Need advice on what new wheel to get

[gratex]

Hey,

My rear axle broke on my carrera crossfire 2 bike, I can't get the freewheel off to replace the axle (I broke a vice trying!). I've decided to bite the bullet and buy a new wheel but I can't find a suitable replacement.

It's 700c 145mm Q/R Disc brake 7-speed freewheel hub compatible. Can anyone help out here? I'm lost.

Thanks in advance.

[nfmisso]

(08-25-2012, 01:51 PM)gratex Wrote:  Hey,

My rear axle broke on my carrera crossfire 2 bike, I can't get the freewheel off to replace the axle (I broke a vice trying!). I've decided to bite the bullet and buy a new wheel but I can't find a suitable replacement.

It's 700c 145mm Q/R Disc brake 7-speed freewheel hub compatible. Can anyone help out here? I'm lost.

Thanks in advance.

Are you sure that it is 145mm OLD ? 135mm is far more likely.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_n-o.html#old

You do NOT need to take the freewheel off to replace the axle. Take the jam nut and cone off the left side, then you can pull the axle out the right side.

Personally, I'd purchase a hub, a rim and spokes the correct size. I would go with a free hub, and change to 8 or 9 speed at the same time.

[Bill]

Nigel I did a search on 145mm hubs and found this...
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/index.php?category=3520
but when I searched google a few pointed out they were tandem hubs?

[nfmisso]

(08-26-2012, 08:01 AM)Bill Wrote:  Nigel I did a search on 145mm hubs and found this...
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/index.php?category=3520
but when I searched google a few pointed out they were tandem hubs?

145mm are tandem hubs, and all standard 145mm hubs are 8/9/10 speed. In the 7 speed era, tandem hubs were 140mm. The OP's bike is a mid-low end model from Halfords, not a custom frame. Thus I am quite sure that the OP needs a 135mm hub.

[Bill]

Ahh ok.

[gratex]

Thanks for the advice, guys.
The axle length was 145mm, the OLD was 135. I still couldn't find a suitable replacement wheel and didn't want to change chainsets and shifters. It seems like a combination of 700c, disc brake and screw-on freewheel is almost impossible to replace.

I got some replacement ball bearings and a greasegun and worked around the stuck freewheel. We'll see how it goes!

I'm just amazed that the bike shop doesn't even stock/sell replacement wheels for it's own bikes (even though they still sell this exact model).
Thanks.

[Joe_W]

Good luck with that! The bearing cup inbound of the freewheel will be difficult to reach, so take care not to drop any balls out of that side!

Well, screw on freewheels are... outdated. Badly. Like, more-than-decade-old (my 20 year old Giant had a freehub already). 7 speed freewheels were a bad idea from the beginning, the long, unsupported axle was prone to bending.
So you could get a new rear wheel with a freehub + cassette. I'd not upgrade to more speeds (unless you really want to), it makes no sense from an economical point of view (I know that, I upgraded some of my bikes because I like them). Any disc brake freehub for MTB should fit your bike, probably with a stack of spacers. You might want to get a wheel that can accommodate 9 speed cassettes (pending upgrades in the future). Get something decent, hand-built or entry level system wheel (by Shimano, DT, Mavic, ...)