rear wheel/free hub issue

matt581

Hi,

I have a Cube Ariel 2009 with Shimano WH-R500 rear wheels. Very recently its developed an issue where if you stop pedaling and free wheel for a short period then start pedaling it takes 1-2 revolutions for the what feels like the hub to engage again. Also, if you start to pedal away from a junction etc. standing up, sometimes it will slip slightly.

In my un-educated opinion i think maybe the free hub is pooped and need replacing, i have recently replaced the rear cassette and bottom bracket. I'm thinking just replace the rear wheel like for like? Any thoughts or ideas?

ugo.santalucia

Your freehub is probably tired... might need service or replacement. Problem with Shimano freehubs is that they are enclosed and you won't find any shop keen to open them and service them. You can have a go yourself as you've got nothing to lose and ask them to fit you a new one in the meantime, unless you don't need need the wheels and you can wait and see if you can rescue it

ex-pat scot

My rear freehub on WH500s failed last Friday. The wheel just spun uselessly. Had to call out MRs XPS at midnight to collect me from station - not a happy bunny at all.
Ironically it started to engage properly the next day when I was stripping the bike down.

What happens is that the freewheel pawls are on springs, and are maintenance - free. Mine had gradually gummed up (rust / general old age).

Given the wheels are old and cheap, the best solution is a new rear wheel to be honest. I have replaced freewheels before and they used to be about £10. I have also stripped them down and soaked in oil for a couple of days which did the trick. But I need the bike to be able to work, and don't want the inconvenience of finding the freehub useless again, so I've put a new set of training wheels on.

matt581

Cheers guys. thought it was the case, just wanted that warm fuzzy feeling of some one else confirming it.

The wheel is pretty old and the rims could do with replacing any way....new wheels.

bigmat

Sounds like the pawls have failed, can be dangerous - I crashed a few years ago when I got out of the saddle to sprint hard for some lights, freewheel didn't engage and I lost balance and hit the deck. Hurt and I must have looked like a right prat.

keef66

If you wanted to try and eke out a few more miles from the wheel you could try taking off the freehub and drizzling a bit of medium weight oil in there. I've used motor oil and gearbox oil left over from the cars. I've done my RS10 freehub twice and it's now 6 winters old. Recently got some R501s as winter wheels so I'll be doing them in the spring.

Wheel off, QR skewer out, remove locknut and cone from the NDS and withdraw the axle from the DS. Catch all the bearings. Stick a 10mm hex key in the tubular bolt that secures the freehub and unscrew (anticlockwise). Lift off the freehub, clean off any external dirt and carefully pick out the rubber seal at the back (hub end). Note which way the seal goes so you can put it back later. Peer inside and see if it looks reasonably shiny; if so, just drizzle in plenty of medium weight oil and spin it round to operate the pawls. Slightly rusty and you might get away with flushing it out with the first lot of oil then lubing a second time. Serious corrosion and you'd be better off cutting your losses and binning it. (Or dismantling it out of curiosity)
Reassembly is just a reverse of the above. Since you've removed the bearings you may as well take the opportunity to clean and regrease them and fit new balls. You'll need cone spanners to do up the cone / locknut you removed from the axle, and maybe a bit of patience to get the bearing adjustment just right. (Tiny bit of play at the rim which disappears when the QR is tightened)