grall1126

I was riding today and when I would push down at times it felt like the chain was slipping. Got home and took the rear tire off the bike and checked everything. I took the cassette and it also spins forward- Clockwise and CCW. It must be the hub on this wheel that's all of a sudden messed up. I really like this wheel with the 36 spokes. I read somewhere else that it might be the pawls inside the freehub. It's one of those rear wheels, cheap on Nashbar called Vuelta. I just shot it with wd40 and it's still spinning in both directions, maybe 10,000 miles on it? What do you think I could do to salvage the wheel or is it shot?

Bill Kapaun

The brand of rim & brand of hub may be totally unrelated. The spokes are their only meaningful connection.
Does the hub having any identifier?

Looks mighty dry & rusty.
I'd remove the free hub body from the hub and soak in some less volatile petroleum substance.
A 10mm hex key might fit after removing the axle & bearings.

Retro Grouch 

When's the last time that you have ridden on this wheel. Freehub bodies work better when they are used regularly than when they set idol for long periods. If spraying a little WD40 into the crack between the moving and stationary parts of the free hub body doesn't fix it, I'd be looking for a replacement free hub body. I've bought brand new ones in the past but my favorite source is finding donor wheel with trashed spokes.

grall1126

Hi again, I ride this wheel in the spring. I have no clue from where I am sitting now about what type of free hub is on the wheel. I have an identical wheel as this and could check the freehub for a number. I would like to buy a replacement, I know the freehub is for 9/10 cassette. Shimano makes a bunch and I wonder if they would work but not sure of which Shimano freehub. I will first try to clean.

Any suggestions on buying a replacement? It's those Vuelta wheels, heavy and true, maybe the Vuelta website? Thanks for helping.

Bill Kapaun

Did you actually look on the hub for a brand/model? NOT the freehub, but the hub between the 2 sets of spokes.
if it's a Shimano, it should have a number like FH-M530

Eric S.

Way back in 1991 I had a bike with Shimano 105 6sp and in cold weather the freehub started "freewheeling" in both directions. Some WD-40 freed up the gummed up lube.

I have 3 sets of Vuelta wheels on bikes; can't remember who manufactures the hubs. It's on the tip of my tongue, though. I've never had any of them apart nor any problems, though.

ted_major

+1 on sitting idle for a long time. My wife’s old mountain bike sat in the shed for years, and when I pulled it out to clean up for my kid to use, it exhibited the same symptoms. I drizzled chainsaw bar oil into the free hub until it seemed saturated and the free hub now works just fine. It took a little while: drip oil around the edge of the freehub, spin a little, wait a few hours to soak in, repeat.

Kapusta

You need to shift the bike out of neutral.

grall1126

I looked on a similar wheel that I have and the new one had this number on the freehub
BCP K18030200004 and 115 Compatible. It said on the hub, Vuelta and right underneath the vuelta word was the number 80 in small digits.

Plus, how the heck do I get this freehub off, I tried a few alan keys and nothing, what do you think?

I think it might be this hub body CNC Machined Road With Cartridge Bearing (F2 x R2)


I think this is the freehub I have?

Bill Kapaun

"Some" are removed by inserting the key in through the NDS.

It would be helpful if you stated what SIZE Allen keys you tried. Some hubs are 10mm or 12mm or???

IF it's your hub in the video, watch the video. I don't waste the bandwith on maybe's.

You might keep hosing it down with penetrating oil, WD-40 or something.
It looks pretty dry/rusty in an area that mine looks greasy.

grall1126

I contacted Vuelta, great response, these are the hubs. The hub manufacture is Novatec and the model number is F192SB

I still can't figure out how to get this freehub body off.
The instructions talk about using an alan key in both sides but nothing to grab onto when I do this? What the f am I missing********************?

fietsbob

I'd just cut the losses.. get a wheel with a Shimano hub which is easier to service..

grall1126

I agree but man any clue on how to get this sucker off?

Mad Honk 

Grall,
Sometimes the hex key doesn't fit due to dirt or rust build up within the space. A quick cleaning with a small diameter wire brush usually cleans them -enough to get the Allen wrenches to fit. The video shows the correct sequence for removing the outer keepers on the axle. There can be some di-electric brinneling between the aluminum and the steel which would make removing the keepers harder to break free. As a last resort you could put the wheel in your vise and clamp the outer sides of one keeper, and use a strap type wrench to get the keepers to loosen. Or use some form of slip-joint pliers. You can also file flats on each side of the keeper and use an open end wrench on each side to get them to break free from the axle. Just watch the amount of material you take off, there isn't much there to work with.
If you noticed they used a liberal amount of silicone lube on the axle threads when re-assembling, likely to act as an anti-seize. Good luck! Smiles, MH

grall1126

Hi, thanks for the response, I know my opening is completely Round, are the Alan keys just supposed to jam in there to be able to turn? It's completely Round. Thanks and I have the picture on top. Still missing it

Mad Honk 

Grall,
So if yer gonna save the wheel you need to just get the free hub off and clean or repair the pawls for the ratcheting mechanism. Locking one side of the axle assembly in a vise, and turning the other like shown in the video, may not be pretty but it will get the free hub assembly off the wheel and to a place where it can be serviced. As the wheel is, it won't be any good. So you aren't out anything by using some non-conventional ways to do the repair. It may be that the early versions of the hub did not have the hex key splines in the outer keepers and they just were screwed on hand tight. Which would explain the knurling on the keepers. If you can remove the drive side keeper, you only need to pull the free hub from that point. My guess is that the grease used to lube the pawls and ratchet has hardened and keeps the pawls from moving freely. Or it could be a broken hair spring for the pawls. but you hafta get the hub off to find out. Even a pair of pipe wrenches can get the keepers off, be a creative mechanic! Smiles, MH

skookum

I had the pawls go in a Phil Wood hub, the grease was gone/contaminated and the pawls were all warped.
It was a write off, and I ended up getting a complete new wheel.

