 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.
6 Comments
Jim Muller
4/6/2011 11:25:23 am
A week or so ago Bob sent me a 5-speed he'd been cleaning, restoring, etc. I was hoping for any decent used 120mm 5-speed for a vintage bike. What I got could have been straight out of the box from the factory! It was clean, smooth, lovely, looked new. Even better, it had non-standard gearing that was just what I never expect to find. Pastor Bob communicated with me about what I wanted and what he had. It was the perfect solution for me.
Jeff Roth
4/18/2011 02:58:17 am
As a vintage bike hobbyist restorer, I feel pretty confident in my ability to rebuild everything on a vintage bike except for one thing. I wouldn’t even attempt trying to rebuild the mysterious inner-workings of a freewheel. In the past, if the freewheel seemed not to work properly, I would just replace it and chuck the old one. It was so nice to find someone who specialized in reconditioning these contraptions. I had assumed that the Regina FW I sent to FreeWheelSpa was a goner; however, I was completely amazed at the like-new rock-solid condition it was in after the “Spa” treatment. Very friendly folks and great customer service! I think the FW’s I come across in the future will be ‘begging’ me to send them to the “spa”, and I will happily oblige. - J. Roth 4/18/2011 11:20:47 am
Thanks guys for the votes of confidence! I do my utmost to make the customer and the freewheel happier than they might ever imagine!
David Truett
4/24/2011 09:10:58 am
Pastor Bob, what a great idea! There are a lot of folks afraid to take a freewheel apart, this is perfect for anyone afraid of small ball bearings and even smaller springs. Leave a Reply. |
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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