Free Hub Sticking?

avc8130

Active Member
So last ride my free hub started sticking HARD. It would get stuck "engaged" to the point that while descending the chain would wrap up and drop. When I spin the wheel it would make a very rhythmic grinding noise once per revolution and stick hard once there wasn't much momentum in the wheel. I took it apart and inspected and cleaned the ever living heck out of the free hub, I can't for the life of me see what is wrong. The pawls look good. The ratchet ring looks good. The spring is in place, the pawls move freely. It's a Novatec, so I know it's a piece of crap, but the tinkerer in me still wants to figure out WHY it isn't working. What could I be missing?

ac
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
Clean, lubricate, and check assembly. Common stumbling points:

-ring-type pawl springs must have their ends seated midpoint between pawls, not on them.

-leaf-type springs only fit in one direction

-pawls need either oil or grade 0-1 grease for proper operation.

-most cartridge bearing hubs need a spacer of some sort between the hub shell and freehub body. Many also need spacers between ALL the bearings, in the hubshell and freehub body.

These assume no external issues (bearings, as @qclabrat noted, something rubbing...)
 

huffster

Well-Known Member
All I can add here is that I have learned the hard way...once it starts acting like shit (as u described), it will fail soon. I’ve cleaned and lubed, and all that (on the bench) and 2 rides later I’m walking out of the woods.
 

avc8130

Active Member
Clean, lubricate, and check assembly. Common stumbling points:

-ring-type pawl springs must have their ends seated midpoint between pawls, not on them.

-leaf-type springs only fit in one direction

-pawls need either oil or grade 0-1 grease for proper operation.

-most cartridge bearing hubs need a spacer of some sort between the hub shell and freehub body. Many also need spacers between ALL the bearings, in the hubshell and freehub body.

These assume no external issues (bearings, as @qclabrat noted, something rubbing...)

This hub uses a ring type spring, and there is a designated spot for it to end so I know it's in the right spot.

I put a dab of 3n1 oil on each one.

Yes, there is a spacer inside the free hub on the axle, and that is in place. There is a spacer in the hub between the 2 main wheel bearings as well.

I don't SEE any external issues and swapping in a different free hub body I had on the shelf seems to work. I'm at a loss.

ac
 

avc8130

Active Member
Make sure the freehub body isn't cracked. It's fairly common with that hub.

I don't see any cracks, is that common on the hub style with a pressed in ratchet ring, or was that isolated to the style with the tread in ratchet ring? Mine has the pressed-in setup.

ac
 

huffster

Well-Known Member
I do have something else to add, after all. I had a Novatec hub on a Weinmann (sp?) wheel. The symptom was more "slipping when pedaling". The pressed in ratchet ring itself had spun inside the hub. Even though the free-hub itself was fine, the ratchet teeth that the pawls were supposed engage was rotating under load. It took a bit of pressure to make it slip - which was easy when putting your pedaling weight on it. It was a little harder to realize on the bench. But with the chain whip on the cassette, I could make it spin. The hub was shot, as opposed to the free-hub in that case.
 

avc8130

Active Member
I do have something else to add, after all. I had a Novatec hub on a Weinmann (sp?) wheel. The symptom was more "slipping when pedaling". The pressed in ratchet ring itself had spun inside the hub. Even though the free-hub itself was fine, the ratchet teeth that the pawls were supposed engage was rotating under load. It took a bit of pressure to make it slip - which was easy when putting your pedaling weight on it. It was a little harder to realize on the bench. But with the chain whip on the cassette, I could make it spin. The hub was shot, as opposed to the free-hub in that case.

That must have been the threaded ratchet ring style, right?
 

Reggie

Formerly ReggieHammond
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Make sure the freehub body isn't cracked. It's fairly common with that hub.

+1 Every time I experienced the same symptoms....my freehub body was toast. At this point I switch to steel as I'll just blow up an aluminum one; just a matter of time.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I broke the freehub on my cross wheels that used that hub. It was a slight crack and only stuck at the the most inopportune moments in a race.
 

huffster

Well-Known Member
I thought it was pressed in, but may have been threaded. Either way it was able to spin in both directions - endlessly. So, if it was threaded, it was stripped.
That must have been the threaded ratchet ring style, right?
 

avc8130

Active Member
I broke the freehub on my cross wheels that used that hub. It was a slight crack and only stuck at the the most inopportune moments in a race.

You mean the part the cassette bolts to with the pawls, right?

Where does it crack?
 

avc8130

Active Member
For anyone following along for the resolution...it looks like the ratchet ring itself in the hub has cracked in multiple places.

It's pressed in. Novatec has sent me a new one...no instructions on the suggested method of swapping it out.

I ordered a DTSwiss wheelset built around the 350 hub...
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
Typically need to use a slide hammer to remove it (with appropriate sized puller). You would usually have to crack/cut the ring to get it out, but that part has already been done for you.

Freeze the new ring, heat the hubshell, then assemble it with green thread locker.

Probably will need an arbor press or access to high quality bicycle bearing press tools to get it in.
 

avc8130

Active Member
Typically need to use a slide hammer to remove it (with appropriate sized puller). You would usually have to crack/cut the ring to get it out, but that part has already been done for you.

Freeze the new ring, heat the hubshell, then assemble it with green thread locker.

Probably will need an arbor press or access to high quality bicycle bearing press tools to get it in.

I think I'll need to rig up something with a threaded rod. I don't think I'll be able to find an arbor press, or even a hydraulic press, with a big enough throat to take the whole wheel.
 
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