Are all 5 speed freewheels made equal?

[HovR]

So I recently replaced the stock 5 speed freewheel on my Dawes with an "Eagle Index Sports Model" 5 speed freewheel, bought as NOS from eBay. I changed it to get a lower bottom gear, going from a 22 to a 28.

Now the issue that I'm having is that this new freewheel appears to be much wider than the old one! Once the freewheel is attached to the wheel, the wheel goes on the bike easy enough, but it is a pain to take off as the chainstay gets in the way of freewheel.

The only other major difference, aside from the new gear ratios, is that the new freewheel uses the more modern Shimano multi-spline system, whereas the old one used a 2 prong system to remove the freewheel.

What might be the cause of this? Did I just buy the wrong freewheel?

Thanks!

 

[HovR]

No one?

 

[John Proch]

No, your fine. Just measure the width of both blocks. If your new one is way off, you may want to go with a Regina, Atom, or a Maillard, but I would shy away from mixing a Shimano splined with a Dawes, which is English built. The Shimano Winner and Winner Pros were great for Shimano, but keep the year parts near the bikes ages you are revamping. Hang in there.