Freehub body removal

I can find only two possible replacements for this freehub online, none of which have ‘M580’ or anything closer than ‘M510-525’ as part of their designation. Will any of these freehubs fit this hub?

Mike Griffiths

Some speak of a Shimano freehub body interchangeability chart, found somewhere on t’internet, but as none can give a live link – or even a deceased one – and having never seen such a thing myself, I reckon it’s with Bigfoot!

There is some good news. Provided the hub isn’t very old or weird (exotic designs in the name of Dura-Ace and Saint, plus anything with a silent clutch or alloy outer body), any usual replacement body will go with any usual hub. You can even convert from 7-speed to 8/9/10-speed – provided you fit a longer axle. Problems arise with the many different shapes of right side cone.

I don’t think anyone (except Shimano’s gnome of freehub knowledge) can say how many or which hubs are the same as one another in this respect. But if the cone and in particular its seal are different, your old cone will either not even go near the new body, or will fit but without its seal, so dirt and water will flood through the gap and quickly destroy the bearing – including the cup surface in your brand new body!

So for safety, you need also to buy the spare axle and cone(s) assembly corresponding with your new freehub body. You need only the right-side cone, its seal and perhaps the locknut, but they are not sold separately (or not nowadays in the UK, where it’s a small wonder that replacement bodies can even be had!). If you don’t need the bike in a hurry, buy just a body, one that’s as close as you can find in type, model year and level, to your hub – and hope for the best. But before you buy that M510-525 body, check that you can if necessary buy a corresponding axle assembly. And check that your cones aren’t worn-out too.

Chris Juden

This was first published in the October / November 2014 edition of Cycling UK's Cycle magazine.