Freewheel failed - now have a fixie - Advice needed

pharmaboy

pharmaboy

Eats Squid
Ok brains trust, I'm "hoping" this is a small problem and you guys are going to say just "clean out the pawls and you'll be sweet fool", but this problem is a first for me, and cleaning and servicing then going out for a ride and having to walk 10kays home because I'm a numpty is an adventure I'd like to put off till another year.

Wheel - Hope pro 2 evo XD driver
Symptom - after a short hill climb deraileur started pulling forward then releasing when I coasted. When I got off the bike to check things, cranks turned as 8 wheeled the bike. Then nursed it home and dropped the chain pretty much every 100m trying to pedal with it - ended up like a 2 year old on a push bike legs spread wide, cranks turning furiously beneath me (down hill back to home base)

This happened just after a long gravel grind yesterday with 1500m of climbing and 70kmh odd descents (quite a few). Also broke a driveside spoke on the ride (discovered today).

Would be 6 months since a hub clean and regrease - greased pawls with slick honey (always previously used mineral oil).., also put new seal in at this service

Now it's home and I have it apart, the pawls are a little grainy, but of course, I can't replicate the problem as soon as I got home

Just clean it and go, or is there something else at play?

Thanks in advance
 
Have you fixed the driveside spoke?
Hopes are user servicable, minimal tools required, but can be finicky (there is a seal that can do what you described, but usually only if not installed correctly
 
99_FGT said:
Have you fixed the driveside spoke?
Hopes are user servicable, minimal tools required, but can be finicky (there is a seal that can do what you described, but usually only if not installed correctly
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This. If you've had freehub off, and not pressed seal back in, shit will get in...and your freehub will also pop off at the drop of a hat.
 
How old is the hub? Bearings could be fooked/on the way out (5 bearings total in the rear hub). Good luck.

Leon
 
moorey said:
This. If you've had freehub off, and not pressed seal back in, shit will get in...and your freehub will also pop off at the drop of a hat.
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Think moorey is on the money. Little seal that sits between freehub and hub body needs to be re seated after taking freehub off

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 
Thanks gents -

No had not fixed spoke yet or taken off freehub, so have done as advised , cleaned etc, regreased with light grease and going to suck it and see. Axle is spinning nicely and bearings in freehub feel good (OK, don't feel brand new, but generally pretty good
 
Once you were home and had the wheel off your bike, did the free hub work as intended? Or did you not test this to isolate the problem? I've had similar symptoms over the years from stuffed chains and also from a broken hub axle. The "fixed" aspect of your tale make it fairly certain not to be the chain. The time I snapped the hub axle took some effort, so I'm doubting the gravel session would have done this.

You had a test ride around the block?
 
Yes poodle, the freehub seemed to work off the bike, but at the same time, the freewheel did engage for a couple of minutes here and there while limping home, so it was a bit on and off. I'll take it for a test ride in the morning.

One thing I can say for sure though - anyone riding a fixie offroad is an utter utter utter lunatic.
 
You didn't lose that little spacer that sits inside between the cassette body and hub on the hope? I spent an half hour the other day trying to figure out why my hub wouldn't freewheel when on the bike because of this.
 
placebo said:
You didn't lose that little spacer that sits inside between the cassette body and hub on the hope? I spent an half hour the other day trying to figure out why my hub wouldn't freewheel when on the bike because of this.
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Have done the same. Swore I put it in, realized as soon as I tried to spin it, found it on he floor. I don't think that's the issue though.
 
Sounds like a bit of grit just got stuck in just the wrong spot preventing a pawl from retracting properly. Just clean, regrease, reeassemble, it'll be sweet, i think you were just unlucky
 
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