Remove BMX freewheel and identify hub

[LinusR]

Repairing a bike for a friend. I'm trying to remove this freewheel off a buckled BMX wheel. I presume a right hand thread for the freewheel? (Yes, I've tried hitting it to get it off and it won't budge.)

P1010222 by linusrees, on Flickr

Is this the correct tool? http://www.birzman.com/products_2.php?uID=2&cID=23&Key=96

Also, can anyone identify the hub? It has a left hand thread on the other side but no separate lockring thread to lock fixed cog in place. Is that usual on a BMX hub or is it for something else?

P1010223 by linusrees, on Flickr

[Brucey]

yes the thread is RH and that is the correct tool, although it may cost more than a replacement freewheel....

If you want to improvise you can remove the axle and use a piece of flat bar stock in a bench vice. Or you can (in some cases) strip the freewheel and use something else to remove the body centre.

IIRC the LH thread on the hub is so you can use a left-side drive, which some BMXers prefer for some reason.

DB is probably 'diamondback'.

cheers

[alexnharvey]

Looks like a Diamondback logo on the hub to me.

[LinusR]

Thanks Brucey and Alexnharvey for the info. I'm probably better off getting a new freewheel with a new rear wheel as it does cost nearly the same. I can just screw it on by hand use the chain to tighten the new freewheel without having to use a tool.

[Brucey]

new tools start at about £4 on fleabay; a piece of bar stock in the bench vice is even cheaper than that....

cheers

[LinusR]

new tools start at about £4 on fleabay; a piece of bar stock in the bench vice is even cheaper than that....

If only I had access to a bench vice. I have to screw an aluminium modelling vice to my kitchen table if I need to hold anything. But not much use for serious hammering the sh*t of things...

[Gattonero]

That is a common "4 prong" freewheel tool that is used on most modern s/sp freewheels. Has a much better purchase than those old "2 shallow prong" freewheels, but it's still VITAL that you keep the extractor pressed with a wheel nut.
With a strong vice you can simply squeeze the freewheel until it's jammed but for the home mechanic it could mean a broken vice, so better to spend £7 and save the vice and it's jaws.
Lock the tool with a wheel nut, get a good long spanner (not an adjustable, thank you), sit on the wheel and give it a good go. Unless it's a Lh freewheel (they are meant to be used on the Lh side and engage reversed) it will unscrew counter-clockwise.
The Lh thread on some Bmx hubs is because some of the kids prefer to grind and slide on the Rh so they fit the drivetrain on the Lh to keep it safe (relatively!), though modern Bmx hubs use a driver not a freewheel.

the tool is like this:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/869/40953 ... 10af_h.jpg


do NOT get the smaller one (you can see the bevel all around) that is for "metric" freewheels, those go down to 14t but use a smaller thread (30mm, IIRC)