On my ride the other day I had several instances where it felt like the freehub, didn't 'engage' (resulting in me tw44ing my knee on the handlebars).

Today I have took the wheel out and removed the cassette. But everytime i twist the freehub by hand, it engages drive every time…

can temperature cause such behaviour? my water bottle had started freezing during the ride, but i had done the dismantling indoors.

how do i remove a freehub?

thanks

Temperature maybe a factor, try it again & if it happens pee on it towarm it up? (or carry aflask of hot water if your shy).
Freehub removal will depend on the freehub type, what is the hub?

I had the same problem when the temperature first dropped, and it got to the stage where I actually lost all drive altogether.

I think riding on it damaged it permanently though as even when left indoors all night it still wasn't working in the morning.

I've just replaced the freehub and it seemed okay today. Although it is now outside in the shed so I may have the same problem soon…

Just to check – wasn't the chain slipping?
I thought a friends freewheel was slipping – turned out he'd swapped the old cassette but not the stretched chain.

z1ppy – its an acera X hub with a standard QR-type axle(glam I know!)

I'm in the process or replacing the whole drive train and just thought I should do it now, while i've got it in bits.

I had hoped that it would last another couple of months so that i didn't end up with new gears/chain getting clarted up straight away.

And, before anybody suggests singlespeeding it, I don't have the luxury of being able to afford a SS kit as well as replacing the cassette!

I don't have the luxury of being able to afford a SS kit as well as replacing the cassette!

You won't need a cassette if you go for SS 😆

@ andrewh – yeah, yeah, whatever! 😉

andrewh – Member

You won't need a cassette if you go for SS

You mean "if you go for fixed" Shirley?

Best thing to do is pee on it, this is a common problem with these hubs

Had the same prob with a dt swiss hub. In the end, even after cleaning it out and re-greasing, the pawls were just too damaged after all the skipping. Had to replace them but now it's all good. Get the hub serviced. You might be surprised.

cheers FBF

you replace the whole freewheel with a 10 or 12mm allen key easy job.

can anybody point me in the right direction for some instructions for getting the freehub off the hub?

I have tried following Sheldon's pages but haven't got very far.

Do I need to get the axle out of the middle of the hub to get the freehub off?

Slipping freehub in winter is a sign of water and general crap being in your freehub. The water freezes and stops the pawls getting out to the ratchet. This causes the slipping and then you find that you have damaged the pawls due to this.

Shimano hubs arent designed to be servicable so its a take off and replace job.

Cassette off
QR off
Axle & bearings out
10mm Allen key into freehub
Remove freehub

Thanks LH – will get onto that later

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=45

cheers oneoneoneone! that will also do nicely!

This one here is also a good guide, with lots of photos – http://steveukmtb.wordpress.com/shimano-hub-overhaul-cup-and-cone/

And this article here has some interesting points on how to "winterise" your freehub (from Alaskans who must be experts) but I can't vouch for whether it works or not – http://www.icebike.org/Equipment/freehub.htm