Re: [CR]Regina freewheel

(Example: Framebuilders:Dario Pegoretti)

From: "Andrew Gillis" <apgmaa@earthlink.net>
To: "garth libre" <rabbitman@mindspring.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <002001c1b37b$1c36fe80$43bb56d1@Marta>
Subject: Re: [CR]Regina freewheel
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 21:19:56 -0800


Garth:

It sounds to me that your freewheel body is worn and the back side ball bearings are rattling around due to having extra space in a worn track. I recommend two options, both of which require a proper freewheel vise and a chain whip:

1) Tighten up the freewheel body's bearing play by removing a spacing shim under the cone. How to do this: remove the top cogs (13/14/15), and then unscrew the freewheel body's outside cone. The cone has the "Regina" text on its face, and there are two countersunk indentations which allow for the cone to be unscrewed by using a pin tool. Under the cone are some spacing shims. You can experiment with removing one shim. The shims may not be of equal thickness; start by removing the thinnest shim. You want to remove the play but not bind the bearings.

2) If the wear is in-between shim sizes, then it may be useful to rebuild the freewheel body and install all new ball bearings. Remove all of the cogs first and take your time.

Lastly, I'd recommend buying some more freewheels while you can. The SRAM (Sachs-Maillard) are very nice in a 7 speed. (They have been recently discontinued, but I think that a fair selection is still around.) The end to end spacing is wider than an old Regina CX 7, although the Sachs is about the same width as the later model (index compatible) Regina America 7. To fit a Sachs freewheel in the narrower space of a Regina CX7, you will have to add spacers (3mm?) on the rear hub's right side, and use a thinner-than-standard C-Record left locknut. (redish the wheel, too.) The C-Record locknut looks identical to a traditional NR locknut, but is thinner. If you get in a pinch, let me know; I can spare one for you. (Thanks to Mike Cone at Bicycle Classics!)

regards,

Andrew Gillis (cleaning a Sachs freewheel in Long Beach, CA!)