Freewheel Trouble

[BackWoodCycle]

Okay so I bought my brother a fixie off Craigslist with a flip flop rear hub. I'd like to switch it back to freewheel instead of fixed..
It's threaded, but I don't know which freewheel I need to order online. Are they all the same?

Any help would be much appreciated.
I'll try to get some pictures up as soon as my phone charges.

I'll try to get o

 

[LukeTheJoker]

It will probably use a standard 16/18/20 tooth BMX freewheel, but hard to tell without pics...

Have you thought about taking the wheel into your local bike shop and asking there? Freewheels are usually cheap anyway...

Luke.

 

[Bicycle808]

It'll be English threaded, which describes the vast majority of singlespeed freewheels available today, and basically all freewheels over 16t. There are metric-threaded freewheels for use on BMX-style flip flops; they're smaller altogether, and popular with riders who want to run a freewheel under 16t and haven't yet upgraded to cassettes or drivers. So, yeah, the smallest you can get is 16t, and anything English threaded (1.375"x24tpi) will work. Generally, available 16t thru 22, and 24t. I don't think I've ever seen a 23t freehweel, and very few 21t....

A good but cheap freewheel is the ACS Crossfire. Best freewheels are White Industries, but they start at $90/each. Your bike shop will likely carry Shimano MX freewheels, and unlike most Shimano parts, these are pretty wretched. They work ok, but the pawls fail in a hurry.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Had decent success with Dicta freewheels, they can usually be picked up for good prices...

Luke.

 

[BackWoodCycle]

 

[BackWoodCycle]

The hub isn't marked. But it's laced to a stock Mavic Wheelset

 

[Bicycle808]

yeah yeah yeah any english-thread freewheel will work on that hub

 

[Bendix]

+1 on the ACS freewheels. Reasonably priced, seem to hold up well. Shimano's will probably become less common in shops due to their new distribution setup, and the fact they've doubled in wholesale cost over the last few years. FWIW a f/w that used to cost us ten bucks is now almost 20! That means nearly $40 retail at a typical parts margin for a MX freewheel that will almost certainly make an annoying knocking sound while climbing...

Careful w/Dictas, Main Drive, and other cheaper OEM type units- they often have all but useless removal tool interfaces!

Yeah, ACS.

 

[BackWoodCycle]

Bought an ACS freewheel last night for It

 

[Bicycle808]

$20 wholesale for a Shimano MX? They cost $20 on most online retail sites!! How long til shops start buying their parts wholsesale from amazon? QBP's terms are outrageous, and they can't even compete with online retail on many parts....

 

[Bendix]

Crazy, ain't it?


Shimano is a piece of work. Inconvenience thousands of dealers by dropping dozens of US distributors, claiming it's shutting down black/gray market competition. In reality they just wanted dealers to order more items directly from them... Since mail order sites are often the same or cheaper than most of those distributors I seriously doubt they were the problem.

Hey Shimano- Don't spit on my cupcake and tell me it's frosting.

I'd start in on Trek, but I don't want carpal tunnel....

 

[Bicycle808]

It's tough for the typical LBS these days, and it seems to me that the obvious threats (online retailers, bikeshares/co-ops, etc) aren't half as deadly as the moves being perpetrated by the manufacturers and distributors. You can't expect to be a dealer of a first-tier bicycle brand (Trek, Specialized, etc) unless you're ready to deal in HUGE volume, and put up with some vicious minimum orders and jump thru some bizarre hoops to help the brand market their latest concepts. I don't envy you.

 

[Bendix]

Don't worry about me, I just work here.

 

[Bicycle808]

ha