Comments on: How To Replace a Freehub Body

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:02:05 +0000

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!

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:18:06 +0000

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?

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:12:28 +0000

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.

By: bn

bn — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:48:33 +0000

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..

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:47:34 +0000

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.

By: bn

bn — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:51:23 +0000

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.

By: justyn

justyn — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:25:46 +0000

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!

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:00:08 +0000

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.

By: Justyn

Justyn — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:07:24 +0000

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?

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:26:09 +0000

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…