sticking freehub

scubarnsta

Hi, I bought a secondhand bike which has halfords element XSD3 wheels on it. I went for a ride the other day and the rear freehub began to stick which made the chain slacken and jump around the gears when freewheeling. I stripped the wheel down and cleaned everything out, but couldn't get into the freehub.
Does anyone know if i can replace the freehub, if so what make and model.
I took it in to halfords and no-one knew where to get a new freehub from.
Please help, I miss my bike.

1340jas

Sorry I don't know which hub you have so can't offer any advice.

Try the park tools web site. You may se a picture which identifies how to take the free hub to bits. most will come appart and can be serviced or replaced

nicklouse

new freehub form Halfords.

scubarnsta

I spoke to halfords and they don't sell the freehub even from the head office. the Xero website say that it should be shimano freehub compatible but the shimano one looks different. Might have to buy some new wheels, but what a pain for just a £10.00 part.

Cyclorama

Inspect the dust cap over the freehub's bearing cup and make sure it isn't bent or seated too far in and catching the cup. It's possible the person who last maintenanced your freehub thought the bearing cup was a seat for the dust cap - which it is not. If the dust cap is seated right up against the bearing cup, then this will cause the freehub to stick for sure. When coasting, the freehub and bearing cup spin in opposite directions. If the dust cap is seated into the freehub in a way that it catches on the bearing cup, then the wheel essentially takes the freehub along with it. A bent dust cap that's pushed in far enough to contact the leading edge of the cup will get drawn in further and will get even more bent, causing the sticking to worsen progressively. I fixed two discarded freehubs today with this problem, and there was nothing wrong with them otherwise. Such a waste. It's very likely that the person who sold you the bike wasn't aware of this aspect of the design, and they pushed the dust cap in too far after tuning up the bearings. If you find the dust cap pushed in too far and it's bent, take it out, clean it up, and lightly tap it flat again with a hammer. If it's mauled, then you should replace it. I haven't had to replace one yet, but if you have a busy bike shop nearby they might have them kicking around. When you re-seat the dust cap, don't assume the bearing cup is the limit - park the dust cap about half a centimeter or so above the bearings. Remember that the dust cap doesn't hold the bearings in place, the bearing nut does. All the dust cap does is keep dirt out, so it can be anywhere. I like to seat it high and let the cassette nut push it in evenly. It's okay for the dust cap to contact the cassette nut because the freehub, dust cap, and cassette rotate together.

sloppycowpat

the rims and hubs were made by xero I beleive