How do I install freewheel and derailleur adjustment for Mac

[nukezero]

So I just ordered the complete kit from Cellman (Mac 48V) 26" wheel with the 11T DNP 7speed freewheel.

my townie electra comes with the following spec stock:

Shimano TX-35 7-speed rear derailleur and Shimano 7-speed 14-34T cassette/rear cog.

So what tools or what do I need to do in order to mount the 11T DNP freewheel onto the Mac hub? Secondly, do I need to perform any rear derailleur adjustments again ? They are both 7-speed cogs so they should align perfectly right?

Actually, they may not align correctly since I can see that there is quite a bit of spacers in the dropout ?

 

[wesnewell]

Freewheels just screw on. No special tools required to install one. However if you need to remove one from a hub motor, you will need either a Park FR1 freewheel tool drilled out for the larger 14mm axle or a special FR1 tool made for this purpose. Both are available. If it doesn't come mounted already, you just screw the freewheel on by hand. It will tighten itself as you pedal.
You will likely have to adjust the derailleur.

 

[nukezero]

Freewheels just screw on. No special tools required to install one. However if you need to remove one from a hub motor, you will need either a Park FR1 freewheel tool drilled out for the larger 14mm axle or a special FR1 tool made for this purpose. Both are available. If it doesn't come mounted already, you just screw the freewheel on by hand. It will tighten itself as you pedal.
You will likely have to adjust the derailleur.

How about the washer? Do I need to put anything between the Mac hub and the freewheel? washer or spacer?

Do I need to grease the new DNT freewheel?

 

[wesnewell]

You may or may not need a washer. Depends on derailleur clearance. I don't have a mac motor, so couldn't say. I would definitely grease the freewheel first if it needs it.

 

[dogman dan]

A tiny bit of grease on the threads before you screw on the freewheel may help later, if you ever want to remove it again. New freewheels I have bought had been greased at the factory. Later on, since I don't have a proper greaser, I dribble motor oil into old filthy freewheels. God awful mess, but the sand gets flushed out of them.

Screw it on the motor lightly, and see if it has a very tight looking clearance. If you have a lot of space between hub and freewheel, you likely don't need the spacer washer. But if it looks super tight just screwed on hand tight, I'd use the spacer because it will very likely start rubbing as it tightens up a bit more when you pedal.

Adjusting the derailleur should be fairly easy. Put the chain on a middle sprocket. gear 3 or 4. with the shifter reading the same gear you are in. Adjust the barrel nut on the cable so the chain runs smooth with little noise. That just adjusted your shifter indexing. Now you just fiddle the little screws on the derailur itself to limit the top and bottom stops so the chain doesn't hop off the little cog, or the big one.

 

[nukezero]

Awesome. Thanks for the guidance.

 

[999zip999]

Some DNP 11t need a spacer under the freewheel and the hub. They make more then one style as the way it is build. I have three and the new one needs a smaller spacer. The freewheel can lock up on the cover of the motor. You will notice just by spinning it. Also I needed Grins thick washer between the motor axle and the frame. Yes the 8-9 speed washer he sells was needed for the 7sp. freewheel.

 

[Supertux1]

To use the biggest gear on the freewheel, closest to the hub, you may need the spacer.

I can't use it on my bike because the lower derailleur cog will brush against the motor casing when switching to that gear.
I could have used the spacer but I didn't want to stretch my dropouts more than they already were because of the disc brake spacer.

I can't use the lowest gear either, the 11t, because adjusting the derailleur stop screws to avoid the biggest gear also has the unintended effect of blocking it from the bottommost gear.
It has to do with the geometry of my derailleur. YMMV.

What I do about this: nothing. I can only use 5 gears. I usually keep it on the middle gear and never bother to shift. I barely even pedal most of the time.

 

[nukezero]

You guys are talking about this spacer from Em3ev right? So you would put this between the hub and the 11T DNP freewheel? This will create 2.5mm space between the hub and freewheel, but now I'll lose 2.5mm of space between the dropout and the 11T cog?

Also, according to the Mac diagram, there is 38.5mm of space from the hub side to the dropout end. The 7T freewheel is 36mm so by putting the spacer there, the 7T cog will be right up against that dropout. I probably won't be able to get it to gear.

I will probably use the 7T gear more than the 28T gear so I may not even use that spacer then. i also heard from the bike shop that they can stretch my dropout a bit wider if necessary. I wonder if this is okay on the aluminum frame?

 

[SkyknightJohn]

You guys are talking about this spacer from Em3ev right?

That looks like the spacer for the disk rotor. If you are going to run a rear disk brake there is a small clearance issue with caliper and the MAC body and this spacer under the rotor solves it.

On my MAC I didn't put a spacer between the freewheel and the motor, but I did put one of the washers between the 11t and the dropout to allow enough space to shift to that cog cleanly.

If your townie was orignially a 7 speed then you should need minimal spreading, which consensus seems to say is OK on aluminum as long as it's not too much.

 

[nukezero]

You guys are talking about this spacer from Em3ev right?

That looks like the spacer for the disk rotor. If you are going to run a rear disk brake there is a small clearance issue with caliper and the MAC body and this spacer under the rotor solves it.

On my MAC I didn't put a spacer between the freewheel and the motor, but I did put one of the washers between the 11t and the dropout to allow enough space to shift to that cog cleanly.

If your townie was orignially a 7 speed then you should need minimal spreading, which consensus seems to say is OK on aluminum as long as it's not too much.

Yes my Townie is an original Shimano XT 7 speed cassette. Looking at what it is now, there are two large spacers (thick washers) that crate atleast 1cm of space from the dropouts.

 

[dogman dan]

That looks like a spacer for aligning disk rotors, and a very thick one at that.

The freewheel spacer is just a thin washer with a very large hole. In metal, it looks about like a rubber band, couple inches diameter, but only about 1mm thick both dimensions.

Sorry I don't have a pic of one, all mine are on bikes. Most of the time I don't need them. It just depends on how the threads got machined on the motor cover.

 

[junoflydog]

Can you give us an update on how your Townie turned out?

I recently bought a Townie 21D and would like to add a hub motor for occasional hill assist.