 A few weeks ago, a member of Classic & Vintage sub-forum on www.bikeforums.net started a thread about a set of wheels he had recently picked up. Mounted to the rear hub was this severely rusted Regina CX 7 speed freewheel. Yes, that is rust, not caked on road grime, oil, and dirt. He also noted the FW made a loud clunking sound. I sent him my Regina tool in order to remove the FW and send it in for the Full Spa Treatment. It arrived about two weeks ago, and I could not believe how bad this FW had been neglected! Every cog had about a .5mm layer of rust. Obviously it had lived near the ocean. It was sad, but I was not deterred. A liberal dose of penetrating oil was applied to the cogs and retaining ring. I repeated this about 4-5 times. Eventually, the cogs started to loosen in their threads.  Nothing pretty about this Regina CX! Rust, not road grime, was the culprit behind the discoloration of the silver cogs!  Even the body was rusted. Even more worrisome, there was significant 'slop' between the core and the body. I feared the races were shot.  Also, the retaining ring would not budge. This FW might be toast. But I would not give up and eventually a hammer and punch persuaded the ring to yield to the Spa Master.  A bath in Oxalic Acid took care of the rust. Some of the original silver finish would be forever gone. Also most of the original bearings were discolored and not salvageable.  Cleaned, greased, pawls oiled, and new bearings ready for reassembly. Would the new bearings and grease take care of the slop?  Yes! All back together, and it purrs like a kitten! Even an apparent basket case, still has many years and tens of 1000s of miles of life left! This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
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30 Year Old Regina Corsa Receives the full Spa Treatment  Regina, Mallard, and European freewheels in general, are sort of a hit or miss experience. They can be a challenge to disassemble. Their cogs don't like to thread off the body, and the retaining ring tends to remain stuck tight. No matter how much the threads are soaked in penetrating oil, they like to stay together. It was a real privilege to have Frank the Welder send me his Regina Corsa 5 speed for the full Spa Treatment. Frank is a legend in the MTB world and is a member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. I was honored to see what I could do for his 30 year old freewheel he planned to use on a vintage Raleigh restoration. Frank's freewheel could not have been more cooperative! All but one of the cogs threaded off! The retaining ring threaded off! Out came the bearings, the pawls and the springs. All the pieces went into the cleaner, and came out in great shape.  All of the Corsa cogs thread on to the body. Frank's 4th cog would not come loose. But all the parts cleaned nicely.  Side view of body showing the threads for each cog. The two largest cogs thread on from the back of the body.  The pawls and springs cleaned and ready for 10,000 more miles of service.  Bearings greased, pawls oiled, springs installed, and ready for reassembly. Frank will be pleased. His Regina Corsa has at least 10,000 miles or 10 years before another Spa Treatment is needed.
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The Spa Meister
In my normal life I'm a pastor, really, a husband, and a dad. In my spare time I ride and wrench bikes. Freewheel Spa might be a good way to contribute to Soc Sec! Archives
June 2012
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