Advice Req. on replacing freehub body

[Hairy]

Hi All

 

So my brand spanking new used / second hand set of wheels (Bontranger Rhythm Elites) that I bought have started displaying a very disturbing characteristic.

 

When freewheeling, even at slow speeds the free hub will coast and then tend to "catch". When this happens it is the same as if the ratchets engage momentarily as it will move the cassette forwards and then this rapid engagement tends to kick up the chain. This in turn has been leading to my chain coming off rather frequently as of late.

 

Now when I bought he wheelset the seller said that Cycle Lab had just replaced the free hub body. Given that I have only done no more than 500km on the wheelset in the last 2 months makes me think that Cycle Lab either fitted a cheap ass body and this has packed up or that the body was replaced, but a good few hundred km's before I lay my grubby paws on it.

 

The wheel does not make a lovely ratching sound like the hub on my 26" version of the same wheels, so I am assuming that the body on the 29'er version is not a Bontranger (Rather a DT Swiss) item, but some other generic brand.

 

My questions:

• Is my free hub body toast or can I open up this puppy and service her
• If the body needs replacing can I use just about any 9spd body out there, i.e can I pop on a loud bee sounding Chris King item or a bomb proof Shimano XT or XTR one
• Am I being a wuss by not pedaling all the time and freewheeling in the first place

Your assistance will be appreciated.

 

Regards

Hairy

[The expat cyclist]

• Is my free hub body toast or can I open up this puppy and service her

 

I dunno boet - can you?

Me? Well I are an Engineer...I open **** up! Even if you want to/will replace the free hub body, open it up anyway and have a look see inside...Who knows what you might end up learning.

[Pieterg]

Clean lub and see

[Hairy]

• Is my free hub body toast or can I open up this puppy and service her

 

I dunno boet - can you?

Me? Well I are an Engineer...I open **** up! Even if you want to/will replace the free hub body, open it up anyway and have a look see inside...Who knows what you might end up learning.

 

I can do a major service on my bike and service the suspension ... so maybe I should give a try.

 

I am into Architecture and Interiors ... We make sure that things look nice, the engineers must just make sure they won't fall apart

[The expat cyclist]

I can do a major service on my bike and service the suspension ... so maybe I should give a try.

 

I am into Architecture and Interiors ... We make sure that things look nice, the engineers must just make sure they won't fall apart

Be honest - you WANT to spend money and buy a new one, right? So, open up the old one and have a look see. If you stuff it up, well, then you will have an awsome excuse to go buy a new one!

Sorted!

[Hairy]

Be honest - you WANT to spend money and buy a new one, right? So, open up the old one and have a look see. If you stuff it up, well, then you will have an awsome excuse to go buy a new one!

Sorted!

 

Makes good sense.

 

Now can one use just about any freehub body?

[Johan Bornman]

Hi All

 

So my brand spanking new used / second hand set of wheels (Bontranger Rhythm Elites) that I bought have started displaying a very disturbing characteristic.

 

When freewheeling, even at slow speeds the free hub will coast and then tend to "catch". When this happens it is the same as if the ratchets engage momentarily as it will move the cassette forwards and then this rapid engagement tends to kick up the chain. This in turn has been leading to my chain coming off rather frequently as of late.

 

Now when I bought he wheelset the seller said that Cycle Lab had just replaced the free hub body. Given that I have only done no more than 500km on the wheelset in the last 2 months makes me think that Cycle Lab either fitted a cheap ass body and this has packed up or that the body was replaced, but a good few hundred km's before I lay my grubby paws on it.

 

The wheel does not make a lovely ratching sound like the hub on my 26" version of the same wheels, so I am assuming that the body on the 29'er version is not a Bontranger (Rather a DT Swiss) item, but some other generic brand.

 

My questions:

• Is my free hub body toast or can I open up this puppy and service her
• If the body needs replacing can I use just about any 9spd body out there, i.e can I pop on a loud bee sounding Chris King item or a bomb proof Shimano XT or XTR one
• Am I being a wuss by not pedaling all the time and freewheeling in the first place

Your assistance will be appreciated.

 

Regards

Hairy

 

Hairy, you don't say what type of Hub that is, so it makes a very specific answer difficult. Bontrager don't make hubs but use OEM ones - often DT Swiss.

 

The freehub body on a DT Swiss hub is rubbish. They use two different technologies and I'm not sure which one is the worst.

 

Further, freehub bodies are unique to the hub. There is no standard. Also, 9-speed and 10-speed use the same freehub body, but that's just an aside.

 

In defense of Cycle Lab - there are no choices in when replacing freehub bodies. You take the part number that goes with the hub and put it on. No choice between cheapies, generics etc. Thus, if they replaced it, it is the right thing. No Chris King for you. Sorry.

 

A freehub body that sticks is deadly for your bike. If it sticks proper (which it will, sooner or later if it displays symptoms like you describe), it rips the jockey out backwards, over the cassette and into the seatstay. Many bikes are ruined like that. Often the wheel also suffers. Have it seen to.

