Sunrace 8-Speed Freewheel

Product Information

working on freewheel bodies is generally not worth the trouble. The freewheel gets the least wear of any bearing on a bicycle, since it only turns when it is not carrying a load. Long-cage derailers have greater takeup capacity, and work with all types of cassettes. Long-cage derailers are commonly called "mountain" derailers currently, though in the past, this style of derailer was known as a "touring" derailer. (The marketeers retired the use of "touring" as a buzzword in the late '80s when mountain bikes became the hot item.) Long-cage (SGS) derailers have greater takeup capacity, and work with all types of cassettes. Long-cage derailers are commonly called "mountain" derailers currently, though in the past, this style of derailer was known as a "touring" derailer. (The marketeers retired the use of "touring" as a buzzword in the late '80s when mountain bikes became the hot item.) "Road" vs "Mountain" Front Derailers So my question is does this have a good chance of working or might there be problems? What pitfalls do I need to look out for? I made a spreadsheet of the gear ratios and they look very good. There is no large gap in the lowest 2 gear ratios and the middle gears that I mostly use are also very nicely spaced (between 11 and 14% gap). working on freewheel bodies is generally not worth the trouble. The freewheel bearing gets the least wear of any on a bicycle, since it only turns when it is not carrying any load. Some people will ignore my advice and try to service freewheels (or have no choice).

The type of grease used is not all that important, but you must use something. The anti-seize compound that is commonly used for spoke nipples also works. Unless you are willing to put up with friction shifting, you need to install new shifters. Indexing handlebar-end shifters, top-mount shifters or downtube shift levers let you know how to shift by feel. Brake-lever shifters return to the same position after every shift, so you don't know what gear you are using. They also tend to be expensive. Brazed-on bosses for downtube shifters on some older frames will not fit today's index shift levers or cable stops, so you will need to use a clamp-on adapter. you don't need to buy the spacer, because you can use the spacer that came between the original flat 13 and the 14.) Campagnolo's first attempt at indexed shifting, "Synchro" was designed to work with older Campagnolo derailers, but the cable travel was too short and cable tension too high for reliable indexing. In the early 1990s, Campagnolo abandoned the Synchro system and redesigned everything around a longer cable travel. I don't know the exact year of this change, but I believe it happened at the same time as the move from 7-speed to 8-speed.

Shimano Freehub Cassette Systems (and copies)

Uniglide cassettes are no longer available. If you have a hub that only uses Uniglide cassettes, the best thing to do is to upgrade the hub by transplanting a Hyperglide body onto it. Do you need to replace an older, threaded rear hub to update to a modern, index-shifting drivetrain? If you get the rear wheel rebuilt with the right kind 0f 7s Freehub, you will be able to use any 7s cassette as well as various other shortened cassettes (eg 8 from 9 or 9 from 10 etc) 7s freehubs are available (eg used) in 126, 130 or 135mm widths. In practice taking a 126 mm one or a 130mm one and respacing it to 128mm means it will fit in either a 126mm frame or a 130mm frame. Your Sugino may be 110mm bcd, in which case it will accept an inner ring down to 34 tooth. If 130 bcd, then a 38 is available, or 39 if 135 bcd. Campagnolo made a very slight change in indexing in 2001. Supposedly, you need to use 2001 or later shifters with 2001 or later rear derailers, but the difference is so small that it doesn't matter in practice.

My 1984 Record Ace now has a triple with 26/36/46 and a 10 freehub with a 32 on the rear.Old age does not come alone! Even with a 30T inner chainring (you can go smaller than that, but look out for front derailleur capacity limits) you can use a cheap 14-28 6s or 13-28 7s freewheel to get a low gear like you want. Since chainrings usually last several freewheels/chains, this is not an expensive setup to run, because the freewheels and chains cost little. All recent freewheels and threaded hubs, regardless of where made, use ISO threading. The older British and Italian standards use the same thread pitch but a very slightly different thread diameter, and are generally interchangeable. However, for strong riders and on tandems, it is best not to mix and match -- freewheels sometimes do strip the threads of aluminium hubs. A French freewheel may start to thread onto an ISO/British/Italian hub but will soon bind. An ISO/British/Italian freewheel will skim the top of the threads of a French hub and will slip forward if an attempt is made to use it. Do not force a freewheel -- you will ruin the hub. speed freewheels with 13-15-17-19-21-24-28 teeth are available from Shimano, SunRace and IRD. This is a nice, even progression, or you may choose another -- see list of available freewheels from Harris Cyclery. Modern freewheels have the same easy-shifting features as cassettes. The right side of the outer freewheel body looks like this when all cleaned up. A bearing race is visible.

Freewheel Removal

Freewheels screw onto the hub without any tools, then, as you ride the bike, your pedaling effort tightens them down.

Narrow chains bring other problems, though. They are usually more expensive and -- with 10 or more speeds -- don't last as long -- even when used in the intended system. Are the shims trapped underneath the bearing balls? If so, you will have to remove the bearing balls before you can remove a shim, and replace shims before installing bearing balls. You can remove the bearing balls with a magnet, or turn the freewheel over far enough to spill out the bearing balls, while holding the outer body so it doesn't fall off.Mountain" hubs will likely be slightly better sealed against dirt and mud than "road" hubs, but this is rarely an issue in practice. The wider 135 mm spacing will generally result in a slightly stronger wheel due to reduced dishing of the spokes.

The same procedure works for off-brand Freehubs that have a LH threaded fastener accessed from the LH side of the hub, too. It doesn't work with freehub bodies that screw directly into the hub shell.This is easy to do, and generally requires no disassembly. Warning, though: unless the freewheel body is clean, the oil will carry grit and grime into the mechanism!