Never, never, sell tools.

Well, I know I have said it before, but I'll say it again until I start to listen to myself.
A few years ago I decided I would never again use my vintage bike tools and so I (stupidly) sold off a number of things that I will probably never replace - spoke thread roller, bottom bracket and pedal taps and a whole bunch of different freewheel removers.

What was I thinking?!  I guess I never expected that I would turn into that old guy who lives out back in his shed, fingers blackened with grease, wearing a canvas apron and peering through wire-rimmed specs at some obscure, 30 year old bicycle part and mumbling about its esoteric beauty.

Yesterday I had to remove the Suntour freewheels from the wheels that came with the bike and, of course, the freewheels were well and truly frozen to the hubs.  I scanned the net and found several places still selling the old Suntour two prong tool, but they are all in the USA or UK and delivery here would take a week or two.  I am not known for my patience.



An old 11/16 Taiwanese socket that was in the junk tools bin.  Ugly, I admit, but it did the job!

First I ground two faces to accommodate a 19mm spanner (see note below).  The 3/8 drive came in handy when grinding.  I used a 100mm drive extension to hold the tool, keeping my hands well away from the grinding disk.

Cutting the two prongs was a simple matter of grinding a bit then trying it out, grinding a bit more etc.  In the end I found it best to cut the prongs a bit long and then file them back to the right depth.

Note: Above I mentioned that I cut two faces for a 19mm spanner, but I only use a spanner in the later stages of removal.  I am sure that anyone reading this will know how to remove a freewheel but it might be worth going through the procedure anyway.

1. Remove the QR skewer from the hub.  Remove springs from skewer.

2. Fit the F/W removal tool.

3. Refit the skewer and loosely secure.  Do not tighten.

 

4. Grip the freewheel removal tool securely in a bench vise.

5. Hold the wheel by the rim and turn counterclockwise, forcefully but evenly until you feel the freewheel give.  Take care not to turn the wheel by any more than a degree or so as the QR skewer is still attached.

6. Remove the tool from the vice.  

7. Back the skewer off several turns (or remove completely).

8. Use a spanner on the freewheel tool to completely remove the freewheel. (If you have kept the skewer in place make sure you loosen the skewer as you go.)