Good luck with getting the hub apart, but be prepared for the worst.

grall1126

Hi MH
Thanks for the help, I loosened these little screws (stop bolt) and gave a tap on the axle to get this far. Now, if you look at the picture, I still can't pull that freehub shell off. That inside piece must be holding it on. It must be the cup and it has those indentations. I don't have a tool for that. I had a bunch of old park tools that looked to be for cups but they dont fit. What do you think? You guys are the best.

Bill Kapaun

AGAIN-
WHAT SIZE Allen keys are you attempting to use?
It sounds like you don't have the correct size.

Mad Honk 

Grall,
Now we are getting somewhere! I am assuming the bearing assembly was a sealed one and came out on the axle with a bit of tapping from the non drive side. What I see now is a standard type of free hub like the Shimano, Falcon, and others. Since I deleted the post outlining how to go forward from here I will re-create it. I will make a separate post of it. As Bill asks about Allen wrenches the sizes you will need are either 10 mm, 11 mm, or 12 mm. The eleven is a pita to find and may take a trip to the specialty hardware store or a car parts store. The whole free hub can be removed by placing an Allen wrench inside the axle space about an inch down the space and turning counter clockwise. But in your case you will need to find a free hub that takes a sealed bearing unit the same size as your original. So the best bet is to refurbish the free hub. Now I will get to the post on how to..... Smiles,MH

Mad Honk 

Grall,
I have attached pics of the tool that I made to repair free hubs. It is a close fitting socket that I used a Dremel tool to cut the sides away leaving the two pins that fit into the bearing race in the hub. You can do the same on a grinder or belt sander just get the two pins protruding from the socket casing. My original Shimano tool works like a piece of feces so I made my own. You can see how it fits down inside the free hub body and engages the bearing race. That bearing race works on both sides. One to hold the sealed axle bearings and the other side holds the bearings for the free hub. The free hub has about 50-56 1/16"bearings in it. So put a towel under the wheel to catch the bearings.as they will go everywhere when you pull the hub apart. The bearing race is a left hand thread, so turn it clockwise to remove it. It should break free rather easily and then you will see the bearings and any spacers in the free hub. The spacers are paper thin to allow for bearing tolerance adjustments. A magnet will pull them out easily as they just lay inside the hub like washers. Lift the free hub body off the inner race assembly/ratchet assembly, and watch the bearings go wild. You should see two pawls on the inner body held in place by a hair spring around the pawls and embedded into the inner body. I will send a pic of those in the next post. Now that you have everything dis-assembled you will need to clean all parts. Mineral oil to lacquer thinner will work, just stay away from gasoline. If the bearings are dis-colored after cleaning we will replace them. They should be bright and shiny chrome color. MH

Mad Honk 

Grall,
In this post I will show you some pawls and the hair spring that holds them in place, as well as asking you to go back and look for the socket type of fitting Bill is alluding to. They are in the previous pics. The pictures in this set are of the pawls and inner race and how they should look, The hub in the first pics is a Suntour that someone destroyed but the pawls work the same in all hubs. The second pic is of the 10mm tool and how it fits into the retainer bolt for removing the entire free hub.



With everything apart and exposed you should be able to see how the mechanism works to ratchet in the front direction only. Now that everything is clean you can start re-assembly. A light oil on the pawls and test to see that that they spring back correctly with little effort. Now a coating of any light weight waterproof grease, (easy to find is some white lithium) around the lower racer on the hub that is still on the wheel. Put 25-27 1/16" bearing into the grease which should hold them in place. Take the free hub body and put a coating of grease where the 1/16" bearings will fit on the upper race surface.and install the free hub outer body on the inner free hub body turning it counter-clockwise to get the pawls to catch correctly. Once seated you need to add about 23-25 of the 1/16" bearings to the space between the two bodies. Add the spacers and then put the bearing retainer back on turning it counter clockwise or Left-handed threads to re-install. The fee hub should now turn freely and ratchet as designed. Clean both sides of the sealed bearing surfaces and re-install the sealed bearings for the axle, put on the caps and you are ready to ride again. HTH, MH

grall1126

wow, good stuff, I'll need to get that socket fitted, looks like a lot.

grall1126

Hi Guys, Thanks MadHonk for the pictures and information. I ended up buying for $7.00 the tool that allows me to take apart the hub further. The crazy thing is that when I opened it, I had the bearings but the pawls fell completely off the freehub. I really bashed up this hub, all my power!!!! I took the outer casing off and this is what I end up with? (picture)
I guess now is..... is the wheel finished? I like this wheel b/c it has 36 spokes and stays true, what do you think? Anything easy to do? I don't mind spending a few dollars for a freehub, Never worked on these before The pawls didn't have a wire around them, perhaps a real thin washer type but everything looked like hell

Could I buy a replacement and just pop on, this from the manufacturer:
The hub manufacture is Novatec and the model number is F192SB



I attached a copy of the manufacture hub drawing



We use the same model hub on our Crosa Pro model and below is the link to the replacement 10sp and 11sp cassettes

https://www.vueltausa.com/vuelta-whe...eel-parts.html

Mad Honk 

grall,

All you need is part number 14, if the pawls are not broken in two. If you can't find one, send me your addy and I'll send you a couple. They are all the same. I will have to send you the re-assembly instructions later. Smiles, MH