Chain Goes Slack When Coasting/Backpedaling - How To Fix

Thanks for the great video. Getting back on my vintage 1992 Iron Horse....mt. bike, which I NEVER did maintenance on (I mean...I replaced bottom bracket bearings early on and not much more). Now kinda sticky freewheel...I'll try this and if not...then I'll crack the freewheel open and give it a real clean and/or replace it (assuming they still make Shimano DEORE LX compatible freewheels). Any case...time to get my hands dirty.

Thanks for the clear instructions! Successfully did this on my Salsa.

So why DIDN'T you use mineral spirits like you should have? You should never use WD-40 in spots that you aren't able to completely wipe it away. That expensive Paul grease you added won't last very long.

Amazing! Helps me see the problem, but having all these tools to fix it is a work of art!

Great video, thank you.

My bike start do this tonight. I had something heavy on my bike rack. It was fine until I put it on my bike. As I am pushing my bike the chain and paddle are moving. I live on a sand road. Think that what mess it up ? Would be cheaper to get another wheel or have this wheel fixed at the bike shop ?

Looks pretty easy but I'd wear some really good gloves

Mine wont come off with allan key its just round inside 🤷‍♂️

Also is there a way to take it off without the lock tool?

Cant i just use wd40 on the inside without taking it off

I like eating eggs

or...if you're in a time crunch, just get some carb cleaner and blast everything you see. That's what I did, and chain snapped back tight when I stopped pedaling. I'm sure the carb cleaner was a temp fix, and tearing apart the hub/bearings is the ultimate fix. Thanks for the video...!!!

i need to do this to one of mine

How can I stop my shimano 3 speed coaster brake from screacing.?

My go too guy as always 👍 thank you RJ!

Thank you very much it's so help full so the hub are the problems I thought it was the RD

I've heard that quick release hubs are supposed to have a little play when they're off the frame, then when you tighten the skewer they'll have the right preload. Is that so?

Poor job, not very professional. Maybe the cheapest way to do it, but why? Most of the rust and dirt will stay inside. And with that thin lube everything inside will be oily. Clicking steel wire and mechanism need proper cleaning to sound good after. Why don't you just disassemble the freehub body and clean + lube it with good grease?

I have a tricycl bike during driving it turning to the right side, I dont know what is the problem, please give me Information.
Best regard
.

Excellent my brother

wow, that's a lot more work than I expected. Amazing detail, thanks so much

RJ is the best bike maintenance/ repair channel out there. No extra bullshit, 100% solutions and clear descriptions

I have this exact problem. It manifests itself when coasting in the small cog in which case the chain gets pushed forward and starts flopping around. I thought it was just weak springs on the RD but after replacing the RD a couple of times, I can see that it's the hub sticking. I like how you boldy go and completely disassemble the freehub, but in my experience, once I start messing with the bearings, the result is never as good as it would be with a brand new hub, and so when this happens, I just replace the hub. By the time things start to go wonky like this, the inside of the hub is probably pitted badly so replacing the bearings might work for a while but eventually it will start to wobble again.

How to remove a freehub from a dusk brake specific hub?

Thanks for the video, very informative if you need to do a full flush. However, I had the same problem and was able to spray WD40 into the freehub which resolved it without the extra steps shown in the video. I'd suggest trying the quick fix first then resort to extra steps if required.

hi. my freehub is lightly pulling the hub when i hold it in free spin, its starts to move the pedal slightly when i simply stop pedaling (on a stand). could it be that the axle is grabing one of the bearings on the freehub? i pulled the axle out and put i back which reduced a little bit , but the issue still there....thanks for any tip

thanks for the practical solution, much easier than prying the whole hub open and grease..

Thanks for this video. I think this is my issue on my bike. I am gonna try it later on.

How do u fix this for winter?

Great job, RJ.... 👍

I recently faced this issue on my new bike..
When ride some distance thus problem goes away

I think I have this problem on my hub now... it actually happened when I pedaled really, really... really fast downhill (60km on a 1x mountain bike with fat tires), when I suddenly stopped pedaling, I felt the chain and derailleur move up. It also makes a metallic noise (again, when I pedal at like 500W+), springy is the best way to describe the noise. Otherwise on a flat road or uphill, this bike is a ninja, you can't hear anything except the tire buzzing.

