(03-27-2010, 02:25 PM)billbr Wrote: Hi. I tried the warm water and it worked. I filled a watering can with warm, not hot, water and poured it over the rear sprocket and hub. It worked right away. I then re-lubed the area. The grease must have been stiff from the cold weather.
Thank you! Cold Weather!
I just had this problem (pedals spinning forwards, cassette spinning, but wheel not moving) today, with a fairly new Mavic wheel freehub, and it was/is a COLD day. (if you look at other threads on various forums
https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%22pedals+don%27t+spin+the+wheels%22
where people are reporting this problem a majority appear to be in winter)
I think that my pawls gunked up, and the oil・grease is cold, adding to the gunkyness, so my pawls were not poking back out.
I used warm water with washing up liquid in a garden spray gun, brake clear, WD40, and a light oil in that order, and it seems fine now.
I blame myself for letting my bike get really dirty, and for using two-stroke oil liberally on my chain and rear cassette. I happened to have run out of light oil. I will stick to the thinner oil in future, so that my pawls do not, stick. (though I note that some recommend two stroke oil
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-695185.html but perhaps the "Quicksilver" that they recommend does not thicken up at low temperatures. Yes, that sound likely since it is a marine 2 stroke.)
It is pretty scary though, since one of the times I have come off my bike was when the pedals span freely. I stamped on my expecting pedal resistance on a downhill, and I was in my lowest gear, and so the pedal was like falling through air, and this unexpected lack of resistance caused me to unbalance and fall off (note to self, check that you are not in a low gear on downhills). If this sticky pawl problem were to come on suddenly in traffic, and my pedals were to suddenly spin freely, it could be the death of me. Lots of washing, lots of light lube.