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Dead freehub - repairable?

by zedthegreat
Wed, Mar 15, 2017 19:09
8

All

My freehub seems to be playing up. Intermittently it just won't engage so I spin the pedals and nothing happens. I managed to creep home tonight, but only by staying in low gears and putting minimal stress through the chainset.

I run the standard wheels on my Giant Defy 2 (2015 model) which are just branded as Giant S-R2 rims on Giant Tracker Sport Road hubs. As these are just the off peg wheels I know very little about them (to be honest, I know very little about most mechanical things!)

Does anyone know if this is even worth pursuing to repair considering I would need to find a specialist (ie, not me) or should I just get a new wheelset? Alternatively, anything I could check which I may not have considered?

Cheers

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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mjc2669 | 7 years ago
0 likes

Try GCN ... How to service your freehub...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IDwH0QOnn_Y

Avatar
Jimmy Ray Will | 7 years ago
1 like

As above... I'd guess sticky pawls caused by a build up of gunk. if you are unlucky the pawls may have corroded, if so, they may never work brilliantly again. 

but it shoudl be possible to make them functional.

It won't be a big job to get at the pawls to see whats going on.

The bearings went on teh rear wheel of my MTB the other day. went to have a look, adn i could see that it was all being held together by a 12mm allen key bolt.

had to buy one... cost me best part of £20. 

That bolt was barely hand tight. I was not a happy bunny. 

However, my point was, once in, I could easily access the pawls to give them a clean, and changing the bearings was as simple as hitting the old ones with a hammer, and pressing in new ones (I made a make shift bearing press using the freehub, some old bearings and a skewer). 

Grease cost a few quid, the bearings £15 the lot. 

Biggest expenditure was the allen key!

As a quick fix, try spraying GT85 into the gap between the cassette and hub shell. It ain't pretty, but it might free up the pawls. 

Avatar
DaSy | 7 years ago
0 likes

Without the correct tool to take the cup out of the freewheel to allow disassembly, the only real option is to remove the freehub from the wheel, then pick out the little rubber o-ring from the back and flood it with GT85. This is far from a permanant fix, as it will flush out all the grease, but does get it going for a fair while.

 

When I was servicing Giant bikes, they used to always use a Formula hub that they rebranded, so a Formula freehub will be the correct replacement, obvioulsy checking you get the right one. The freehub should remove using an 11mm allen key if I remember correctly.

 

A new freehub is fairly cheap, just put a fair bit of grease on the back before installation to stop water creeping in down the line.

 

Try here - http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/Giant-FH04-Freehub.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw76jGBRDm1K-X_LnrmuEBEiQA8RXYZyGkq_wcmubKy2BPHn9dthxnQhF212H0NgNOsr3OUqEaAiVe8P8HAQ

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David_C_M | 7 years ago
0 likes

I had the same problem with my Giant wheels after about 18 months. They did manage to fix it for me temporarily by cleaning and re greasing three free hub, but told me all the bearings needed replacing and it would cost almost £100 to repair all in. A new wheel would have been £110! I decided to buy some Shimano wheels instead that had decent seals and these have lasted well so far.

Avatar
Jimthebikeguy.com | 7 years ago
2 likes

Not a massive job. Freehubs die after a while. Take it to any decent local shop or giant dealer and they will either grease the pawls or just snap a new one on. Usually about 20 or 30 quid.

Avatar
kev-s | 7 years ago
2 likes

Only way to tell is to strip it down and take a look

It sounds like the freehub's pawls arent engaging with the hub's ratchet ring

This could be down to a few things like...

The spring which holds the pawls in place has broke/lost its springyness

The pawls have become gunked up

One or more of the pawls has broke/become damaged

 

 

 

Avatar
zedthegreat | 7 years ago
1 like

Thanks GBurch

Fair questions. It has worked well since new (2 years this month - maybe 3-4000 miles all in) until the last two days. I put it down to bad gear alignment yesterday but aligned this morning on the workstand. Commute to work fine, back was a nightmare. So it has crept in over just the last couple of days. I done 100km at the weekend with the club no probs.

Avatar
GBurch | 7 years ago
0 likes

The only reason I would see for looking into a repair would be to diagnose the issue.

I don't personally have experience with this type of issue, but I would caution against making another purchase without fully understanding the issue. 

I cannot tell from the original post, but was this an issue ever since you started using the freehub, or did it happen after some time?

If it was immediate, I think the case is pretty clear cut. 

If it took some time to stop engaging, maybe it is worth looking into.

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