draxz1289

Hello,

I have the following freewheel and looks like I need the PartTool FR 6 and I was wondering can I use a cone wrench to open the hub? I will have to go and purchase either of them so thought I would ask

hardboiled718

Those tools are for two completely different things, the Parktool FR-6 will get your freewheel off/on and the cone wrench (btw they come in different sizes) will remove the lock-nuts on the axle. Both perform their respective tasks unrelated to each other, so you can remove the lock nuts with a cone wrench to get access to your bearings, or use the FR-6 to remove the freewheel, you shouldn't necessarily have to use both to perform one of those tasks, but I'll differ to the expertise of someone with more freewheel knowledge on that one. As far as I know you don't need to remove the cog on a fixed wheel to gain access to bearings.

draxz1289

Thanks for the reply hardboiled. So if I understand it correctly, the freewheel remover is for the freewheel hub and the cone wrench will remove the rear hub? That's really good to know as I thought you can single remove the freewheel to access the bearing in order to clean it and that's it.


I presume I need to clean the bearings in the freewheel hub and in the real hub so two separate tools then

Mikefule

Cone wrenches are for the cones. The cones are to do with the bearings which allow the hub to spin on the axle. Cone wrenches are just flat spanners which are thin enough not to interfere with each other when working together.

You do not need to take the freewheel off to get at the bearings.

A freewheel removal tool is for removing the freewheel from the hub. It has prongs/splines/teeth which grip matching indentations in the body of the freewheel.

The two things are unrelated and not interchangeable.

At first glance, if you are not familiar with it, you may accidentally assume that the cones are part of what holds the freewheel on. It sort of looks like that, but it is not the case.

JohnDThompson 

The cone wrench will allow you to remove the axle to clean the bearings, but you'll need to remove the freewheel to get access to the drive side bearings. So you'll need both tools.

N.B. you might be able to manage a half-a**ed job of cleaning the drive side bearing race without removing the freewheel, but it will be awkward and less thorough than doing it properly by removing the freewheel to get access.

draxz1289

Thanks for the reply and for that information - very helpful. Just for my knowledge, there are bearings in the freewheel hub and in the rear hub correct that needs to be serviced correct? So that would explain why I need both the freewheel and cone wrench

Also another questions, to service the headset bearings - I have removed everything but I am not able to remove the stem and I have this blank think - I don't know how to remove it - I have tried hammering the stem down

Mikefule

Some wheels have sealed bearing units that can replaced as a single unit. Some wheels have loose bearings. These can be cleaned and greased or replaced. It is not a job that most cyclists do often unless there is a reason to do it. However, it is part of"perfect maintenance" for those who enjoy that sort of thing. For most of us, it is only the rarest of issues. Now stand back while all the people who do it every week without fail, and once knew a man who died when his wheels seized on a steep descent tell you the opposite. <smiley winky thing>

I can only speak for myself, but I have never taken apart a freewheel to get at the bearings in it, nor have I felt the need to. Keep things clean, add a bit of oil, and check for any obvious faults. Don't mend what ain't broken.

As for the stem, is it one of the old sort — a quill, with a wedge down it? If so, partly undo the central bolt, but don't remove it, then give the top of the bolt a sharp firm and authoritative tap with a percussion tool. That should loosen the wedge. If the stem won't come out with a normal degree of twisting, pulling and swearing, use penetrating and easing oil. WD40 is widely regarded as a magic fluid, but penetrating and easing are not its core features. I recently had a major "get out of jail free" removing a steel bolt from an aluminium alloy motorbike component using Halford's Shock and Unlock.

If you use penetrating and easing oil, give it time to work!

draxz1289

I am getting a lot of rolling resistance while riding or when I simply rotate the wheel, I presume since I ride in the rain and in mild Canadian winters and since I have never cleaned it for 4 years the bearings/grease is gone. Haha I don't want to be that man who died when the wheels seized in the dead of a Canadian Winter.


For the headset/stem, it doesn't look like it's quill one. It seems it's just a long stem with the bolt on the top and bottom holding it. The problem is there is no nut to remove

Mikefule

OK, the rolling resistance could be lack of grease, or another problem with the bearings, and that's worth investigating.

It is also marginally possible that it is simply that the cones are too tight. Experiment with that just in case, because 5 minutes eliminating a simple solution is better than 2 hours concluding it was a simple problem after all.

Yes, that photo clarifies what sort of stem it is.

Try Global Cycling Network on YouTube. Here's one link that may help:

hardboiled718

Yeah, I think you got it, but just to clarify since it looks like these some confusion in terminology, the freewheel tool will only remove the freewheel assembly from the wheel hub. The cone wrench will remove the lock nuts and cones from the wheel's axle. There's a possibility your hub may also have sealed bearings instead of cup/cones, which cone wrenches can't remove, but you'd still require them to get access to the sealed bearings. Whether loose ball or sealed, these are the bearings that you want to replace if your wheel isn't rotating smoothly.

draxz1289

This is great than you very much. I was finally able to remove the stem

BicycleBicycle

In a pinch, you can get a freewheel loose by sticking very large thick screwdriver on one of the grooves and using a hammer until it starts to turn.
Don't blame me if it shatters or cracks in some way, but it's never happened to me.
They're usually made of hardened steel because your chain is also steel and it digs into that area with a lot of force when you crank but the pricier ones can have aluminum parts.
That freewheel tool is really awesome if you have a vice, otherwise you'll probably be jumping on it or something similar.

Once they're loose, they should be incredibly easy to take off because of all the chain lube that kind of naturally works it's way in there.
They will tighten when you crank. Just expect it to shift weird while you crank around until it's fully tight.

I've never been able to use anything other than a cone wrench to service my hubs and trust me i've tried a lot of things.
Paper thin wrenches simply do not exist in many places and it's the one of the tools I always buy if I have a fixed/ss.
Whether your hubs or sealed or unsealed you want a very precise "Just right" tightness of the cone onto your bearing, which you need a good wrench for.

Mikefule

I've never needed a vice to remove a freewheel. Put the freewheel remover in place with the "teeth" engaged, put the wheel nut on the end of the axle to stop the freewheel remover slipping out of position, then use a large adjustable spanner — unless of course you have an unadjustable of the right size — to turn the freewheel remover. The rim of the wheel is easy to grip and hold steady, and a spanner of reasonable length should easily give you enough torque.

BicycleBicycle

Hah, all this time and I seriously never thought of putting the nut over the end of the tool.
Geeze. I always had a problem with it "slipping" too, and that's why it worked much better for me in a vice.

Lmao, I seriously can't believe I never thought of that. I'm talking like over the course of more than a decade and everytime I removed a freewheel with that tool I never did that.

It does take a lot of force though, but if you have that nut on the end you can get in all sorts of positions to get the right torque on it with probably even a small wrench.
Fixed cogs or lockrings can be even worse.