hokiefyd 

Nice! I have an '84 Schwinn World Sport that has a 6-sprocket Ultra on the back, though it's a 14-28. It seems like a tank of a freewheel. If I ever get that bike to a better place than it is now, I'll send the freewheel to the Pastor Bob Spa.

pastorbobnlnh 

@hokiefyd, thanks for the confidence! I want to be as helpful and as affordable as possible. I realize my service is not for everyone. I do appreciate my clients.

dddd

I fully appreciate the art of a job done right, Pastor Bob. Your hobby and service seems to be in a class by itself.


I got bogged down time-wise taking freewheels apart, so almost never do that any more, but I occasionally have to make my own tool to disassemble and tighten the bearings on a freehub body (on a valuable wheelset) that may no longer even be available as a replacement part (or that costs $80, lol).


I mentioned the Finish Line Citrus Degreaser since it is the most aggressive product of it's kind that I have found and is water-miscible after does it's thing loosening crud. It is a last resort for STI levers, but will free the worst of them.
I was one who believed that the OP's overnight water soaking and spraying would do no harm at all, but came late to the discussion.

qcpmsame 

I'm a big believer the Freewheel Spa treatment from @pastorbobnlnh, he has truly perfected the process, as the Regina Extra items he has refreshed for my use. I did the freewheel disassembly and refurb thing, back many years. Its worth the few days, and dollars, to get them done by a craftsman. With the prices of Regina freewheels of all species, its well worth having him do the work to keep mine running as they were intended.

Polymorph, that SunTour looks better than I expected it could from your descriptions, you now have a great, durable and reliable freewheel on your girlfriend's bike. Smart choice there.

Bill

Kontact 

It strikes me that overhauling freewheels is a pastime largely necessitated by freewheels sitting around unused for decades. Any freewheel that is actually ridden will survive on oil dripped into it for the entire useful life on the sprockets. The days of replacement Winner sprocket boards are unfortunately past.

qcpmsame 

Then we must agree to disagree. And, that’s life isn’t it?

Bring back free wheel cog boards!

Bill

FBinNY 

Yes, it's an excellent water displacer. It's used commercially to save electronics that are water compromised.

One of the ways they demo it at trade shows is by setting up and running an electric train set at the bottom of a fish tank, complete with live fish swimming around.

Kontact 

About which thing?

jimmuller 

That sounds like lifetime guarantee on something - when the thing breaks and you try to collect you are told, well, that's the life of it, sorry.

I have worn out sprockets, broken sprockets, and had the FW body come apart, despite trying to keep the oiled. Commute enough in tbe rain and they will wear out. Pastor Bob does wonders to get them working again.

Kontact 

I just meant that the cogs wear, too. How many chains is any freewheel good for? It might be more than the three chains a 10 speed cassette is good for, but not that much more.

Salamandrine 

I used to figure a freewheel was good for about 2 chains, back in the 6 speed freewheel days. I rode about 15k miles/year then, and there wasn't much point to freewheel maintenance beyond flush and lube. Teeth wore out inside of a year. You could milk them a bit more, BITD, by replacing individual cogs from a cog board. Haven't seen a cog board in decades...

For freewheels that have now been sitting around 3+ decades, and probably won't get ridden near that much and by a weekend rider (me nowadays BTW), it makes more sense to rebuild.

tricky 

A vintage freewheel service offered by a pastor on one of the friendliest corners of the interwebs? Maybe there is hope for humanity.

qcpmsame 

On the freewheels which Bob refreshed for me he has notified me of questionable or worn cogs each time. He has collected cogs over the years and if he has the correct cog needed he lets me know. It is my choice to buy the cog from him, inexpensively at that, or take the risk of continued use of the old cog. For me, there are only so many of the old freewheels, in the cog selection which my riding is best done with, out there and that my limited funds permit me to purchase. I don’t care for most of the currently produced lowend freewheels such as Sun race, some folks are just fine using them. That is each persons’ personal choice.

Bill

Kontact 

What sort of issues have you seen with the Sun Race freewheels?

Phil_gretz

ditto. SunRace = Avoid


Outer body clanking under load
Grinding while freewheeling

4funbikes

I've scanned a few of the posts here and will address the following:

1) Compressed air for drying. Low PSI maybe, but generally not highly advised to use compressed air on bearings/bearing surfaces.

2) Simple Green. It's harsh stuff. Reps from Simple Green have advised against using in on bicycle parts. Steel or alloy.

A fantastic water displacement product is LPS-1. Light duty lubricant, Dielectric, and a rust inhibitor.

polymorphself 

Which is interesting as both of the coops in my area use Simple Green almost exclusively.

qcpmsame 

The problems I have seen with Sunrace freewheels were, poorly constructed bodies, threads being improperly cut, inadequate grease in the bearings, weakened springs for pawls and other quality control matters in their manufacture. I have had them examined by a master machinist, they were judged as inferior products and not well made. My decision is related to my career in quality control engineering, and structural metal fatigue and failure analysis. I won't get further into this.

If you are perfectly comfortable with them, the by all means please do, and I wish you the best with them. If you are basing it upon your experience as a mechanic, that is something you have the advantage of using, and it is simply from personal experience and preferences that I can make my choices. At 61 I don't feel the need to seek approval or follow a particular crowd, this is my sole motivation.

Bill

Kontact 

Bike coops are generally run by whomever decides to volunteer - which is rarely anyone with shop experience of the ones I've seen.

Kontact 

I wasn't calling out your manhood, I was just curious what you had seen.

qcpmsame 

No where have I said that you questioned anything about me.

end of all participation in this thread. Good day to all.

Kontact 

The second half of your answer sounded needlessly defensive.

qcpmsame 

Nope.

BillyD

Let it go, Kontact. Move on please.

FBOATSB

I have never purchased a Simple Green product. However, a quick look at their website reveals that, if you can follow instructions, their products are indeed safe for bare aluminum and many other surfaces.

Frequently Asked Questions | Simple Green

I'm also another happy customer of @pastorbobnlnh