39 Responses to “How To Replace a Freehub Body”

1. Israel on March 11th, 2008 1:13 am
   

   This is the coolest site I’ve ever seen on the internet. Such a simple idea, but so absolutely useful. I love your tutorials!
2. jonathan on August 7th, 2008 5:58 am
   

   Great tutorials as usual! but how can I measure 400 in lbs if I want to do this on my own?
3. jonathan on August 7th, 2008 7:45 am
   

   I have another question, I don’t have a loose or stiff cassette, it spins easily. but when I ride my bike it doesn’t feel smooth, there are bumps, thuds and occasional ’snap’ noises … I’ve narrowed it down to the back wheel where the noise is coming from. I’m not sure if I should replace the entire hub or just the freehub. I spun the wheel and it spins freely too… is there a way to determine if this is truly the problem of noises? Thanks in advance!
4. Alex on August 7th, 2008 11:21 am
   

   Hi Jonathan,

   In answer to the first question, there is no way to get an exact torque without a torque wrench, but as long as you get it really tight it should be ok.

   As for the freehub, if your hub spins freely it certainly sounds like the freehub body is worn. Take it down to your local bike shop to get a hands-on assessment.
5. jonathan on August 7th, 2008 11:34 am
   

   Hey Alex,

   Thanks so much for your reply! Actually I wanted to replace the freehub myself… but do you mean I should bring it to the bike shop so they can confirm that the freehub is the problem?

   Thanks so much, great site!
6. Alex on August 7th, 2008 11:38 am
   

   If you follow the steps in the video you should be fine, but yes, I’d always recommend getting a second opinion from another mechanic who can physically look at your bike. Good luck with the repair!
7. jonathan on August 19th, 2008 11:06 am
   

   Hi Alex,

   Its been a while since I’ve been here, but I would like to update… I will be buying the tools necessary to replace the freehub. However I have a question… how do you determine the size of a hub? I looked on jensonusa. All I know is that I have an 8 speed. I’m assuming I need a Shimano 8 Speed HG Freehub Body, but there is a customize section with ‘color/size’… LX M565, XT M737, Dura-Ace 7403…

   Now I’m a little more confused… any suggestions?
8. Alex on August 19th, 2008 11:18 am
   

   The difference is quality (mostly weight) but I’ve found for most uses the LX freehub body works very well and is quite durable.
9. George K. on September 14th, 2008 1:24 pm
   

   Thanks for your tutorials. You inspired me to buy a workstand and some tools and do my own maintenance. I used the clickthrough links on your site, so I hope that benefits you.

   I have a low-end Giant bike and following your tutorials I’ve serviced my hubs, removed and cleaned the chain and cassette. The freehub seems to have a little too much resistance as it turns so I thought I would replace it, but I’m stuck because the 10mm allen key isn’t the right tool. The opening is larger than that and it doesn’t even look like something that a larger allen key would fit. Is it possible this freehub is so cheap it’s not removable?
10. Alex on September 17th, 2008 12:39 pm
    

    It sounds like you might have a freewheel and not a cassette.
11. George K. on September 17th, 2008 12:49 pm
    

    Alex: thanks for the reply. I removed the cassette cluster–using the lockring tool like in your tutorial–and what’s left certainly looks like a freehub body. It’s just not at all apparent what kind of tool will fit inside the opening.
12. Alex on September 17th, 2008 12:50 pm
    

    Hmmm… are you able to post a photo of it to the forums?
13. George K. on September 17th, 2008 12:52 pm
    

    Will have to be in the future, but that’s what I’ll do. Thanks.
14. lunatikum on September 24th, 2008 2:20 pm
    

    Hello Alex, I saw your tutorial and its great and I also read the comments but I still have a question: I have a shimano fh-rm30 hub and my freehub its broken (spinning around without doing nothing) so I would like to change it but I don’t know if any kind of shimano freehub will fit on/in or I do need to measure something on the hub (the freehub has 8 speeds).

    (sorry for my bad english)
15. Alex on September 27th, 2008 1:43 pm
    

    You can order replacement shimano 8-speed freehubs here.
16. Daryl on October 28th, 2008 11:34 am
    

    Hey Alex, wondering if you help me here. my second hand merida isn’t working that well. There is a cracking noise coming from the cassette, I think. It was a very small crack before and just recently it’s started to increase in ‘magnitude’ – I recently took a chunk out of me knee last time its slipped/cracked.

    The slipping/cracking tends to happen after freewheeling (even just not pedaling for a split second) but it’s not after every time when freewheeling, maybe 1 in 5 times. My local bike stores aren’t that helpful so I was hoping you can give me an idea of what I could look at. I am quite hands on and not afraid to take stuff apart to look at it.

    The chain isn’t worn and teeth are reasonably unworn. If you could point me in the right direction I would be very thankful.