I don't have the tools to take anything in the vid off, not even the cassette, so is there a way to oil the hub just by taking the wheel off?

If thick grease is the cause, would the symptoms of slack chain occur on all of the cogs, or can it just occur on one or select few?

Thanks RJ! You're a saviour. I knew right from the start when I read the title that you have the solution, made myself a coffee and enjoyed your work.
I was regreasing my hubs and the extra grease seemed to gunk up the freewheel and the chain was going slack when backpedaling.
I managed to clean the freehub with disc brake cleaner which should be some kind of mineral spirit based solution. It dries extremely fast and since it's a spray it can penetrate the freehub nicely. My bike runs smooth again! Thanks again!

I’m an old pro at freehub maintenance. Get a rubber stopper that plugs the hole in the removed freehub body. Then you can really blast out all the old gummy stuff with compressed air. With the stopper in place, fill the bearing cavity with 75w-90 automotive gear oil (I use Mobil 1 75w-90). Set fh body upright on a towel. When oil soaks through, pour out the excess, wad up a paper towel inside, turn fh body upside down to allow excess oil to drain out. Wipe it clean, reinstall on the hub, and finish.
I find Phil oil too sticky, especially in cool/cold climates. Lighter gear oil is superior for this. And it’s cheap!

Funny story: My Allmountain Enduro's old rear wheel had a bad freehub body on it and it did have a tendency to get stuck while riding, often leading to me stomping into a whole lot of nothing while trying to pedal for a short boost. There were a few times where this almost caused me to crash but I was lucky and got away with it.

To fix that I opened up the freehub body and cleaned it thoroughly before putting it back together, but the problem persisted. I ended up taking out the thinnest of 3 washers in there (and I may or may not have watched 1 of ur other videos to learn how to dis- and reassemble a freehub body) and while that gave the freehub body some very slight play on the hub it finally freed it up enough to not get stuck anymore. It was only meant to be a temporary solution tho since I was planning to replace the wheels anyway.

Now that I have indeed replaced the wheels with a NOAhubs custom wheelset and also replaced the old 3x9 with a 1x9 drivetrain with a much bigger cassette it turns out I'd better make sure to keep the new derailleur's clutch engaged since the massive new cassette takes a moment to come to a stop as I stop pedaling abruptly and puts a small but noticeable amount of slack on the upper bit of chain, then gets turned backwards slightly from the tension in the lower bit of chain and yanks the cranks back slightly as the upper bit of chain tensions again and stops the cassette's backward spin. With the clutch engaged it's noticable but not problematic, with the clutch disengaged it starts to get somewhat worrying. Kinda fun to play with while freewheeling tho.

I guess I should look for a lighter cassette when the time comes to replace the current one.

Ну йопт! Чого ж ти не показав послідовність набору компонентів з правої сторони осі?!? 🤨

Always great and informative videos

woah, ball bearings falling out at 4min 20

Great camera work.

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Great video. I am new to the channel but have been working on bikes for over 50 years. One tip to get the bearings in easier is to partially insert the axle and drop the balls in by hand . Once they're in go to the opposite side and check all is well spinning the axle using the cone end against the balls. Also have found using two cone spanners on opposite sides of the hub with the locknut finger right is easier to adjust the axle for play . You want it just a little tight, then as you tighten the non drive cone against the locknut the axle frees up a touch with no play or stiffness.

is there a possibility to change the freehub to a louder, clickier one ? ive done this like you in this video...tried to clean it and i thought it would be louder after cleaning..but mine is almost silent... are the loud ones aviable to buy somewhere and do you maybe have a link for them ?? tnx a lot... i just love your work !

What is that flat wrench called ? I what like to change my bearings . PS- I need that flat ruler to measure bearings too .

Thanks for the video. Couldn't you also remove the center from the freehub (with that specific, wierd tool they make for it) and more thoroughly clean the inside (especially around the "pawls" that are often really gunked up)?

RJ. I always enjoy watching your videos. I love bikes and always have. I have multiple bikes, from a tricked out carbon Specialized Stumpjumper, to a single speed and I enjoy them all. I just scored a 1996-ish Cannondale f700 hardtail with the Headstock for FREE on the side of the road.... that's going to be a winter project for me. So cool! but the Headstock will be a bitch. :)

Ultrasonic cleaner + Automotive Degreaser Pedals, chains, freewheels, deraileurs, + small hardware