Freewheel Removal

I've mentioned freewheels in earlier posts, but I thought some pictures would clarify things a bit. If your bike has a freewheel you'll probably need a special tool to remove it. Unfortunately almost every brand uses a different tool. Even freewheels of the same brand can use different tools, so have fun with this part. There's also a method of removing a freewheel without the special tool. I've done that method many times, but reassembling freewheels gets pretty tedious so I'm glad I finally have the right tool. Well let's get started:

Here's the rear wheel with the freewheel still attached. Remove any quick release skewers or axle nuts first, then slide the tool into the freewheel's splines. With the tool in place, it's a good idea the screw the axle nut or quick release skewer back on to brace the tool and prevent it from slipping off:

Now put a big wrench around the tool and give it some serious force. You can also lock the tool in a bench vise and turn the wheel by the rim to unscrew the freewheel, this works well for the really stubborn ones.

Once the freewheel breaks loose you can unscrew the nut/skewer and then unscrew the freewheel the rest of the way. Here's the freewheel after removal:

That's all there is to it. Just make sure to put some grease or oil on the threads before you reinstall the freewheel, and make sure you don't cross thread it when you screw it back on.