Freehub interchangeability, fairly old school 8 speed.
Discussion
I've got a very sick freehub on a mountain bike from about 2005.
What are the chances I can swap it for one from a similar era wheel? Or maybe '98/2000 era?
All fairly generic stuff, all 8 speed cassettes, standard QR
Ebay offers this style:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385529104987
which has just a thread going into the wheel hub, or this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374645308505
which has a thread and a sort of splined bit.
Is one much more likely than the other?
Is one style new and the other old?
Are there many different styles, I'm not talking about 'bling' brands like Hope here.
I've not got it off the wheel yet, the tool is 'in da post'.
Thanks for any help!
What are the chances I can swap it for one from a similar era wheel? Or maybe '98/2000 era?
All fairly generic stuff, all 8 speed cassettes, standard QR
Ebay offers this style:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385529104987
which has just a thread going into the wheel hub, or this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374645308505
which has a thread and a sort of splined bit.
Is one much more likely than the other?
Is one style new and the other old?
Are there many different styles, I'm not talking about 'bling' brands like Hope here.
I've not got it off the wheel yet, the tool is 'in da post'.
Thanks for any help!
Pushing my memory of working on them now (from about 2005)! But my gut feeling is that if it's a 'fairly generic' bike it'll be a Shimano compatible affair and will most likely fit.
You'll need to disassemble/remove the axle itself in order to get a large hex key through the hub to undo it and they can be awful stuck so you'll need something sturdy.
We quite often used to replace whole wheels on abused MTBs when buckled beyond economical straightening and then bin the old ones off. Was a plentiful source of working free-hub bodies to swap about.
You'll need to disassemble/remove the axle itself in order to get a large hex key through the hub to undo it and they can be awful stuck so you'll need something sturdy.
We quite often used to replace whole wheels on abused MTBs when buckled beyond economical straightening and then bin the old ones off. Was a plentiful source of working free-hub bodies to swap about.
The Sheldon Brown site is pretty good at the options & how to do swaps - https://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html
The Sheldon Brown site is pretty good at the options & how to do swaps - https://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html
My mistake it seems.
I thought the two-prong tool I've ordered was to remove the freehub body, looks like I should be able to remove it with an allen key, if I can remove the LH wheel bearing cup.
The tool will enable me to dismantle the body, I think it's a bit late for that, I reckon the freehub will be scrap.
I'm not sure if I own a 15mm allen key, but I do own a bench grinder....
What (else!) can possiblly go wrong?
Thanks for the sanity check!
I thought the two-prong tool I've ordered was to remove the freehub body, looks like I should be able to remove it with an allen key, if I can remove the LH wheel bearing cup.
The tool will enable me to dismantle the body, I think it's a bit late for that, I reckon the freehub will be scrap.
I'm not sure if I own a 15mm allen key, but I do own a bench grinder....
What (else!) can possiblly go wrong?
Thanks for the sanity check!
Edited by OutInTheShed on Saturday 9th December 20:01
I had a very worn freehub on a wheel from that approx age. I believe originally on a budget decathlon mtb.
I tried removing it but couldn't get an Allen key to work, not sure it was actually replaceable.
In the end I found a new wheel for £20, with freehub. Might be another option if the bike is nothing special.
I tried removing it but couldn't get an Allen key to work, not sure it was actually replaceable.
In the end I found a new wheel for £20, with freehub. Might be another option if the bike is nothing special.
cml24 said:
I had a very worn freehub on a wheel from that approx age. I believe originally on a budget decathlon mtb.
I tried removing it but couldn't get an Allen key to work, not sure it was actually replaceable.
In the end I found a new wheel for £20, with freehub. Might be another option if the bike is nothing special.
The bike is nothing that special, but the rims are reasonable and they've stood up to a lot of abuse.I tried removing it but couldn't get an Allen key to work, not sure it was actually replaceable.
In the end I found a new wheel for £20, with freehub. Might be another option if the bike is nothing special.
I have a spare wheel, but the rim on that is something I'd only use on the roads or a well-graded forest track at most.
It does turbo trainer duty at the moment.
When you don't need one, there are loads of nice wheels for sale cheap, when you need one, not so!
Plus of course a lot of cheap 26inch stuff will have had a long hard life by now, so I end up looking at good stuff or brand new.
Cheap new wheels don't seem to have very tough-looking rims.
I suspect I need to admit this is all a lack of maintenance on my part.
I have re-laced wheels before, but TBH I was looking for a quick fix not a labour of love!
If I'm honest you are probably better off buying a used 26" rear wheel. Even in 2005, there were dozens up dozen of brands and manufacturers. I would go for a known quantity, buying a rear wheel with a hope bulb or hope pro 2 hub. They are really easily disassembled, and Parts are still available. Just make sure you buy the correct width, and axel type (though axel adaptors are also available).
