Although I grew up in Nagano, I’m the type of guy who hates the cold. I’m always on edge waiting for the next cold snap. When winter arrives, the wind turns biting and the sun sets earlier, so I think many people find themselves feeling a bit reluctant to ride their bikes. At times like these, I recommend getting your gear together and heading out, but there is actually one other way to make the most of your bike during this season. It’s an overhaul, which you could call a check-up for your bike, something I touched upon briefly in the Phil Wood blog post the other day.
Here is the subject of today’s examination.
This is a Campagnolo freehub body for a Chris King R45 road hub. Back around summer, JUS-san introduced how to overhaul Chris King hubs without using any special tools, right? Don't worry, the procedure and mechanism are the same for Campagnolo.
So, following JUS-san's blog, we’ve removed the axle assembly. Next, just grab the freehub body and pull it off.
You don't need much force, but be a bit careful as it can be easily removed by twisting it counter-clockwise.
Actually, this is the main focus of today: the freehub body. Because the owner has been using it for many years, there is some scarring where the cassette sprockets had bitten into the metal.
Upon further inspection, I also found that the body itself had a crack in it.
Just like cables and chains, freehub bodies are consumables, so be sure to check them thoroughly during overhauls or parts replacements, and repair them if necessary. In this case, the cracked freehub body was an aluminum version from before the R45 Campagnolo body became the current model, so we will replace it with the current stainless steel model.
I took the opportunity to line them up side-by-side. The left is the aluminum version, and the right is the current stainless steel model.
The current freehub body is carefully machined from high-quality heat-treated stainless steel, one piece at a time. This has improved not only the design but also the strength and durability. This also prevents the issue of sprockets biting into the freehub body.
Just make sure to apply RingDrive Lube to the contact points with the hub shell, and then simply reassemble in the reverse order of disassembly, and you're all set.
In this instance, we were able to identify this anomaly during the overhaul stage, and it is precisely because Chris King allows you to source even the smallest parts individually that you can rest assured and deal with any issues that might arise. This case is a perfect example of why Chris King has thought through every detail to ensure their products are built to last. Why not give your bike a check-up to ensure you can continue riding comfortably for a long time to come?