The interwebs is a magical thing, isn't it!?
Some bloke who calls himself RJ made a video long time ago,
in a far away land where people speak english,
about the exact thing i need to do today, 8 yrs later, over here where people don't speak english,
and BAM! I can do the thing.
Cause of 8-years-in-the-past RJ.
Didn't even cost me a dime.
Didn't even have to leave my house.
Magic.
So comforting to know there are still those who know and care about repair and reuse. You’re a gem.
Wow. Exactly what I was after. Park tools who? GCN huh? RJ the bike guy has the premium content
That's because he teaches how to remove or disassemble bicycle parts without special tools and that's on being professional
It's an old video, but I just wanted to let you and others know that there is no missing pawl in your case (time code 4:10), it's supposed to be like this: 2 pawls, located asymmetrically in special groves, and the 3rd empty grove, which is different from the previous two. This 3rd groove is shallow and cannot hold a pawl, it's designed to give the spring ring some freedom of movement . And if somebody is wondering, there are 25+25 3mm ball bearings.
BTW, this particular Shimano freehub body is 30M-98010, and it fits freehub assembly FH-RM40-7speed as well as FH-MC10-7speed. They are not produced anymore, so servicing them is the way to go.
I'm servicing mine and I have 52 bearings, but now that I'm reassembling it I don't remember if I should put 26 and 26 or 27 on the inner trace and 25 on the outer trace. I cant find the name of the model, where should I look. Also I have 4 spacer but I dont remember their order. If you could help, it would be awesome! Thanks
@@marcobaracco The assembly name is usually printed on the wheel hub (the thing that goes between the spokes and is connected to them). Don't worry about the ball bearings, it's almost not possible to err: you won't be able to fit an extra ball, it will be obvious, once you try. Basically, you should have minimal space left on both sides, and the free space left should be equal on the top and on the bottom. If you somehow manage to put an extra ball on one side, it will be really obvious you're missing one on the other side.
@@leonshamis Went for 27 and 25 and it works. Always nervous when working with my rear wheel that if something is mounted wrong I get catapulted while riding, but everthing worked fine today
Hey thanks for providing such info!! Even if not relevant for my situation, I appreciate and love knowing this info regardless!
Use a straw to install bearings. A thin one like a soap pump pack stem. Add some grease so they dont roll out and a skewer to push them through like a syringe.
5 years ago and you're still a life saver! Especially now, that getting new freehub is riddiculously expensive in my country.
Your video helped me tremendously. I've been searching for a video like this for a while now and none have showed this much detail. Thank you for posting.
You’re a legend. Using your videos I was able to get me free hub working smoothly again! I only have old bikes as that’s what I can afford, so it’s great to see someone supporting them. Instead of a socket I used a piece of flat steel bar cut to size, and a shifter, and it worked. Also there are only two sets of pawls in my hub, must be a cost saving thing....
RJ discovered your channel yesterday. Cannot express how helpful it is. Right now I am working on hubs for the first time, but scanning over the playlists, I see answers to questions I have had since high school. Thank you!!
Great video. It was very helpful. I recently purchased a new wheel for a 1x conversion. The hub was sticky and got progressively worse. I followed your video for guidance and now have a functioning bike again.
Thanks for this very helpful video to take the old free hub apart, as the local bike shop said it was too old and no replacement, and just wanted to replace the whole wheel.
Great Video! Once again RJ, you’ve have shown me how to do something to a bike that I’ve always wondered how it was done. I even was able to make a new tool (from an old 13/16th socket) for servicing cassette hubs by watching your other video. I can’t thank you enough.
Just what i needed to know. Excellently edited and perfect for the home mechanic. Lets have more and thank you 👍.
Another great video for my "Bicycle repair/maintenance"collection.
Thanks again, RJ!!
Wow thank you so much! It's really precise and you're the only one that shows how to do it and how to make the tool. Of course the local bike shops were not helpful, saying "oh you should contact the manufacturer"
(except to provide the odd size 11mm allen key needed to unscrew the freehub body on my bike).
Mr. RJ, I'd like to thank you very much for posting these videos... I was BAD confused about freehubs and freewheels and cassettes... I've always had freewheels on all my bikes since the beginning of Time... A buddy brought me a cassette/freehub wheel that spins both directions... I had to consult the Great Googler, and I was sent here to attend your "class"... I've got them straight in my brain matter now... Thank You...
Video tutarial good also for my Cannondale trail 4. Yesterday I did the job, and this morning I rode 70 km without problems. Thank you friend, from Italy!
Not just interesting and useful, but the ONLY video on YT showing the whole procedure from start to finish. In a helpful manner! :-) NO bikeshops in my local area has been able to work out how to get into the freehub body... "Too old..." apparently. Another fab video to (finally!) save my day. Now I just need to put it back together and hope that the initial 1mm wobble has gone to sleep with the fishes. Have a great 2018 Sir and keep up the Superbly good work!
