Expert: Steve Mills - 8/14/2008

Question
My son has a 20 in next bike that has only a hand brake that was left out in the rain.  The rear wheel would not move and the hand brake stopped working.  I got the hand brake to work and the pedals to move, but now if you pedal backwards it brakes instead of pedaling backwards freely. Any suggestions?  There are no gear shifts, and the chain looks to be fine.

Answer
There are signs of corrosion inside the freewheel. The easiest way to fix this is to replace it. If you want to replace it yourself, you will need a freewheel removal tool, a chain whip and a wrench to attach to the freewheel removal tool for removal and installation. The chain whip is to hold the freewheel in place while you use the freewheel removal tool and wrench to turn counter-clockwise to remove the freewheel. If you have any further questions, please ask.
-Steve