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I was just out riding my bike. Its nothing fancy, just a €300 single-speed with with a flip-flop hub. I usually ride the freewheel side. Today it made some weird noises and decided to lock up / be a fixed gear and threw me off the bike.

So now the freewheel sprocket is behaving like a fixed gear. Is the sprocket completely broken or is there any way to fix it?

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  • A picture would definitely help finding a solution for you. I suspect your rear hub has an old threaded freewheel. If this is the case, you can buy one, they're pretty cheat: ebay.com/sch/… Make sure you buy one with the same size (number of teeth) as your current one. You will need a special tool to remove it, which should be cheap as well, and the operation is simple, but sometimes this things are a huge pain to take out of the hub.
    – super
    Commented Jun 6, 2015 at 18:41
  • Yeah, i just dripped some oil in it, it moved. Made horrible sounds. Im just gonna do what you said and get one on amazon. Thanks for the help!
    – Atmos.Grey
    Commented Jun 6, 2015 at 19:19
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    You will need something like this: parktool.com/product/adjustable-spanner-spa-6 that goes into those small holes. That can be really hard to take out, so be patience and have some cold beers in the fridge :)
    – super
    Commented Jun 6, 2015 at 23:05

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Freewheels do require lubrication sometimes.

I suspect that if you drip some oil (I've used air tool oil, which is pretty light, but anything will be OK) in there with the bike tilted so the is freewheel up the pawls with become unstuck and it will work fine.

In my experience it won't take much oil or time, it should free right up if lubrication actually is the issue.

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    Sorry for commenting so late. Just flipped the Hub and got 2 Hours of Fixed in ;) I'm almost dead. I dripped some oil in, it moved a bit but made horrible noises. I think the bearings are just completely trashed. Im just gonna buy a new one. Dont want to risk a accident as i ride a lot on the street.. Thanks for the Tips!
    – Atmos.Grey
    Commented Jun 6, 2015 at 19:17
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    Sounds like the right call.
    – uxp100
    Commented Jun 6, 2015 at 21:18
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    Since it's a freewheel (and not a freehub), all the mechanical stuff are in the freewheel, so replacing it (cheap, provided you have the tools) is easy and should solve everything
    – Batman
    Commented Sep 5, 2015 at 4:07
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    The grinding sound is either the pawls grinded up or the bearings grinding up. In either case, it's likely cheaper and easier to just get a new one as other people are suggesting. You could rebuild it especially if it's just bearings, but might be above your skill level and budget if it's the pawls.
    – RoboKaren
    Commented Nov 4, 2015 at 3:31
  • I would say, if it already stuck, oil will not help well, it's probably that bearings already half messed up.
    – Alexander
    Commented Dec 4, 2015 at 9:39

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