What rubbish bike shops lol. I tapped the cone out with a screwdriver. Then I realised I have no idea how to put it back together lol
Found this video very interesting I really admire you’re patience, I suppose by using the right process of dismantling and putting back together in the right order even though you had to fashion & engineer you’re own tooling to get the job done, I just wouldn’t have the patience.Thanks for the instruction and the upload🔥.
Sir, you're a lifesaver! Let's take a moment to appreciate this hero's content!!
Your Channel is awesome! I'm from Brazil and there is no channel like yours here. You always help me with the maintencd of my bike. Thank you so much!
Great video. Have done this repair now on 2 of my bikes without a problem. I was looking into making a tool to disassemble the freehub like RJ but I didn’t have a spare socket to sacrifice but found you can get a purpose made tool for eBay for around £3 from China. Just had to touch the edges with a file and it worked perfectly.
You are making my work much easier with this kind of freewheel which I faced with recently.
Sincerely yours from North Afghanistan.
This and all the vids are fantastic...just overhauled two freehub bodies today after creating the tool...Awesome!
great vid. extremely helpful. my freehub is now stripped and awaiting 3mm bearings to be delivered. I couldnt find the correct allen key to fit the retaining bolt but found the extension bar from my socket set was a good fit and released the bolt no problem.
cheers
Thank you so much! Your videos are absolutly great and helpful. Excatly what i was looking for to repair one of my "loved " Retro MTBs. Thought i had to buy a new freewheel hub which is some kind of no name OEM type on my bike. I couldn't find adequate type so far. .But after following your instructions it clicks 'n clicks,...again. Saved me time and money. Now i' am going to overhaul old cassette whith integrated free hub i 've got still on stock.. Thanks again . Great job!
I have to watch this video everytime I do this. Thanks for each time it's come in handy.
I just repaired my freehub, I am working in a Specialized Stumpjumper 97 rebuild project, it was so helpful.
Saludos desde México
Oh your channel is a wonderful resource! Thanks for posting!
Thank you RJ, U have made it a greener world for all.
Informative video. An alternative to the socket mod to disassemble the freehub. My inside diameter was about 30mm (1-1/8") on my Serengeti. So I had in my shop an old 1-1/8" spade bit which fit the diameter perfectly. Blade was about 2-2.5mm thick, so slid right into notches in retaining ring. I ground the bit cutting edges back, to remove tapered edges, until I was back to the original bit thickness of 2.5mm. Then just inserted it into the retainer and used an adjustable wrench to hold and turn the blade to break the ring free.
Im so glad that i found your video demonstration. Thank you very much for the illustrations.
Thank you so much for the very instructive video. You saved me from having to buy a new freehub
Very helpful video thank you, just finished test run after doing this service and it works now. It looks harder than it is, though mine was in better condition to start with. Also my similar Shimano hub had only two paws as well. Note that i did have no tools to make that "special" tool, i was able to open it with regular needle nose pliers.
I just got a bike with a wobbly freehub, with help from your videos I'm happy to dismantle to see what's going on - Hopefully just that hex bolt came loose. Thanks once again RJ
Thanks for the detailed video, I thought mine was seized, followed your instructions, cleaned it, rebuilt ...... saved over £75.......
+ScottyUk kUyttocS I've had lots of problems with these types of hubs. They get very dirty inside cause they're are not sealed. My XT hub was so dirty, it was locking-up on me. Thought it was shot too... Had this hub for 4 months now and ride once a week for about 15 to 25 miles. These hub need frequent maintenance... I guess you get what you pay for... Chris King or DT Swiss rear hub someday...
Thank you so much for this video! I didn't realize the cone bearing nut was reverse threaded so I started looking in youtube and you fixed me!!
My freewheel didn't look quite as bad but was stuck nonetheless
Thank you very much for that video!
I was keen on finding out if I could fix the tightened poles using your instruction.
Due to not beeing accurate this took several hours. But at the end I made it.
Nevertheless I would take the following advice of my "bicylce repair man" to avoid that action:
"Instead just put some thin oil into the appropriate parts and wait. It'll be fine after a few hours. If you couldn't resist and have already disassemled the freehup avoid using too much grease".
Furthermore there wasn't a shop to get these tiny 2.38 mm balls so I had to use the old rusty ones.
Well, anyway I've learned a lot.
