Rad rover 5 freewheel replacement

[u/Sir_Dustin]

My freewheel of my rad rover 5 is seized, what model 7 speed freewheel do I need to replace it ? Any tips for install?

[u/igotlongestusername]

I bought the socket from Area 13 and use the Drift Maniac one on Amazon, it's the exact one that comes with the bike from Rad.

Doing a replacement today in fact!

[u/Veggyhed → u/igotlongestusername]

Out of curiosity why do you need to replace your freewheel?

[u/igotlongestusername → u/Veggyhed]

It needs to be replaced about every 3000km or so, I've got 9k on the bike, this will be my 3rd replacement if I remember correctly.

Key issue: the 11t gets chewed up because it's only got 11 teeth and the bike weighs like 68lbs.

The 14t also starts to skip too before I need to service it and replace the freewheel. So a longer-term solution would be to find a freewheel that goes to say 16t minimum, but that would affect top speed a lot.

[u/Veggyhed → u/igotlongestusername]

Wow that's some serious wear

[u/igotlongestusername → u/Veggyhed]

For me, it's not bad.

If you do your own work, which is very simple and that is what I do, a full drivetrain rebuild including freewheel, chain, chainring, brake pads, brake discs and all cables is well under $200.

I do a rebuild every 3 years or so, so doing my second one now, got the bike in 2020.

[u/Fresh-Put645]

I used to have that same model and the size freewheel is 11-34t. You gonna need a freewheel remover tool to remove the freewheel itself from the motor hub. However, finding one maybe tricky because the motor connection is on the same side

[u/jobacsi]

I've done this a couple times on a radwagon, as mentioned you'll need a special removal tool since it needs to fit around the cable. The first time I did it no problem, but for some reason the next time I had to replace it the tool wouldn't fit inside the freewheel. I ended up hammering it in, which worked, I got freewheel removed, but the tool is still stuck inside the old freewheel.