamp on the body to remove it. Didn't have a center punch, so
> I tried with some flatbladed screwdriver to get the outer ring of the
> freewheel to turn, but it just ate the screwdrivers. Anyway, I'm starting
> to think that getting this thing apart is more trouble than it's worth,
> and
> since the wheel isn't that great a shape any more, I thought about getting
> a new set of wheels.
>
> I checked on Nashbar and they have a wheelset for $75. It said that it
> has a 130mm spacing (using 8-9 spd Shimano cassette). I don't know of the
> specs on my bike (early to mid-80 Fuji), so I'm not sure if it will fit.
> I'm not even sure what the measurement is exactly, for the dropout width
> or
> the wheel or what. Can anyone give some info on the bike I have, or some
> advice on either upgrading the wheel or to get the doggone freewheel off?
> Thanks in advance for any help.
>
> HP

Well let us assume that the Fuji is a steel frame bike. If the spacing for
the new Nashbar wheels is wider than what your current wheels are, you can
always cold set the frame Take a look here:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

Cold setting is pretty easy I have used this method on a couple of older
steel frames.

Ken

[botfood]

front hub should be the same 100mm.... you really don't have to do
anything fancy to get a typical 130mm current hub into 126mm.... you
just 'stretch' the chainstays and jam it in....

d

[[email protected]]

HP,

A couple things to make this easier hopefully:

* Did you go crazy with the Liquid Wrench before trying to remove the
freewheel? Spray it in from the BACK of the freewheel, get it all over
the threads on the hub if possible, then let it soak for an hour or
two, then put a new, unworn tool in a vise and give it a shot.
Freewheels are a PAIN to unscrew, one good reason that cassettes have
taken over...

* Don't worry about the frame spacing if it's a steel frame. You don't
HAVE to cold set your frame. You can just put the 130 mm wheel in a
126 mm frame, by squeezing the dropouts open a little bit. This is not
dangerous, especially on a steel frame. The only disadvantage is that
it will take a few seconds more to get the rear wheel in and out. I
researched this extensively for my touring bike. I'm currently using a
130 mm wheel in 126 mm dropouts, and it works just fine.

* If you're on a tight budget, maybe you should just buy a new hub and
cassette and rebuild the wheel with the current spokes and rims
(assuming they're okay). I did my first wheel build like this, and it
was a lot easier than I expected. And the wheel has held up fine.
Nashbar sells a Shimano Sora freehub for $15, their nine speed
cassettes are around $20 and have worked fine for me.

Dan

[Zoot Katz]

Sat, 28 May 2005 17:44:34 -0700,
>,
HP > wrote:

>May be I should just try to get the dang freewheel off and get a new
>freewheel.

Last time I had to do that I used a hardened nail (powder actuated
fastener) to drive around the freewheel cone. Remember to turn it
clockwise as it's a left-hand thread.

It's very satisfying to destroy a freewheel after it's caused you so
much grief. Persist and prevail.
--
zk

[Tom Keats]

In article >,
Zoot Katz > writes:

> It's very satisfying to destroy a freewheel after it's caused you so
> much grief.

Especially if it's one of those freewheel-remover-destroying
old SunTours.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

[Zoot Katz]

Sat, 28 May 2005 18:41:22 -0700, >,
(Tom Keats) wrote:

>> It's very satisfying to destroy a freewheel after it's caused you so
>> much grief.
>
>Especially if it's one of those freewheel-remover-destroying
>old SunTours.

Is there any other kind of Sun Tour freewheel?
--
zk

[Tom Keats]

In article >,
Zoot Katz > writes:
> Sat, 28 May 2005 18:41:22 -0700, >,
> (Tom Keats) wrote:
>
>>> It's very satisfying to destroy a freewheel after it's caused you so
>>> much grief.
>>
>>Especially if it's one of those freewheel-remover-destroying
>>old SunTours.
>
> Is there any other kind of Sun Tour freewheel?

No. The only difference is the number of prongs on
the removal tool that get rent asunder.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

[David L. Johnson]

On Sat, 28 May 2005 17:44:34 -0700, HP wrote:

> May be I should just try to get the dang freewheel off and get a new
> freewheel. Cheaper,

Well, the tool will be a few bucks, and the freewheel probably $25. Still
need a new spoke. Getting close to the cost of the new wheels,
cost/benefit-wise. But the $75 wheels will not come with a cassette.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not
_`\(,_ | certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to
(_)/ (_) | reality. -- Albert Einstein

[Zoot Katz]

Mon, 30 May 2005 19:18:26 -0700,
>,
HP > wrote:

>What is meant by "use a lever to bend the spokes around each
>other where they cross"? I think it's some sort of flexing the spokes at
>the crossing points, but I don't know what kind of action he's using the
>lever for.

Push down on the upper spoke while the lower one is being levered up.
--
zk