 

 

A DT Swiss freehub body is fairly simple but finicky. I bet that if you open it, you'll imemdiately figure out what to do - simply scoop out the rust and gunk, clean everything, pray that the spring is not rusted through, and replace. It only has two pawls and they're eccentricly spaced around the hub and could fool you if you don't pay attention.

 

If you post a photie of the hub, we can tell you how to open it. But my guess is a copper hammer and 17mm spanner will do the trick.

[Minion]

I had a similar problem with a Powertap hub when the freebody was replaced during a service. The problem went away when I loosened the hub bolts, so I suspected it was a clearance issue. I made a 0.2mm shim that I put between the shaft shoulder and one of the bearings to increase the spacing and the problem went away.

 

I was surprised since there's not normally meant to be a spacer in that part, so I suspect it may just have been a tolerance issue.

 

If yours is suffering from the same problem, it's possible it's also a tolerance issue or it may be that there was a spacer there and Cyclelab lost it while doing the service.

[Johan Bornman]

I had a similar problem with a Powertap hub when the freebody was replaced during a service. The problem went away when I loosened the hub bolts, so I suspected it was a clearance issue. I made a 0.2mm shim that I put between the shaft shoulder and one of the bearings to increase the spacing and the problem went away.

 

I was surprised since there's not normally meant to be a spacer in that part, so I suspect it may just have been a tolerance issue.

 

If yours is suffering from the same problem, it's possible it's also a tolerance issue or it may be that there was a spacer there and Cyclelab lost it while doing the service.

PowerTap hubs have a particular problem. The spacer between the two bearings on the hub itself, is made from some very, very soft material and easily deforms. It is quite easy to see too. Once this spacer deforms, it puts an unnatural preload on the two hub bearings and they suddenly have to cope with a huge side load. They don't like this and binds.

 

Further, Powertap hubs have a 1mm washer on the 15mm axle that sits at a different place depending on whether it is fitted with a Campag or Shimano freehub.

 

I think the shim you made compensated for one of these two issues.

 

Interestingly enough, the Powertap hub uses a freehub body from one of the other brands, but I've forgotten now which other freehub body is compatible with it. After my senior moment has passed, it'll come to me. It is an important little snippet since the Powertap version has a material flaw that causes the pawl cavities to enlarge prematurely. Replacing it with the "compatible" cures the problem.

[Hairy]

Thanks Johan

 

Please see my comments below:

 

Hairy, you don't say what type of Hub that is, so it makes a very specific answer difficult. Bontrager don't make hubs but use OEM ones - often DT Swiss.

 

The freehub body on a DT Swiss hub is rubbish. They use two different technologies and I'm not sure which one is the worst. LINK TO WHEELSET

 

Further, freehub bodies are unique to the hub. There is no standard. Also, 9-speed and 10-speed use the same freehub body, but that's just an aside.

 

In defense of Cycle Lab - there are no choices in when replacing freehub bodies. You take the part number that goes with the hub and put it on. No choice between cheapies, generics etc. Thus, if they replaced it, it is the right thing. No Chris King for you. Sorry. Strange thing is that I have exactly the same wheelset on my Shova and when freewheeling the hub makes a great ratcheting sound ... nice and loud. My previous set of Bontis also made this sound. So this leads me to believe that the freehub body on the wheelset in question is not the same spec.

 

A freehub body that sticks is deadly for your bike. If it sticks proper (which it will, sooner or later if it displays symptoms like you describe), it rips the jockey out backwards, over the cassette and into the seatstay. Many bikes are ruined like that. Often the wheel also suffers. Have it seen to. Note taken

 

 

A DT Swiss freehub body is fairly simple but finicky. I bet that if you open it, you'll imemdiately figure out what to do - simply scoop out the rust and gunk, clean everything, pray that the spring is not rusted through, and replace. It only has two pawls and they're eccentricly spaced around the hub and could fool you if you don't pay attention. Note taken

 

If you post a photie of the hub, we can tell you how to open it. But my guess is a copper hammer and 17mm spanner will do the trick. I love hammer techniques

[nickelass]

a friend of mine had a simular problem,turned out he had a broken pawl which was occasionally jamming the works,we managed to open up the freebody fairly easy,much like a hope hub.

[Hairy]

a friend of mine had a simular problem,turned out he had a broken pawl which was occasionally jamming the works,we managed to open up the freebody fairly easy,much like a hope hub.

 

Thanks

 

Any specific grease to replace the old grease with ... I have some good old motor bearing grease at home I pop in their or should I be looking for something specific?

[Johan Bornman]

Thanks

 

Any specific grease to replace the old grease with ... I have some good old motor bearing grease at home I pop in their or should I be looking for something specific?

The best grease for that particular bicycle application (and all other bicycle applications bar Mavic freehub bodies) is that sticky ol'e tub of whassisname grease you have in your garage.

 

As far as bicycles go, grease is grease.

[Hairy]

Thanks!

 

The grease is red so should make the bearings roll faster too ..... scientifically proven of course

 

The best grease for that particular bicycle application (and all other bicycle applications bar Mavic freehub bodies) is that sticky ol'e tub of whassisname grease you have in your garage.

 

As far as bicycles go, grease is grease.

[Cassie]

Open it up ASAP...take photies....AND JB and some more pseudo techies like me will sort you out....