The pedals move but the wheel does not

pastryboy

This has happened to me on two occasions - with different bikes.

Got on my bike this morning and pushed the pedals to set off - everything moved round (i.e the casssette and chain) but not the wheel. I fiddled with moving the pedals back and forth a few times and a moment or so later all was well - I did an hours journey without any problems.

Can anyone offer an explanation as to why this would happen bearing in mind it's on different bikes?

rjsterry

Sounds like your freehub is on the blink. Possibly the cold has solidified the grease, temporarily holding the pawls (the little bits that swing out and engage with the serrated outer ring of the freehub) in the 'free' position. The waggling might have released them to engage properly again.

Or I might be completely wrong.

jonginge

rjsterry wrote:

Sounds like your freehub is on the blink. Possibly the cold has solidified the grease, temporarily holding the pawls (the little bits that swing out and engage with the serrated outer ring of the freehub) in the 'free' position. The waggling might have released them to engage properly again.

Or I might be completely wrong.

Sounds right. Been a few reports on here of similar occurrences over the winter. Me, I keep my bikes inside...

pastryboy

I like the explanation as it would point to no major problems since I can't afford to fix anything like that.

I keep my bikes in the shed and the times that it's happened don't appear to have been any colder than any other days. Maybe/hopefully just a luck thing.

cjcp

+2 for the above. Happened to me the morning after a ride in the snow in January. I thought it was knackered, so left it for about three weeks and then, as if by magic, it worked! The hubs sound rough though - when freewheeling, it almost sounds as if I have a disc wheel.

always_tyred

These are a shimano weak point (assuming Shimano).

How cold has it been? I only notice this happening when its several degrees below.

IF its not just sticky grease, its going to hurt. In typical big-company form, replacing the most inadequate part of the drive train has been priced stupifyingly high.

The freehub I've just replaced, having trashed the bearing surface, cost £50. Luckily I didn't pay that much.

Then you need to remove cassette, get a fat allen key to remove the freehub, ensureyou actually have the right replacement, which come in a myriad of pointlessly varied specifications, and re-assemble - requiring that you re-pack the bearings and set the preload etc.

Its not a huge job, but you need the tools, and I'd guess you'd be looking at at least £30 for a bike shop to do this.

No, there is no way you can repair or re-grease a shimano freehub if it is knackered. How hard would it be for them to put a grease port on them? Answer - easy, but it would cost them money. I guess a lot of people just get a whole new hub. Good business model.

il_principe

Always Tyred wrote:

These are yet another shimano weak point (assuming Shimano).

Fixed that for you. 8)

beverick

rjsterry wrote:

........Possibly the cold has solidified the grease.......

Assuming the presence of grease in the first place of course.....
That would require maintenance.


Bob

Compost

This happened to me last month.

The problem got worse and worse to a point where the hub wouldn't reengage at all and I had to blag my bike onto the bus home.

Fitting a new freehub is beyond the capabilities of my tool box. LBS did it for £33 (parts, labour & VAT).

ride_whenever

you can sometimes free up the shimano freehubs by dripping a little oil into them once you've removed the axle, between the central part and the part that spins, but this is a temporary fix.

The way to tell if it is just the cold is to pour a kettle of boiling water onto the cassette and see if that frees it up. If it happens roadside, nip into the bushes and piss on it!