• Just to add in my tuppence, I traumatized myself removing and servicing a Regina freewheel, but I would do it again :)

    I bought a Var tool, it has become quite chewed up, which is frustrating as they are not cheap. Luckily it still works. You want to do all this with the hub built in a wheel, it really takes a lot of force to get a stuck one off. [If the hub isn't in a wheel I think you need to take the freewheel apart, clamp in a vice, etc. I haven't done that, but there are descriptions elsewhere if you search.] The tool goes in the 2 large slots and then you use a big-ass wrench to turn the tool. Use a skewer to hold the tool on the freewheel, but after it releases remember to loosen the skewer. I was so enraged at this point I didn't and stripped the $£!##!#£ threads from my hub. Still living with that expensive mistake.

    The pinholes are for removing the face plate allowing you to disassemble / service the body. If the freehwheel turns nicely I wouldn't bother taking off the plate again. My experience with those pinholes is the plate is on so tight you need to use a punch. I'd probably soak / try and flush with kerosene and then oil with something like Phil Tenacious Oil or alternative. As mentioned above, in my experience you have to be an octopus to get all the balls and pawls back in and put the body back together. They will go everywhere, so if you open it, do it carefully over an ice-cream tub or something. I used grease to stick them all in place while reassembling and there's a trick with cotton thread to hold the pawls but I'm buggered if I could do it easily.

    You can get all but 1 sprocket off the body using 2 chain whips. Using a fine wire wool on the sprockets (even the gold ones) brings them up nicely and you can do the one not removed in place.

About

Avatar for veloham @veloham started