    Daryl
17. Alex on October 28th, 2008 7:37 pm
    

    It sounds like your freehub body could be worn. Try removing the cassette like shown in the video above, and then turn the freehub body back and forth on its own to see if you can notice and grinding or missing teeth.
18. Anthony on November 14th, 2008 11:55 pm
    

    I have a rear cosmic elite wheel with a mavic freehub and a campagnolo cassette. The rim was busted in an accident. I have the opportunity to get another cosmic elite wheel from a friend, but it has a shimano freehub. Am I able to switch the mavic and shimano freehubs between the two wheels or will there be something holding me up? I didn’t want to purchase the shimano-compatible wheel unless I knew I could transfer over all the parts from my busted campy-compatible hub. Any thought would be great. Thank you.
19. Alex on November 15th, 2008 4:15 pm
    

    A Mavic freehub isn’t compatible with a shimano hub. However, you should be able to use the shimano freehub with your original cassette (as long as they are set up for the same amount of sprockets).
20. Mike on January 5th, 2009 3:45 pm
    

    Hey Alex i noticed that my cassette was loose so i took the freehub body off and found that it was causing the looseness. But before I took it all apart I measured how much the largest sprocket moved. The sprocket moved 1/16 of an inch I know it dont sound like much but it looks like alot when its on the bike I was wondering if this is something to be worried about?
21. Alex on January 6th, 2009 1:18 pm
    

    Hi Mike… I’m a little confused. Is the freehub loose in the hub, or is the cassette loose on the freehub?
22. Mike on January 6th, 2009 2:29 pm
    

    The freehub body/mechanism is loose.
23. Alex on January 6th, 2009 2:40 pm
    

    1/16 inch does sound like too much, especially if it’s the freehub.
24. Mike on January 6th, 2009 4:49 pm
    

    Thanks for the answer. I know all freehubs are different but do you know if you are able to tighten it or take the whole freehub apart. It’s a Joytech 8 speed freehub.

    thanks again
25. Alex on January 6th, 2009 4:54 pm
    

    Have you tried tightening it with the 10mm allen key? If it’s as tight as it can get and still loose I would recommend replacing it. Joytech is low-quality and freehubs are only worth overhauling if they’re higher end. You should be able to get a low-end replacement for $15-30 from your local bike shop.
26. Mike on January 7th, 2009 4:03 am
    

    Thanks a lot for your help. I’m gonna try to tighten it. If that don’t work then I’m gonna buy one.
27. toan nguyen on February 1st, 2009 7:37 pm
    

    I have 7800 wheel, I’d want to run 9 speed on this? Can I change the freehub body that compatible with 9-spd cassette?

    Thanks
28. Alex on February 2nd, 2009 4:00 pm
    

    How many speeds is your current wheel set up for? If it’s a 7 or 8-speed, you’ll likely have to change the freehub and install a longer axle to accommodate the 9-speed cassette.
29. geof on February 9th, 2009 4:33 pm
    

    I have a pair of Campag Zonda wheels which I want to put on a bike with Shimano Ultegra gearing. Do I have to change the freehub body to Shimano?
30. Alex on February 10th, 2009 9:26 pm
    

    Unfortunately, I think you will have to change the freehub to Shimano in order to run a Ultegra cassette, but I’d call a campagnolo dealer just to be sure…
31. Justyn on February 12th, 2009 5:07 am
    

    I have an Xero freehub which is the same body as a shimano freehub… a 10 mm allen key dont fit! looks star shaped inside… any ideas?
32. Alex on February 13th, 2009 10:00 am
    

    Justyn, the star shaped insert should still take an allen key, but maybe not 10mm. I’d try a different metric size until you find the one that fits.
33. justyn on February 15th, 2009 8:25 am
    

    Yes, ive discovered an 11mm allen key fits, but you wont find one in a normal set of allen keys! Park tools do one though. Nothing seems simple these days, i much prefer the old style freewheels!
34. bn on October 9th, 2009 6:51 am
    

    Hi Alex, wondering if you can help me out…

    I have a cassette loose on my Shimano’s M775 wheelset and as you say all we need is a new freehub body. My question is the freehub body is just the “outer” body itself or is it also contain such as the ball bearings, bearing cone, etc included when we buy the new freehub body? Or we just simply put our old ball bearings, bearing cone into the new freehub body?

    Hopefully you don’t mind I put some link here, http://tinyurl.com/yg9wm4s, is the new freehub body I want to buy, but still confused about the above question… need help… thanks in advance.
35. Alex on October 9th, 2009 11:47 am
    

    The freehub body does contain its own bearings and cups, but these are separate from your wheel bearings. However, one side of the wheel uses the freehub body as a bearing race. You have to take apart your wheel bearings to install the freehub body, as shown in the video above. The freehub body itself is usually not taken apart.
36. bn on October 9th, 2009 5:48 pm
    

    Thank you Alex.

    When we replace the freehub body, do usually we need to change the wheel bearings also? or simply use the old ones? btw, how do we know the wear of the wheel bearings?
    oh again, due to the loose cassette, how about if we change the wheel bearings only? do it make any changes? I just wondering about this.. Thank you..
37. Alex on October 9th, 2009 7:12 pm
    

    It’s probably easiest to think of the freehub as part of the hub, with the wheel bearings installed outside of it. So you have to remove the wheel bearings in order to replace the freehub. While you’re there you might as well check the condition of the hub bearings as detailed in the hub overhaul tutorial. If they’re ok just clean them and add some fresh grease!

    Step 1. Remove wheel bearings and axle.
    Step 2. Replace freehub body.
    Step 3. Re-install wheel bearings and axle and then adjust.
38. Mike on October 10th, 2009 10:18 pm
    

    Real quick: Broken pawl on campy freehub (you can hear the movement when shaking the removed wheel while holding at the cassette, and it no longer has that signature sound… plus awful gap in cassette engagement).

    Just wondering if, once I get the old freehub off and replace it with a new one, whether or not I’ll be able to fix/replace the broken pawl… to have a backup. You got a tutorial for that?
39. Alex on October 11th, 2009 11:02 am
    

    Hi Mike,

    The broken pawl in the old freehub body will be replaced with a new freehub. Freehubs come with a new set of pawls built-in!

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