Biker2022

(I think you'll soon be able to see just why I'm posting in this forum.)

Two days ago, in the cold (c. 28 degrees Fahrenheit), I noticed having to pedal .5-1 extra revolution in all speeds before my bike responded and went forward.

Yesterday, in the morning in the garage, my bike worked fine, only to require the extra revolution when I biked again in the cold weather outside.

Today this behavior repeated itself.
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If anyone can explain this behavior, I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

TC1

The grease in your freehub is freezing, and preventing the pawls from engaging smoothly, as they should. This happens to many rear wheels that are not designed for cold weather use. To fix, remove the freehub and clean out as much as of the grease as possible. Replace with a cold-weather-tolerant lubricant like Lubriplate. That's not the only grease that will work, obviously, but it is one that will.

Since this is Great Lakes, if you happen to be nearby, I have a quart of Lubriplate that I bought for exactly this purpose. I've rebuilt a couple hubs with it now, but I will need to live to be 300 years old to use it all, so I can spare some.

Biker2022

<<The grease in your freehub is freezing,>>

I've seen videos on determining the difference between the freewheel and the freehub -- but I'm still not certain whether I have one or the other. So here's a pic.

TC1

For the question at hand, it doesn't matter whether you have a freehub or a freewheel -- both have spring-loaded pawls that engage in order to transfer force from the chain to the wheel, and it is the lubrication of those spring-loaded pawls that is your problem here.

If you are not able to determine which style of hub you have, I'm going to suggest that disassembling and reassembling it might be beyond your mechanical skillset. In that case, you should probably take the bike to your LBS, and request that they repack with a grease which is appropriate for your climate. Since they are in your climate, they should be able to handle that.

Biker2022

<<If you are not able to determine which style of hub you have, I'm going to suggest that disassembling and reassembling it might be beyond your mechanical skillset.>>

Yes, I've never disassembled a hub. However, there are two long-standing bike stores in this area, at least one of which has a good reputation and has done some repairs for me personally in the past.

Thanks for the reply.

Trakhak

The load-bearing freely turning assemblies in your bike---including the hubs, the headset, the bottom bracket, and the pedals---require grease.

Freewheels and freehubs do not require grease, because they are not load-bearing assemblies. (When you're pedaling, the forces are transmitted to the wheel exclusively through the pawls. When you're freewheeling, no forces are being transmitted.) That's why manufacturers lubricate them with oil rather than grease.

(Grease can be useful for holding freewheel bearings in place for reassembly after service, but it's good practice to drip oil into the freewheel after assembly to thin the grease, precisely to avoid the problem that the OP encountered.)

To the OP: drip oil into the tiny gap between the moving and stationary parts of your freehub. You won't need much oil in there to free the pawls.

From this page:

"Yes, only use mineral oil or the pawls will stick and not lock up the freehub. You can hurt yourself badly standing on the pedals if the freehub slips."

TC1

Attempting to mix unknown lubricants in-situ is not "good practice" by any professional mechanical standard.