Freehub question as it relates to SS conversion

[S. cerevisiae]

OK you SS freaks, here it is. I have come across a suitable candidate for conversion to SS (road). It's an older AMF complete bike. It's rear cassette is 6 speed without the lockring, i.e the small cog locks it together/on.

When converting to SS does one simply replace the small cog (as lockring) with a true lockring?

Please advise.

'Yeast

[2dumb4gears]

Spacers+cog+lockring.

[jonassterling]

A BB lockring does the trick.

[S. cerevisiae]

This is what I has assumed all along.

Assumptions, however, are why a BS in biology has landed me in a propane truck making a (meager) living.

'Yeast

[davkatreb]

If it is six speed and an AMF, the hub is almost certainly not cassette, but freewheel. That means that the whole shebang can be unscrewed. Take the wheel to your LBS. If they are any account, they will have the proper tool and know its correct use.

When the freewheel is removed you will have two options. First, you may simply screw on a BMX freewheel, making the bike a singlespeed. This, in my opinion, would be an error of colossal proportion.

The preferred approach would be to obtain a track cog and a lockring from the non drive side of an English bottom bracket. The procedure is simple.

1-Clean all threads THOROUGHLY.

2-Using a chainwhip, install the track cog using BLUE LocTite. Make sure you screw that sucker down PROPER!

3-Using a bottom bracket spanner and more LocTite, install the lockring.

Some recommend you next pedal up a very steep hill, taking care to avoid riding back down, then repeating the tightening process. That's up to you, but it couldn't hurt. In any case, let the bike sit overnight so the LocTite can set up. Then go and ride your new fixie.

[SynicGeek]

So the rear hub is an all steel Shimano with six sprockets, the smallest one doubleing as a lockring, and there are no splines in which to insert a tool?
Now do you want to go fixedgear or SS FW?
-Helpfulburger

[davkatreb]

So the rear hub is an all steel Shimano with six sprockets, the smallest one doubleing as a lockring, and there are no splines in which to insert a tool?
Now do you want to go fixedgear or SS FW?
-Helpfulburger
If it is six speed and low end, it is almost certainly a freewheel hub. The freewheel, containing all the gears and coastie stuff, can be unthreaded using the proper tool and procedure. Your LBS should be capable of this, and will gladly do so for a nominal cost. When the freewheel is removed, it will reveal a threaded end on the drive side of the hub. This threading is compatible with any standard (non metric) BMX freewheel. It is also the same threading as a track cog. By happy coincidence, the aformentioned bottom bracket lockring is the identical threading.

As to choice of drivetrain, fixed is a no-brainer.

-realbikesdontcoastburger

[S. cerevisiae]

If it is six speed and an AMF, the hub is almost certainly not cassette, but freewheel. That means that the whole shebang can be unscrewed. Take the wheel to your LBS. If they are any account, they will have the proper tool and know its correct use.

When the freewheel is removed you will have two options. First, you may simply screw on a BMX freewheel, making the bike a singlespeed. This, in my opinion, would be an error of colossal proportion.

The preferred approach would be to obtain a track cog and a lockring from the non drive side of an English bottom bracket. The procedure is simple.

1-Clean all threads THOROUGHLY.

2-Using a chainwhip, install the track cog using BLUE LocTite. Make sure you screw that sucker down PROPER!

3-Using a bottom bracket spanner and more LocTite, install the lockring.

Some recommend you next pedal up a very steep hill, taking care to avoid riding back down, then repeating the tightening process. That's up to you, but it couldn't hurt. In any case, let the bike sit overnight so the LocTite can set up. Then go and ride your new fixie.


I may go the fixie route at some point. Not as yet.

This is a 6 speed cassette. Could be an aftermarket wheel...I don't know the entire history of the bike. It has no spline for the freewheel tool. It is Smimano hub, and I need a second whip to remove. Probably take ot to LBS for removal and opinions.

[tryandgetme]

if it is some rare 6 speed freehub cassette, leave the last cog on there as a lockring, it won't hurt anything. I've never seen a 6 speed freehub though, my guess is dave's, it's probably a freewheel. I've seen freewheels with no spline for removal, had to use some kind of funny pin spanner or some square toothed removal tool.

a length of old chain, a 2x4, and a nail makes a pretty good chain whip if you're lacking one (or two)

[SynicGeek]

All my old issues of Bicycling are in storage at the moment, but as I recall Shimano started selling six speed cassette hubs in the Dura-Ace EX groupo in about 1984(?). The five larger cogs are "normal", the smallest cog doubling as a lock ring. Within a few years the idea was scraped and the lockring became a separate entity, as it is today. I've seen quite a few low-end imported 12 speeds with this technology, but rather than a nice aluminum hub shell, it was a steel three-piece design.
S. cerevisiae, you will have to go to a new hub if you want to go fixed since what you have is just a standard freehub body. Also, to my knowledge, there are no simple lock rings that will fit the six-speed Shimano freehub body.
And davkatreb, bring your bicycle "knowledge" and a fixie to the derby circle, in the end we'll see what a real bike looks like, and who knows how to put one together. But until then, "You're a loudmouth baby, you better shut it up."
-The One and Only Flameburger, except no imitations.

[S. cerevisiae]

Thanks for the info all. I'm not going the fixie route on this one just yet. Gonna run SS on this frame as a townie for a while. Not enough duckets for a new rear hub given that I'm after a Monocog 29 too. This one is to be done on-the-cheap.

'Yeast

[jonassterling]

Also, to my knowledge, there are no simple lock rings that will fit the six-speed Shimano freehub body.


I've used Enclish BB lockrings on threaded freehub bodies, but maybe 6 speed is differnet then 7?

[myron]

I've used Enclish BB lockrings on threaded freehub bodies, but maybe 6 speed is differnet then 7?

A freewheel body is threaded and a freehub body is splined far as I know. Thought I knew till he threw the 6 spd cassette thing in the mix.

[rockyrider]

When in doubt... Sheldon Brown

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html (freehubs/cassettes)

http://sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html (freewheels)

and how to tell them apart...

http://sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html

[primitivengine]

yeah, the old shimano freehubs were cassette bodies that the last cog threaded on. a lot of the old xt stuff was like this. the cassette body is usually threaded down about half an inch, so you can just load up on spacers and then mount your cog, but you will have to use the small threaded cog to lock it all down, i believe the threading is different than a bb lockring or a track cog. also, if you are lucky, you may have one of the cassette bodies that can go either way, it may still have the threading on the inside for a cassette lockring.

[SynicGeek]

The cassette body threading is slightly smaller in diameter than the english 1.37x24 BB and FW/track threading.