CrimsonEclipse

So, final (?) update.
I took the Demon Wheel to an auto garage and had them try to loosen it with an impact wrench.

900ft/lb of loosening power and....

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It didn't budge. Even tried reverse threads in case it was a 1 in a million hub.

Nope.

So, new hub or wheel.

(sounds of adult language)

jccaclimber

This is the point at which you should assume you aren’t doing something correctly. It’s also the point at which I point out that airline restrictions mean the tire shop guys probably aren’t getting their best out of their high flow requirement air tools.

What are the odds that somehow that hex is actually part of the hub and not the fastener?

Crankycrank

+1. Are you trying to undue the hex fitting visible in the picture? I'm thinking there may be a bolt like shimano hubs use that has multi-flutes where the axle enters the hub and uses a standard metric hex wrench/bit or the freehub might even just pull straight off the hub with a good pull. Just guessing.

CrimsonEclipse

These guys know their shop. He went to the line with the highest flow and borrowed "the punisher" impact wrench from another mechanic.

There is a certain look that mechanics get when a job becomes a personal crusade, a challenge that must not win. This guy tried and 3 other mechanics all shook their head. Each try went on for 30 seconds followed by an increase in power setting on the wrench. The highest setting was pulsating with pure anger where the hub actually felt hot afterward. The failure was not due to a lack of skill on the mechanic's part
(and I'm slightly annoyed at your implication)

Um, I'm actually not sure.
Do you have more information on this?
How would I pull the hub straight off?
(no sarcasm intended, I honestly do not know)

jccaclimber

What I was trying to get at with the “Doing something wrong” is that the removal method may not involve turning the hex you see. Even if they didn’t have enough air (and from your description maybe they actually did), if that was supposed to come out that way it still would have. With the axle out, some free hubs come off just by pulling on them, though I’m assuming you would have noticed by now if that applied here.

HillRider

Some freehubs, unlike Shimano's, are bolted from the non-drive side of the hub so the threading would appear left-handed from the drive side and would remove clockwise. You said the shop reversed the wrench and that should have done it if my idea is correct but it may have been tightened so much that a casual attempt at reverse threading didn't work.

Crankycrank

Freehub Service | Park Tool Here's a basic view of some different freehubs and how to remove them. If it just pulls off, it may take quite a bit of coaxing to get it off. Unfortunately, the Shimano example doesn't show the flutes inside the mounting bolt where a hex head wrench would fit but take a good look where the axle goes through from the drive side to see if you can spot them. If smooth than this isn't the same design. Knowing what hub this is would help tremendously to find how to remove it. Try contacting Dahon or any shops that sell them to find out the hub or how to remove it.

CrimsonEclipse

Just for kicks I tried to pull off the hub since it's entirely possible that I might miss such a detail. No good.
(it would have been absolutely hilarious of that actually worked)

Great article, good information.
It looks like it's just a Shimano.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by flutes. I can see a 12mm hex space inside where a 12mm allen key can be applied from either side. That's what I've been attacking with breaker bars, cheater bars, and impact wrenches.
I'll try prying off the freewheel since I have nothing to lose now.

Thanks again friends.

Crankycrank

My terminology is probably not the best for using "flutes" to describe what the inside of a Shimano freehub bolt looks like, but you can see in this photo where the wrench would fit, and it's designed to take a standard 6 sided hex head wrench. Can't say for sure if yours will look like this but take a look and also look from the NDS. Before trying to pry it off and possibly ruining anything contact Dahon or a bike shop as they may know how. Easy to just shoot them an email or phone call.