I have successfully removed a freewheel from a high-flange hub twice using this technique, but the second time i bent the hub barrel so now it's bowed (luckily it was just a normandy sport hub, i was in it more for the battle of wits against the hub ...)
- create a vice with 2 or more pins sticking up to engage the large-flange lima-bean holes.
- In 1976, this was 2 screwdrivers clamped in a bench vice, for a tough steel brampton HF hub. In 2005, I didn't have this bench-mounted vice, and the hub was much software aluminum.
- In 2005, this was a 2x4 6 feet long, drilled with 5 6" lag bolts inserted and tightened with extra nuts on both sides of the 2x4 to keep them in place, plus a 3rd nut near the freewheel flange.
THIS BENT THE HUB because (a) the bolts were way too soft and easily malleable, and (b) You really only need to do this to the freewheel flange - NOT BOTH FLANGES. If I were doing it again i'd drill a big hole at the edge of the 2x4 for the hub barrel so i could mount the hub with 3 or 4 short pins / bolts, maybe at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock, sticking into the freewheel flange.
- insert hub onto homebrew vice, and remove freewheel using traditional QR / freewheel tool.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA