Campagnolo Veloce Rear Hub bearing replacement

[LuckyLuke]

AndyK, Brucey, thanks for posting.

...In my case it also involved (d) repetition of the mantra "I am never, never, NEVER buying a ^&%$ing Campag hub again".
Don't get me started on the Veloce Power Torque chainset I now need to remove.

Yeah, I was thinking along these lines too... Good luck with the chainset...

if the spacer won't move, take a ~200mm long brass/steel/w.h.y. rod about 1mm smaller dia than the hole through the bearing and insert it into the hub. By knocking it sideways, you can impart a strong lever action to the spacer. It should move! As noted previously if the hub has had the hot water treatment, it should move more easily.

I followed the above; hot water then inserting a punch and knocking it sideways. Worked a treat! I could then easily drift out the bearings with the punch.
Big thanks Brucey, saved me a bunch of hassle.

[Mick F]

When re-assembling, consider fitting the axle from the other direction.

The axle is fitted (usually) so the nut is on the non-drive side so when you pull everything apart, the freewheel assembly is on the long end.

I found that by taking the freewheel assembly off and re-inserting the axle from the non-drive side, the wheel bearings would then be in and tested. I could then do the freewheel and the fiddly pawls easier without trying to get the axle through the bearings at the same time.

Just an idea that worked for me.

[crimble]

I dealt with this problem on a similar hub recently. I think [bad memory but it was successful] what I did was:

get an old solid spindle and cut a slot down one end.

Insert the slotted end into the bearing

wedge a fat screw driver blade in the slot. the spindle jams into the bearing.

Support the hub across open vice jaws then tap the screw driver handle with a rubber mallet. As the spindle is jammed into the bearing it will take the bearing out.

[AndyK]

Nice idea, Crimble. But I still get annoyed at anything that involves cutting, grinding, filing or otherwise applying GCSE-level metalwork skills that I don't possess. I'm a bike mechanic, not a blacksmith, dammit!

Mick, I never have a problem getting the freehub pawls back in. Press the hub gently into position as far as it'll go, use a thin bladed screwdriver to push one pawl in, then give the cassette a slight wiggle and the other pawls will slot in too.

[Mick F]

Yep, that works fine unless you have the three separate pawls on little spiral springs like I have on my Mirage hubs. It takes a bit of luck ........ and a bit of sticky grease ......... to hold them in place whilst you offer them up. If you do have pawls like that, I reckon it's better to have the axle pushed in from the other end.

If you have the three pawls held in place by a circular spring, it's as easy as you say.

[Brucey]

I have noticed that on many hubs with coil spring pawls (Campag, Hope, and others), the pawl pocket in the splined body varies somewhat. There is a thin edge that, if present and correct, can help to locate the pawl during reassembly. However it isn't always there at all, and other times it gets damaged somehow. In either case you can have a nominally similar hub that is much harder to put together without a special tool of some kind.


cheers

[Mick F]

This is the easy one as the pawls are held in place by a nice friendly circular spring:

Screen shot 2013-01-30 at 16.07.44.png (31.89 KiB) Viewed 961 times

This is the hard one, where the individual nasty spiral springs allow the pawls to drop off unless you are lucky or use a thin bit of cotton:

Screen shot 2013-01-30 at 16.08.22.png (29.65 KiB) Viewed 961 times

[LesArcs]

Hello all

Just found this old thread when 'googling' about how to re-assemble my pre-1997 8 speed Campagnolo freehub. Unfortunately it's the awkward one shown above in Mick F's post (ie the one with loose springs and pawls). Any tips on how to put it back together? Haven't tried yet and am dreading it.

Thanks in advance.

P

[tatanab]

I do not know if it will work in this specific case. Back in the days of dismantling freewheels we would hold every thing in place with a loop of cotton, tensioned by hand while slotting the freehub (in this case) back into the hub and then snapping the cotton with a quick jerk.

