Freehub body removal help please: brute force or less ignorance?

[Rotorhead]

Scratching my head over this one and googling hasn’t helped greatly. I’ve got this Ritchey-branded hub pictured. It’s old, don’t know how old, but looked unused on fitting last year. In use the freehub seemed not to spin properly - the sound is off- so I thought maybe old grease has gone hard: I’ll remove and give it a lube.

The freehub hole, from the driveside, is too large for a 10mm hex and too small for a 12mm. I can’t actually see any hex shape in there. However, from the non-driveside, a 12 hex locates snuggly. I guessed I’d need to turn it clockwise to unscrew from the non- driveside but, even with a BIG lever, it’s not turning. I used so much force that the spokes started pinging. It’s a borrowed torque wrench and looks very expensive so I don’t want to force it and risk damage. I tried anti-clockwise from the non driveside too- but with less force.

Thinking I need to know what I’m dealing with before getting super brutal with it. Any thoughts please?

 

[Joe_Rides]

Wierd.

I've never known one to be anything but 10mm from the drive side.

Someone will know I'm sure.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Left hand thread at a guess.

You're right about not overdoing the Torque wrench - you need a Tommy bar

 

[FluffyChicken]

I can see the hex.

Proper Allen key (modern hubs are larger than 10mm) in 12mm size NDS for Ritchey Logic.
Things to try...
I would put it (key) in a vice/bench/something to clamp the long side.
I would give it the Allen key when in the hub a few whacks with a metal wallet to try crack and interface...
I would spray the shite out of it.

I would leave it in bright hot sunlight...

Then try and undo it.

 

[bikeworkshop]

But ultimately the Torque required might be more than the wheel can take - we've had a few of these. it's almost always a cheap freehub like this - probably fitted dry with a rattle gun, and they don't want it to ever come off anyway.

In this case you'll kill the rim, and the spokes won't be that clever.

So when you've tried to the point you feel the rim bending, just unlace that wheel, recycle the hub and rebuild with another, better one. cheap to find!
It doesn't need to be exactly the same flange size - on a 3 Cross, 1cm of flange difference makes only about 1mm spoke length difference.

Loadsof choice.

 

[Siish]

If 10mm Allen key is to small and 12 mm is to big, is it possible that it's a 7/16 Allen key?

 

[bikeworkshop]

We've got a 12mm Allen key we Ground the tip to a slight taper so it covers anything in that region.
We've also got an 11!

 

[Splatter Paint]

Got to be a conventional thread right, otherwise it’d unscrew under pedalling loads?

A lot of hubs go in from the NDS. In my experience I had to have two people and a bloody long swing-over bar to undo mine. The spokes were pinging and it sounded very sketchy. I saw a YouTube video where they lashed a wheel to a wooden pallet!!

Aluminium expands more than steel. Even heating things to less than water boiling point can help sometimes. I’ve put a kettle full of hot water over alloy components before to raise the temperature. You have to be bloody careful of splashes though!

SP

 

[Oldtat]

Some of these freehubs, Bontrager definitely, have a specific socket extension that comes with the replacement freehub to get right in there.

 

[Oldtat]