1950s flip-flop hubs and freewheels
10-19-20, 11:31 AM
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1950s flip-flop hubs and freewheels
Hello folks!
So often I come across original British bikes from the post-war era that are equipped with flip-flop hubs utilizing freewheels (commonly 3-4 speed, but sometimes 5). Most of the contemporary rear hubs I come across online from manufacturers such as Bayliss-Wiley and British Hubs do not seem to have extended threading on one side and are typically meant to accept fixed cogs and lock rings on both sides. Are these hubs able to accept a freewheel on one side despite the short threads and step-downs for the lock rings, or do I need to be searching for something specific when I'm researching period-correct hubs to use with a freewheel?
Thank you!
-Gregory
So often I come across original British bikes from the post-war era that are equipped with flip-flop hubs utilizing freewheels (commonly 3-4 speed, but sometimes 5). Most of the contemporary rear hubs I come across online from manufacturers such as Bayliss-Wiley and British Hubs do not seem to have extended threading on one side and are typically meant to accept fixed cogs and lock rings on both sides. Are these hubs able to accept a freewheel on one side despite the short threads and step-downs for the lock rings, or do I need to be searching for something specific when I'm researching period-correct hubs to use with a freewheel?
Thank you!
-Gregory
Last edited by Kilroy1988; 10-19-20 at 11:43 AM.
10-19-20, 02:32 PM
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I'd have no problem putting a single speed freewheel on a fixed/fixed hub. And I probably wouldn't worry too much about a 3-5 speed freewheel either. Maybe if I planned tens of thousands of hard miles on the hub, I'd look for a fixed/free. But no, not worried on the light miles my old janky bikes get.
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