I'm going to answer as though this isn't a joke. At least that way I'm providing a straight-man service.
If the spokes were pinging, that means things were changing shape. That means they got pretty hot. That means that you don't know where the grease has gone inside the freewheel, which would explain the ****ty feeling of the bearings. There's a good chance the grease burned, even, depending on what kind of grease it is.
I'm afraid that's what we call a "*****".
