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Does cold weather make freewheels not work?
>biking to work yesterday and today
>yesterday was around 0 F
>today was like -8 or -10 F
>freewheel keeps giving out; as in, the internal ratcheting mechanism isn't engaging so I spin my cranks and it doesn't spin the wheel
>yesterday was doing it a bit, today was even worse, every time I come to a stop it won't engage and it takes a while to engage, but once I get going then it's fine til I stop again
>way home today was a bit warmer (like 8 above) and it still did it a little bit but not too much; it was much worse on the way to work when it was quite a bit colder
I am thinking maybe the subzero weather froze the internals of my freewheel and/or the lube in it. Is this a correct analysis?
I know old freewheels sometimes wear out and have this same issue (regardless of temperature), but my freewheel is only a year old and has maybe 2,000 km on it. It shouldn't be worn out this fast, and it's just been happening these really cold days.
Is it normal for freewheels to give out like this in subzero? Should I replace my freewheel, or oil the internals, or just ride one of my other bikes (cassette) on the really cold days and accept that freewheels don't work in subzero weather?
