A customer told me to check the freehub body before replacing the whole wheel

This guy came into the shop last week with a wheel that wouldn't spin right. I was ready to sell him a new rear wheel, thinking the hub was shot. He stopped me and said, 'Hold on, my old mechanic in Tucson always said a sticky freehub can act just like a bad bearing.' I pulled the cassette off and sure enough, the freehub was totally gummed up with old grease. A quick clean and re-lube with some light oil fixed it in ten minutes. Saved him over $200. Has anyone else had a simple tip from a rider save a big repair bill?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessicap821mo ago

Seriously, how does a shop not check the freehub first? Do they just skip basic training these days?

ward.anna1mo ago

Ever have one of those days where you miss the obvious fix? I felt pretty silly after that one, like I needed to go back to mechanic school. JessicaP82 is right to call out skipping basic steps, it's a bad look for any shop. That customer was totally cool about it though, just happy to get his bike rolling again. Makes you wonder what other simple fixes we might be missing sometimes, you know?

laura4861mo ago

Wait, you were really about to sell a whole new wheel without even checking the freehub first? That's like step one for any rear wheel that won't spin right. How does a shop not do that basic check? That customer basically did your job for you and saved himself from getting ripped off.

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