Vent: Took apart a rusty freewheel and found a single ball bearing was the problem

I had this old Shimano freewheel sitting in my parts bin for months (you know the kind, crusty from sitting in a damp garage). Finally got around to cleaning it up last Saturday and popped the dust cover off to inspect. To my surprise, all the bearings looked fine except for one that had a flat spot ground into it from wear. Replaced that single bearing, packed it with fresh grease, and the whole thing spun smooth as butter again. Never would have guessed that one tiny ball could cause so much drag and noise. Found out from a forum post on BikeForums that this is super common on freewheels that sit for a long time without being spun. Anyone else ever fix a hub or freewheel by replacing just one bearing instead of the whole unit?

3 comments

3 Comments

wader718d ago

Man, that's such a satisfying fix for something so tiny causing all that trouble!

wood.uma8d ago

My buddy had this old truck that would randomly stall at stoplights. Drove him NUTS for months, replaced the whole fuel system and everything. Turns out it was just a tiny rubber grommet holding a vacuum line that had dry-rotted and fallen off. Cost him 47 cents at the hardware store and five minutes with a pocketknife.

the_holly8d ago

Is that not the best feeling ever though? You drop serious cash and time chasing a ghost, and it ends up being something dumb and cheap. Makes you feel like a genius and an idiot all at once.