SwimmerMike 

When removing freewheels, my "go to" has been a 24" crescent wrench. I can usually get enough torque to get any freewheel off with it. This freewheel was really stuck. I did what I normally do, PB blaster, cheater bar, etc. I felt the freewheel give and thought I had it. No, I didn't.......

I did finally get it off (dismantled the freewheel and used a big pipe wrench). My only thought is that the wrench wasn't tight enough on the flats of the removal tool.

jdawginsc 

Thats impressive. I’ve never seen one of those shatter/break...

Mad Honk 

Mike,
A testament to your awesome strength! Glad the pipe wrench did it. Smiles, MH

gugie 

See folks, if you bike and swim, you'll be strong enough to be like Mike.

I always chuck my freewheel tool in a vise and use a quick release to keep it from popping off the freewheel, especially the two pronged SunTour types. Grab the wheel and twist to break it loose, but stop right after it's loose, remove the QR, and unthread the rest.

merziac

Park "quality", never been a fan, have plenty, most work ok, my Spin Dr crank puller works better and Park BB wrenches suck IMO, especially when you need them not to the most and compared to 45 year old Sugino's that have never failed.

Just sayin.

merziac

I always use a box wrench so it encircles the tool with force, skewered on and with a cheater, any struggle can end poorly as it did here.

juvela

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and just how many stone is the pedaler of this gear block?

remember to always apply anti-seize when mounting

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Mad Honk 

Well if you are Hondo, you probably have been stoned a lot! Keystoned that is. Smiles, MH

3alarmer 

LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have ‎other rights which vary from state to state.‎

SwimmerMike 

I had the right size box wrench, but had chose the crescent since it has always worked for me. I looked at the box wrench after and since it was 12 point, plus the open end on the other side, I decided to buy the Park wrench to remove freewheels. Very heavy duty and 6 point, and it also has a set screw to make sure it doesn't move laterally on the freewheel removal tool. I used it today to remove the freewheel (which was pretty stuck) from the wheels (1959 No Record hubs) that I bought the Trek 614 for. (Yes, I bought a bike for a set of wheels that I wanted, but didn't need).

SwimmerMike 

My guess is that it way more of a hassle that ordering a new one from Amazon for under $10. (Which I did)

Andy_K 

Note to self: don't arm wrestle with SwimmerMike.

SurferRosa

Shoulda used yer teeth!

juvela

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Righty-O, that's what orthodontists are for!


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merziac

I would still give them a piece of my mind.

Good tools used to be lifetime warranty because they lasted a lifetime, now its a fall back, "we'll replace it for free" because they know it will break and the cost is built in so they can afford it.

Anybody that has been a flat rate mechanic knows that is crap, if it breaks, the job doesn't get done, it's not going to get replaced within the timeframe the job is supposed to be done.

I did it for twenty years, backstops and workarounds saved a lot tool failures but they also ate up valuable time when a reliable tool would have made short work of it, and more money.

Many shops now days will charge you back for delays, other problems that come up after you worked on it and any repairs you did that were not perfect whether it was your fault or not.

Tools by nature have a brutal job, they should be up to the task, especially at premium prices.

Prowler 

….as do I. Clamp in all in the vice and, like a city bus driver, turn left. However, I had one wheel off an old Raleigh that fought back valiantly. Penetrating oil, heat gun, lots of torque, give up. More oil down the back of the FW and park it next to the wood stove (this was a winter project). Repeat and fail and repeat. It took over a month to “crack it loose” but it did yield. Patience often beats brute force and saves the tools.

Clear justification for owning multiple bicycles.

jdawginsc 

My bad experiences with park tools has been the headset wrench/BB open eared wrench (which shattered), the cable cutters (which I found out you must constantly re-tighten the pivot bolt), and oddly the one piece crank extractors which are not as good as going two piece.

Speaking of which, I need to find one of those darn offset brake centering wrenches one of these days.

Did VAR make freewheel tools?

And Sugino tools are awesome. Though I haven't figured out the use of one I have.

pastorbobnlnh 

Yes. I have a few. Very beefy. No pictures, however.

Kabuki12

Yea, even good quality tools can break under load. I had one of my favorite 1/2” drive sockets do that when I used with a breaker bar, I was shocked as I have used this set for years. I am one of the guys who uses a vise and workbench method and not had a failure…..YET! I used to use a big wrench and my wife to hold the wheel until I saw a guy at the bike shop use the vise method . I had a wheel that I bought and wanted to remove the FW with a two prong SunTour tool but I was afraid to put too much pressure on the wheel so I took it in with the tool and Mark put the tool in the bench vise , and like driving an old VW bus , just steered the FW into submission.

Kabuki12

exactly!!

merziac

Yeah, I get it but a 12 point in a size like that is brutally stout, not giving much if anything up to a 6 point unless your working on a D14 Cat or the like.

Those kind of sizes can be bought in the really cheap ones and still be nearly unbreakable.

Sounds like you're set from here on.

repechage

6 point Impact driver sockets don't break.

I have had a Phil tool twist on me, gave the illusion of working... nooo,
usually if it is too tough with that tool I take the axle apart a bit and use the very solid Atom tool.

jdawginsc 

I used that method via suggestion from MadHonk. It obviously carries a bit of risk but removed a completely fused Dura Ace freewheel from hub.

SwimmerMike 

I decided that seeing how Park responded would be good. Submitted a claim. It was very easy.

merziac

Excellent, they need to be held accountable, if for no other reason than that, very telling and if they snap too and send you a new one then you will have a spare.

For the next time it breaks.