stanigator

I have a 27-speed cyclocross bike. I have recently adjusted the cable tension of my rear disc brakes. Since then, I found it to be a struggle to backpedal my bike. Not that it should be easy, but at times I found it harder to backpedal than pedal forward. I tried readjusting the tension of the back brake's cable, but no luck either. I've read on the internet somewhere that it may have to do with the lubrication of the chain and cassette. Tried to wipe my chain and apply some WD-40 (not sure if it's the wrong lubricant), but no luck. I did find a fair amount of dirt deposit on the ground when I did back pedal afterwards, and it has been a while since I've applied lubrication or done any cleaning, although I've installed the drivetrain 3 months ago. I will be taking it to a bike shop tomorrow to get it checked out, but want to post here to confirm whether it is a drivetrain system lacking lubrication or cleaning.


Thanks in advance.

AnkleWork

"More of a comment than a joke." -- Norm Macdonald

DOS

Seems like freehub problem, like the pawls inside the freehub body aren’t disengaging. What is the make of the wheel and hub? How does the wheel spin when not pedaling forward?

stanigator

It's a Shimano cassette. 9 gears. I don't recall other than that. The wheel spin was somewhat forced.

Trakhak

Does the resistance occur in all gear combinations or only in those where the chainline is poor?

For example, I would expect backpedaling to work fine with the chain in the middle of the cassette and on the middle chainring for any bike. I wouldn't expect it to work with the chain in some other combinations, e.g., small in front and small in back or large in front and large in back.

Even those combinations might work on a particular bike, but it's not guaranteed. In any event, derailleur systems are not designed with backpedaling in mind.

In short, don't backpedal.

DOS

The cassette isn’t relevant, the internals of the freehub, the part of the rear hub that the cassette slides on to, is the problem. I asked about the wheel because it may or may not be worth having the shop fix it. If its a low end wheel/hub, it may be more economical to replace the freehub body, or even buy a new wheel, than have your shop take the freehub apart to repair whatever is causing the problem. My guess is that a combination of dirt and dried grease is keeping the pawls from functioning properly but the bearings could also be toast.

Wilfred Laurier

1. WD40 is not a good chain lubricant. It's better than nothing if you have a squeaky or rusty chain and need to get back on the road, but the lubricant is too thin and will not last very long at all. I would use WD40 to ride to a gas station (to find a used motor oil jug with a few drops left in the bottom), but no further if possible.

2. Your brakes have no relationship with backpedalling, unless you had to adjust your brakes because your wheel is not properly aligned in the dropouts, which will also misalign your chain and cogs and could cause issues.

AnkleWork

Seems like an excessively dirty drivetrain with dirt clogged between the cassette and hub shell. Disassemble, clean (thoroughly), inspect, assemble, lube, adjust, ride.

stanigator

What really happened was that my bottom bracket was busted. Got it replaced along with the worn out chain rings.

DOS

Wow, pedaling backward should have been the least of your problems.

stanigator

Telling symptom though.

dwing

Bb was busted how? So, when u took the chain off/out of the equation the cranks rotated foreward fine but but was ceased when rotating reverse?

La Brea Bike

Just another idea, but does your bike still have a "Dork Disk" between the cassette and rear wheel? Strangely, I have seen a few of these things warp or become dislodged to the extent that they contacted the cassette lately. Not only does this cause an issue with backpedaling, but if it's bad enough, it can force the chain forward over the chainwheel when coasting. This has resulted in chain derailment (and in one of the most recent cases) the chain became stuck nuking the derailleur hanger and derailleur. Kind of ironic effect as this piece is there to prevent the same situation when the chain falls off the inboard side of the cassette... M-