chuckybb

In the past, any freewheels that I have cleaned up and greased with the Park Tool poly-urea grease on the bearings and the pawls have sounded like the grease was preventing the pawls from functioning properly and seemed sluggish with the ratcheting. After removing the grease from the pawls and applying a bit of sewing machine oil they sounded right to me. I'm hoping the expert freewheel doctors on this site will comment on this. I'm fiddling around with an old Atom freewheel now and want to get it right.

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions! Now if I can get the pawls in right and the freewheel assembled, lots of fun!

base2 

As a quick-n-dirty hack: Lay the bike on it's side, give the wheel a good run & dribble Phil's Tenacious Oil into the gap between the rotating & stationary pieces. Centrifugal (centripetal) force pull the oil into the pawl area. When the sound changes, you'll know you have enough.

Velo Mule

Good question and I'll jump in and provide an answer for what I follow:

Grease the bearings, oil the pawls

I will lightly apply a thin coat of grease to the ramps to provide some rust protection and soften the click the slightest bit.

The problem or potential problem with grease in the pawl area is that the oils dry out of it over time and then the pawls get sticky and don't engage. This would likely take years, but it can happen.

@pastorbobnlnh will provide a more professional answer.

Good for you for keeping an Atom freewheel going.

davester

This is a topic I've always wondered about. Grease for the bearings and oil for the pawls makes sense, whether it be for bicycle freewheels or sailboat winches (which are remarkably similar to freewheels). That said, I've always in the past done routine lubrication of freewheels by doing something similar to what base2 suggests above (i.e. lay the wheel on its side and dribble oil or Triflow or something similar into the gap while spinning the freewheel. I'd never thought through the process too much but it seemed to work. Is this the right way to go about freewheel maintenance (short of disassembly)?

bentaxle

Yes, I'd also agree that, short of disassembly, dribbling oil in from the back for the pawls works well when lubrication is needed.

Back in the 1980s Wheelsmith advocated using light grease for the pawls. They sold a mechanism that threaded into the back of a freewheel (removed from the wheel) that had a grease nipple that allowed you to use a grease gun and pump grease into the free wheel without disassembling. Obviously you can't dribble grease in. The Wheelsmith mechanism and grease in the freewheel worked great. You pumped a bit extra through until the grease came out the other side clean, and you'd cleaned and lubed the freewheel. And the freewheel was wonderfully quiet.

I don't think that is recommended any more. The grease can dry out or if you go to a cold environment and the grease thickens and suddenly your freewheel free wheels in both directions. Been there, done that. The pawls never engage. Maybe you could find a light enough grease and keep it refreshed enough to avoid problems. But oil is a better way to go.

nlerner

I defer to @pastorbobnlnh on all things involving freewheel lubrication.

JohnDThompson 

IIRC, the tool was made by J.A. Stein. Phil Wood distributed them at the time, and made a point of the fact that a Phil grease tube would thread directly into the tool once you removed the Zerk fitting. I have one, and it works as you say. Phil grease is too thick, IMO. It doesn't need to be "cold" for it to prevent the pawls from engaging, just cooler than Southern California. I found a light lithium grease to work better (we had it in 55 gal. drums with a pump attached, at Trek, for lubing headset and bottom bracket bearings for the assembly line), but even that was a problem when the temperature gets below freezing.

I still have the tool, but prefer oil these days.

Picture shows Phil grease in the tool:

Spaghetti Legs 

I usually do the non-disassembly oil method mentioned above. When working on the 3 pawl Campy free hubs, I use grease to help the pawls stay in place when remounting the free hub, then I thin it with lube oil after everything back together. Never had a problem.

bentaxle

Yes, that's pretty much what mine looks like too. I forget the lettering, but definitely the same basic device. And perhaps you're right about anything cooler than Southern California, but I used grease in N. California for a long time without problem, and even summers in Boston. But Fall in Boston made me face reality. And I agree light lithium grease is probably the best, but like you decided to just use oil to avoid problems. Thanks for adding info about the manufacturer and distributor. I just know I bought mine from Wheelsmith in Palo Alto upon their recommendation, and it was very useful while I lived in California!