Count me among the legion of subscribers who made their 3/8" socket custom removal tool and now rebuild freehubs as their value and purpose make it economically worthwhile to service.
brilliant vid mate i have got a road bike i have not been able to use for about 6 years and this is the reason why , it started to lose grip on the pawls slowly but in the end became a waste of time . i used to repair my freewheels when i was a kid but with the new setup i just could not work out how to do it but now i will try and make that tool and sort it ! THANKS BUD keep up the good work
thin spacer was bent and was under bearing-track making clonk-sound. Thank you for video. I managed to count all bearings and put back just by hand ;) Dust-cap was loose, so no tools needed. one tongue was flipped over, so I put both tongues back after cleaning. I filed one 15 mm key to tighten bearing-cone, it was easier to assemble with screw-bench.
Very informative and much needed right now. Thanks for the detailed explanation 👍
This is a brilliant video. my Giant defy 0 has this freehub, the bike is a 2016 model on the PR-2 wheel and this video means I can overhaul the freehub. Nice one RJ. Legend
It's been 8 years now and now is september 11, 2022 you help me a lot from this video you made...thank you so much...greetings from phillipines🇵🇭
Excellent video RJ. This convinced me not to mess around with these; I'll just buy a complete hub and have that as my spare freehub part.
My old freehub is somewhat grindy and happend that I have to wait till next month for a new one.
Thnx to RJ my freehub is running decently again, and, with any luck, it will do its job keeping me rolling until the new one arrives.
…and this goes straight into my MTB maintenance playlist, for future reference.
Hey R.J.
I've always put grease on the pawls and not had any stick over the last 45-50yrs even on the old free wheel blocks with the cats whisker springs,
e.g. Campagnolo record.
It does make them run a lot quieter when free wheeling.
Nice video, planning to change my freehub and repack its bearing. This vid just gave me a wide overview.Thanks
Brilliant video it absolutely saved me this morning and educated me for the future
50 dislikes? What type of complaint could one possibly have about this extremely useful and well made video? Well done RJ The Bike Guy! I’ve trawled everywhere to find a video explaining how to disassemble a sealed freehub body and finally seen the light. Reading some of the other comments I’m guessing it might be worth just spend the £22 for a new one but I think I’ll have a go just for fun. Cheers dude! Keep making the vids...:)
The dislikes were from Mrs. RJ and her friends. It turns out that RJ was using her chin hair plucking tweezers to drop in the new bearings.
The biggest issue is wear and tear, once I find the wore out part, I replace it. I rarely like rebuilding worn out parts cleaning tiny bearings that could be worn the housing could be worn Springs etc. etc. etc. Every time I have done a repair on my trucks brakes and found a sticky caliper no matter how much cleaning and lubricating I do I end up replacing the calipers.
@ there's a much cheaper and easier to.make tool. Just a bit of flat metal wide enough to go into the body like an enormous flat screwdriver bit. But it helps if you can hold this in a vice
@ you need a lot of specialty tools to work on bicycles that's for sure. But I think RJ only relies on his self made tools for very specific tasks, otherwise he'd just buy a tool for it. In this case I doubt there was any available so he made his own.
Just did this disassembly with this video right here as my instructions. Never done this operation before.
Worked like a charm. Cleaned the whole thing and now i'm sitting here with a coffee to watch this video yet again to make sure i put all the bits and bobs back where they need to go. XD
Thanks for making this video, RJ!
(Bonus success: I still have all 50 of those tiny ball bearings, can i get a high five for that?) ^^
You wouldn’t even understand how helpful this was it’s even the same fh-m475 hub
Thank for you that specific procedure and now I know what they looks like inside. Pretty sure most Shimano Freehub body shares similar structure which should be the same for mine too.
Thank you for this, I could not find a freehub for my old 1999 Xt hub. I was able to grease it up and put new bearings and get a little more life out of it.
Thank you so much for this video. It's great to repair stuff rather than replace. I'm going to try oil in the mechanism instead of grease as grease caused the original sticking I think! Thanks again.
Thann you for tour vidéos ! Exactly what i needed!
Altough i broke the end of my screwdriver in the freehub.. Didn't get that there wasn't a ruber ring on mine.
Manage to pull it out after many hours hoping i hadn't broke it.
:).
cheers for the video! been looking for this for quite a while
I have a similar freehub on one of my wheels, it was weird when i see just 2 springs, actually everything on it was new for me: 50 tiny bearings, 4 spacers, very tiny room for every piece inside, 10 thumbs up for your videos
It’s amazing how much of a pain more antiquated rear hubs are to deal with. Modern hubs offer much more in terms of engagement and the ease of serviceability.
you are amazing...love your videos...so often the only thing i can find and I have to say that these are awesome and so helpful...thanks
Hey, I saw in another of your videos where you no longer use grease to lube the internals of a free hub. You now use Phil Wood Tenacious Oil, or similar. You did, however use grease for the placement of the first 25 bearings, then had to wash it out and oil from the exterior. I tried using the oil directly. I placed oil in the lower race and carefully placed the first 25 bearings in the oil. The oil held them nicely. I was also able to directly oil the pawls and the interior of the outer free hub body. Just seemed to be a bit easier than using grease, washing it out, and dribbling oil inside. Anyway, like you, I always look for ways to improve and make things easier. I really enjoy watching your videos!