[Brucey]

Hello all

Just found this old thread when 'googling' about how to re-assemble my pre-1997 8 speed Campagnolo freehub. Unfortunately it's the awkward one shown above in Mick F's post (ie the one with loose springs and pawls). Any tips on how to put it back together? Haven't tried yet and am dreading it.

Thanks in advance.

P

with a little practice it is easy enough; just hold the three pawls in with one digit on each. I use thumb, forefinger and middle finger on my left hand. The right side of each pawl is still exposed when the left side of each pawl is started in the ratchet ring.

Of course you can use other methods to restrain the pawls; cotton, zip tie, elastic band.... whatever you use needs to be narrow enough that it can be cut/removed once the pawls are started into the ratchet ring.

If you have an old inner tube to hand, cut an 'elastic band' from that, why not...?

cheers

[Gattonero]

One more thing: the freehub seal (FH-RE012) may swell a bit with time, and being loose on its groove, it's easy for it to "spill" on a small portion while all the rest -including the freehub- is already almost in place.
You notice this because the freehub body won't go fully down, and the gap between the freehub and hub body is bigger than usual. On a second glance, you'll see a portion of the rubber seal been pinched and hanging out.

If this happens, to avoid starting over again refiting the pawls etc., do this little trick: keep the freehub pushed, carefully put the Lh spacer (over the axle) and screw the Lh axle end; then unscrew the axle end just enough and push the axle towards the Rh so to open a little gap between the freehub and the hub body. Work the seal inside, put one or two drops of oil, push the freehub fully down, tighten the Lh axle end to stop

[AndyK]

with a little practice it is easy enough; just hold the three pawls in place with one digit on each. I use thumb, forefinger and middle finger on my left hand. The right side of each pawl is still exposed when the left side of each pawl is started in the ratchet ring.

I used to use a totally different technique: I held the three pawls in with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger on my right hand. Left hand? That's madness.

My last few Campag hubs have been the other design - the one with no springs, where the freehub is totally reliant on a single bent piece of wire thinner than a human hair (What were you THINKING, Campagnolo???) but which is at least easier to reassemble.

My tip is to apply grease instead of oil before reassembly. Experts will throw their hands up in horror and point at the Campag maintenance guide, but the grease helps keep everything in place while you reassamble it and you end up with a beautifully quiet freehub. I've never had a problem with grease making the pawls stick while in use.

[Brucey]

tsk tsk, right hand, what kind of talk is that...????

FWIW I think that it is best to hold it with whichever is the less favoured hand, since that way the good (better) hand can be used to offer up the pesky springs and pawls one at a time should that be required.

I think that the grease helps hold everything in place, and is less harmful in the (noisier) old style assembly with a coil spring for each pawl. In any event not all greases are created equal, and may be thinned out by putting a load of oil in there too.

BTW the danger is that only one or two of the three pawls will engage; under load this does horrible things to the pawls, the bearings, everything. In a low input ratio I think it can break the hub quite quickly.

cheers

[LesArcs]

Thanks for all of the recent tips. A fountain of knowledge out there. Have just got some new pawls and springs and will attempt to put it all back together as soon as I get some free time.

Cheers.

[Gattonero]

with a little practice it is easy enough; just hold the three pawls in place with one digit on each. I use thumb, forefinger and middle finger on my left hand. The right side of each pawl is still exposed when the left side of each pawl is started in the ratchet ring.

I used to use a totally different technique: I held the three pawls in with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger on my right hand. Left hand? That's madness.

Well. I'm left-handed so I too would use my left hand to refit a freehub?

My last few Campag hubs have been the other design - the one with no springs, where the freehub is totally reliant on a single bent piece of wire thinner than a human hair (What were you THINKING, Campagnolo???) but which is at least easier to reassemble.
...

It's not.
That springs is 0.6mm on the old, and 0.8mm on the new hubs.
Still, pretty reliable. In fact, millions of cyclists in the world had relied on this "human hair thickness" springs on millions of freewheels for almost a century...