How do you remove a freewheel when the tool does not work?

[ichitan]

I have these Chinese freewheels. On the inside are ridges which are supposed to be there so you can use the tool to remove it. With these freewheels, the ridges are very low. I have a tool, also made in China, and the ridges on the tool are also very low. So when trying to use the tool to remove the freewheel, it does not grip properly, and it can't be used to remove the freewheel. The metal on the tool is also very soft, so when it slips, the tool is destroyed.

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to remove a freewheel when the tool does not work?

Somebody is going to say, buy different freewheels, and a better tool. Even if I did, I have these on two bikes already, and at some time in the future, they will need to be removed.

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

I'm guessing that you mean a single speed freewheel yes?

These are certainly troublesome to remove.

The trick to removing these is to use the lock nut to anchor down the tool to the freewheel for removal.

Put the tool onto the freewheel into the spots, now screw the nut down until it's very close and firm, but try to give yourself a little room for when you turn the freewheel out so that the tool and the bolt doesn't get seized together.

[BobbyZamboni]

(06-14-2022, 07:03 PM)ReapThaWhirlwind Wrote:  I'm guessing that you mean a single speed freewheel yes?

These are certainly troublesome to remove.

The trick to removing these is to use the lock nut to anchor down the tool to the freewheel for removal.

Put the tool onto the freewheel into the spots, now screw the nut down until it's very close and firm, but try to give yourself a little room for when you turn the freewheel out so that the tool and the bolt doesn't get seized together.

You can also use a narrow drill bit to drill a couple of millimetres in to the spots to make them a bit deeper so you can get more grip on them .

[ichitan]

I now have a solution for this. I made a tool using a car wheel nut. This works well.

https://forums.bikeride.com/thread-8029.html