Very helpful video series, really appreciate !
This is exactly what I was looking for...thank you so much!
compact, concise, quality, ty again for a great video!
Excellent production and demo. Well done thank you!
I just disassembled one. Also only two pawls. Same self made tool. Thanks!
p.s. my dust cap came out with a gentle pull using finger pressure only
Old skool maintenance, well done sir
Excellent assembly. Thank you very much a complete explanation.
Nice video. I've serviced a ton of these. Always keep a pack of 1/8" balls handy in case you loose some. Plus a couple times opening the Shimano ones, I found they were missing a few balls from the factory.
massively helpful as the rest of your vids, much appreciated!! :-D
Thanks for the video RJ, finally I can Disassembly/Assembly some freehub body just feel so satisfied since I always want to do this. Not shimano though but more ore less still the same loose ball bearing freehubs.
Very helpful indeed, keep it up RJ!
Thanks for the great videos. I made the tool and took apart my noisy Shimano Freehub. It only had two pawls too. One was broken though. I had new 1/8" ball bearings, so I put it back together with only one pawl. We'll see if it stands up to the torque of my ebike.
Very useful info. Thanks for posting!
Very helpful. I enjoy your videos. Thanks.
Clockwise to loosen! You saved me a lot of cursing. Anyhoo I mulled about making the cup removing tool and figured it would be more time/cost/hassle than the toasted freehub was worth, - but thanks.
Good work, with details. Salute of Argentine
Thanks for this useful video buddy!
Regards from Brazil
thanks dude you're a great Mechanic man
Awesome.
Just about to have a crack at this as a wheel bearing in a bike l have just bought has shattered (into two pieces, possibly three) and is catching internally within the hub itself...l think🌝
Two months ago l could never of even diagnosed or even considered such a task if it was not for your video's. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Your videos are absolutely brilliant, l have studied them intensely for the past two months and have applied them to my first total rebuild of an old Diamond Back. My first bike build for almost 50 years. It was unbelievable to see the wife ride off on it...She came back though. 😄😄😄
Now I'm totally hooked. Went out and bought a beat up Giant as my next project. Man, I love being retired.
Once again, thanks so much, your efforts are much appreciated...
thank you !! exactly what i was looking for
Thanks RJ. I learned alot.
I only came because I need to know which key I use to remove the body, but I loved the video, good job friend
Thanks, such an excellent video!
Great video. I could not find a socket that fit so used a 1.125" flat drill bit and a large cresent wrench to spin the bearing cap out. Cleaned the gummy pawls and bearings and it works like new.
There is a tool for this on aliexpress. Costs like 5 bucks, ship free, and it has a retaining bolt that goes inside the hub in place of the axle. But, my opinion, whatever one can DIY, one should DIY :)
A really good video RJ.
thank you very much!! this is what I'm looking for!!!!
Had to laugh when you opened the unit up and the ballbearings dropped out all over the table. We’ve all been there buddy! :-)
Enjoyed the video and like you the way you made your tool. Best regards from the UK.
Thats what i was searching, my mtb free hub was slipping i took it to the mechanic, the mechanic was even unable to open it ( Here 99% people keep single speed bikes) i opened it but he could not service it properly, next time i opened the free hub and submerged it to the kerosene oil and then put a little bit car engine oil, now it works well but still there is a little free play ocassionaly, i tried to disassemble the free hub but tried to open the cone anti clockwise, now i will dismentle it fully and examine it, if there is a missing theeth then will replace the free hub, once again thanx
Really helpful video. Thanks.
Lifesaver, thank you!
Great explanation, I was successful. Thank you, Sir.
Excelent! really helpful!
thank you very much. Greetings from Colombia...!!!
Thank you! Well explained.
for that special tool i used bit of a steel basicly rusted flat square chunk of metal.. and made leverage with adjustable wrench.. no need to be fancy. :D I got it from farmes trash pile.. it was ploughs furrow bit.. nice hard metal.
Very good video, well done.
Thanks it was a very useful video
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where is the link to remove the crown?
@@bsimz008 Remove what crown?
@@RJTheBikeGuy I mean the link to how to make the tool you used @2:50. What are the measurements?
@@RJTheBikeGuy Just found the link. thanks!
@@bsimz008 The link was in description. ua-cam.com/video/1qBk5pePGRg/v-deo.html