pastorbobnlnh 

Thanks for the mentions Velo Mule and nlerner

My Four Cents of advice after servicing 1000s of freewheels:

1st cent) Synthetic grease in the bearing races (I prefer Super Lube). It is very temperature tolerant, plus water and salt resistant.
2nd cent) A few drops of high-quality machine oil on the pawl pivots, pawls, and wiped across the ratchet teeth.
3rd cent) Blue Loctite on the outer bearing race/retaining ring (hand tighten only)
4th cent) The Phil Oil/TriFlo/WD40/Soak-in-Solvent, flush and dribble method is only a stopgap, short-term freewheel service method. Oil will not remain in the races. It leaks out and coats the sprockets, allowing dirt and grit to stick, thus leading to premature wear of the sprockets.

Finally, my advice is to never use the grease injector tool which floods the interior with grease. A freewheel is a mechanical device and not a bearing.

gna

Which Super Lube do you use? They make many, many varieties.

aceves 

+1 on using Phil's Tenacious Oil...

aceves

tcs

What does Sturmey-Archer use? NLGI #00 semi-fluid grease.



"Since 1902 1984"

pastorbobnlnh 

While I'm not certain, I believe they only make one general purpose synthetic grease. This is the one I use.

'02 nrs

https://www.amazon.com/DT-Swiss-Star...s%2C126&sr=8-2

79pmooney

I used to dissemble FWs, grease and oil but after several came apart and spewed bearings on the road I went to just oil as base2 suggests. And you know what? With my riding, the oiled FWs outlast the cogs easily and since FW cogs are about as easy to find as the hen's teeth at the farmers market, I call that good enough. I follow the old "rule" - oil from the outside; ie the dropout side until you see oil on the inside (between FW and hub if mounted). That should flush any dirt thrown up by the wheel out.

(And a minor editorial point - if you are wearing out oiled FW bearings, may I suggest maybe you should pedal more. Those bearings are only being used as you coast. My favorite bikes don't even have them. )

79pmooney

Seeing Dr Swiss and "Special Grease" make me think of the less pleasant aspects of my annual physicals. That tube even looks like it belongs in the doctor's office.

mechanicmatt

...my only changes are that I use Finish Line wet lube (heavy like Phil's) and usually I take the freewheel off and do that soak from both sides.

I'm no expert either though. Pastor Bob is.

prairiepedaler

I was going to rebuild a freehub body for winter duty. In the past I've been "seat sacked" while pedaling because the pawls didn't engage in the cold. Not comfy down there when it happens. There is a primer or two on the internet how to lube pawls for winter duty, not that the OP is going to be doing any winter riding(?). One fellow even suggested kerosene as it is very light and leaves an oily finish. But yeah, as others have said here, a light oil for the pawls.

79pmooney

I have that Finish Line wet lube and use it here. Just oiled two FWs I picked up before riding them yesterday.

zandoval 

Back in the day 70's... Oh Boy... Here it comes...

I was hanging out at the Liotto Bicycle Shop in Vicenza Italy. I was in the back with the guys trying to learn about bicycles. I always brought cigarettes and bourbon so I was always welcome. The Racers were coming back from thier AM training run preparing for the Bassano race. Of course there was a Karen complaining about his Freewheel slowing him down and he knew it because it was not making a loud clicking sound in the glide. All the guys in the back just squinted at this per-madonna and Gino nodded he would take care of it. He quickly removed the freewheel from the training bike and plunged it into a bucket of Kerosene working it back and fourth to get all the lubricant and grease out of it. He then plunged it into a bucket of very light oil possibly LSA gun oil. He remounted it on the training bike and placed it drive side down to drip dry. I questioned him, "No Grease?". He lowered his head, took a long puff off his cigarette, and quietly replied with shrugged shoulders, "They are racers."

Good or Bad I just can't help greasing the hell outta all the stuff I maintain...