Cost of fitting a new freewheel and chain?

[knonist]

ost of fitting a new freewheel and chain?

The freewheel of my hybird bike had developed a fault recently and I was told by my lbs in Cambridge that it needs replaceing.

The quote is £40 including parts and labour. Parts included: SHIMANO MF-TZ07 (or similar), and a new chain.

Is it a good deal?

Can anyone suggest a good bike shop in Cambridge?

 

[grimpeur]

They are charging you about £15 to £20 labour here. Can't really complain.
You could always get the right tools (cost you about a tenner) and do it yourself.There are plenty of resources online. Try this one:

http://bicycletutor.com/

 

[knonist]

it seems to be pretty easy to replace the free wheel, is it nesscessary to replace the chain and to readjust the gear/ derailer after that?

 

[grimpeur]

If your chain has some wear already then it would make sense to replace it but if it is reasonably fresh and has not been through too much winter weather then it could be still fit for purpose.chain maintenance is essential to long chain life-and your wallet.

 

[grimpeur]

the gears should not need adjusting.unless your new freewheel(or cassette) has vastly different ratios to the one you are replacing. guess it will be the same.

 

[marinyork]

Freewheels are not easy to replace, they are a complete barsteward, you need a vice or a very, very, very beefy hex spanner to get it off.

 

[Steve Austin]

You would need a chainsplitter, a sprocket tool (the correct one!) and a chain whip. then you would need to know how to change it, and what to do if you can't.

Its not hard, but for the price of the tools you will need and the possiblities of it not going well, its worth paying for it. £40 sounds good value for a new chain and a new cassette fitted imo

 

[marinyork]

You'd need a vice or one of those £40 spanners too. No chain whip needed.

 

[grimpeur]

You'd need a vice or one of those £40 spanners too

You will only need a vice if your freewheel is seized on-this is not usually the case.

An adjustable spanner to turn the freewheel removal tool can be bought for around £10 or less.

 

[marinyork]

You will only need a vice if your freewheel is seized on-this is not usually the case.

An adjustable spanner to turn the freewheel removal tool can be bought for around £10 or less.

A £10 adjustable spanner does not have the required torque to get the freewheel off, it's why there's that specialist park tool for £30-40. If it weren't a freewheel I'd agree buy the tools and DIY. The quoted price is £5 more than I got charged for my F freewheel and chain. Nice to be able to do it yourself but very pricey.

 

[grimpeur]

A £10 adjustable spanner does not have the required torque to get the freewheel off, it's why there's that specialist park tool for £30-40.

Sorry,that's twaddle. There are hundreds of thousands of home mechanics out there who have changed millions of freewheels without this expensive tool.

 

[marinyork]

Freewheel not cassette. It's funny you say that as I've got told by 3 workshops that I was a total nutcase for trying to get the freewheel off with an adjustable spanner. Even best case scenario you're talking £15 for a chain splitter, £4 for the FS-1 or whatever it's called and £10 for the adjustable spanner. Much better getting the shop to do it.

 

[grimpeur]

Freewheel not cassette

Thanks,I saw that too!

I started cycling when there was no such thing as a cassette.And we removed our freewheels for cleaning and maintenance all the time. It is NOT a difficult job unless the freewheel is seized on,which happens,but is rare. And you do not need expensive tools for the job. And by the way if you NEED to use a vice then the jaws of the vice act like and replace the jaws of the spanner-so you can put your spanner back in the toolbox altogether,however much you paid for it.

I am trying to encourage the original poster to do this job him/herself as we really should not be running off to bike shops all the time. Besides which,fixing your own bike is fun!