Hope stuff is super simple, working with cartridge bearings is bliss.
You may need a new cassette if have a screw on type, and cassette spacers for 8spd.
Hope stuff is super simple, working with cartridge bearings is bliss.
You may need a new cassette if have a screw on type, and cassette spacers for 8spd.
Edited by Cats_pyjamas on Sunday 10th December 09:59
Cats_pyjamas said:
If I'm honest you are probably better off buying a used 26" rear wheel. Even in 2005, there were dozens up dozen of brands and manufacturers. I would go for a known quantity, buying a rear wheel with a hope bulb or hope pro 2 hub. They are really easily disassembled, and Parts are still available. Just make sure you buy the correct width, and axel type (though axel adaptors are also available).
Yes, I'm inclined to do that if the right thing pops into my sights.I don't want to spend a fortune, or buy something that's as bad as what I've got!
Loads of stuff out there is either 'boost' or rim brake or spline-fit discs or screw-on freewheel.
Most of my mates only have 'better' stuff in their spares hoards.
A down-side of living in the sticks is that all those obvious bargain wheels are miles away!
Makes me realise why so many bikes get thrown in a skip before they are very old.
Easy to fritter away £40 sorting one problem on an old bike, new bike £300 in a sale.
I could be tempted to find a better used bike and break this one or relegate it to the turbo trainer permanently.
I quite like it though!
Also, when you take a wheel out of a bike, the bike becomes a 'thing which takes up very much space!'
Got it off.
12mm Allen key and quite a bit of torque.
Looks like the things on ebay, no splines.
Loads of obviouls China sellers pretending to have UK stock for deliver in about a week.
Genuine Shimano item for similar money from SGS has 24mm thread not 22mm.
It's from a 'Formula' hub.
Reluctantly ordered the ebay thing for £9.50.
So now, lots of good used wheels might turn up!
12mm Allen key and quite a bit of torque.
Looks like the things on ebay, no splines.
Loads of obviouls China sellers pretending to have UK stock for deliver in about a week.
Genuine Shimano item for similar money from SGS has 24mm thread not 22mm.
It's from a 'Formula' hub.
Reluctantly ordered the ebay thing for £9.50.
So now, lots of good used wheels might turn up!
gazza285 said:
OutInTheShed said:
It's from a 'Formula' hub.
Had those on one of my youth’s cyclocross bikes, it was utter rubbish. Rebuilt the wheels with Hopes.A pair of Hope hubs would be more than I paid for the bike, even secondhand they command a price.
If I'd stripped/cleaned/lubed the freehub two years ago, it would probably still be OK now?
Formula Hubs still seem to exist as a company, but no useful info for these hubs on the website as far as I could make out.
Probably many thousands of people cycling to work in China and elsewhere using their products?
I'll keep an eye open for a pair of better wheels, but I could be distracted towards changing the bike.
There is the remains of a slim rubber seal on the inner side of the freehub I've removed, between the body which carries the cassette and the bit which screws into the main hub of the wheel.
If there's a seal on the outer side, I can't see it working any more as there is a lot of movement!
If there's a seal on the outer side, I can't see it working any more as there is a lot of movement!
I got fed up waiting for the new freehub to turn up, clearly it's in China.
So I pulled the old one apart, cleaned it, found the bearing tracks a bit worn and the outer balls changed to little black dice shapes.
I put it back together with new balls, tried it without the thinnest of the three shims, but it was tight, so back how it was.
Much improved, cassette only moves slightly from side to side now and the roughness and rumble freewheeling is pretty much gone.
Not perfect, but better, and hopefully less likely to lock up! I think those 'dice' were close to getting into the ratchetty bit!
I read in a couple of places, the freehub is the most neglected part of most otherwise well-maintained bikes?
At least the bike is back in one piece and not in bits under my feet any more!
So I pulled the old one apart, cleaned it, found the bearing tracks a bit worn and the outer balls changed to little black dice shapes.
I put it back together with new balls, tried it without the thinnest of the three shims, but it was tight, so back how it was.
Much improved, cassette only moves slightly from side to side now and the roughness and rumble freewheeling is pretty much gone.
Not perfect, but better, and hopefully less likely to lock up! I think those 'dice' were close to getting into the ratchetty bit!
I read in a couple of places, the freehub is the most neglected part of most otherwise well-maintained bikes?
At least the bike is back in one piece and not in bits under my feet any more!
OutInTheShed said:
I read in a couple of places, the freehub is the most neglected part of most otherwise well-maintained bikes?
At least the bike is back in one piece and not in bits under my feet any more!
Yup, on more than one occasion I'd have a bike come in that had a new chain and cassette because it was skipping only to point out there was so much play in the free hub the chain was being fed onto different gear as it wiggled about.At least the bike is back in one piece and not in bits under my feet any more!
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