wearyourtruth

so i got my winter bike all built up (first winter without a car) just in time for the first minor snow of the season. i had bought a brand new shimano freewheel at the LBS, install, ride. now it's 2 days later (of 1-3" snow max) and the freewheel is already crunchy. i'm wondering if the $25 basic freewheel just isn't going to cut it, but i'd really rather not have to buy a WI if i don't have to (doubling the amount spent on the bike).

i know freewheels will need service during the winter, but 2 days of light snow in? maybe it just didn't get enough grease from the factory? i dunno. has anyone else had this problem?

rogerstg

Are you sure it's not your wheel bearings causing the problems?

Scheherezade 

Definitely not the cold. I have run basic shimano freewheels for 3 years in the winter without problems. Double check to make sure it's the freewheel. Do the sheldon-freewheel oiling method if it's sticky. Although, if it's only a few days old, it might be a manufacturing problem.

wolfchild

I have shimano, dicta and acs freewheels ,they are all very similar. They all make a bit of noise but that doesn't mean that they are bad. I have been running a very cheap dicta freewheel for a few months now and no problems as yet. The first thing I do when I buy a new freewheel is to lube it with some oil . In winter time it's very important to keep oiling it regularly and as long as it's lubed then it will keep going for a long time. Lately we've had some very cold temps around here and I had no problems with my cheap freewheels. WI ENO is nice but I just wonder if it's really worh it.

wearyourtruth

thanks for the replies guys. yes it's the freewheel, because it is still crunchy when i pedal backwards with wheel stationary. and i've run plenty of freewheels before, so i know the noise they make. this is clearly a not-working-right situation. i think i'll swing by the LBS and see what they think... could be a manufacturing error, might just need some love.