Freewheels are usually subdivided into two categories single-cog freewheels and multi-cog freewheels, single cog freewheels contain a single cog like beach cruiser bikes and traditional double-top tube freewheel bikes, and the second category contains multiple cogs of the freewheel, these multi cog freewheels are usually mountain bikes and road bikes which have 7-speed cassettes installed in their hubs.
Both single-cog and multi-cog freewheels are not reverse threaded and these are rotated in the forward direction and it is not possible to rotate these cogs in the backward anticlockwise direction.
Their are small lock nuts which are installed with both single cog and multi cog freewheels, these lock nuts are not directional and rotate in both clockwise and anticlockwise direction, but locknuts nd freewheels are two separate things, due to which these locknuts are installed to hold the freewheels and when you push the pedals in the backward direction, you will notice something is rotating in the backward opposite direction, these are not freewheels but these are the locknuts of the freewheels which are roatting and making louder sound on the trails.
But this suggestion is for those freewheels which contain locknuts , on normal basis freewheels do not contain locknuts in both single cog and multi cog freewheels. locknuts are tightened and uninstalled with the help of different knock type tools like screw driver, you can hit the the driver from one end and it and it will rotate the locknut , as a result the freewheel would become tight and in the same way frewheel is also uninstalled by hitting a hammering force in the opposite direction.
But those freewheels which do not have these locknuts, for these wheels you can simply apply a rotating tporque on the pedal of your bike in the forward clockwise direction, and the freewheel will become tight in this way. as you knwo you can apply too much force on the pedal for tightening of the freewheel , and when you want to uninstall or remove the freewheel , you have to face alot of difficuty because it is hard to rotate the freewheel in the opposite anticlockwise direction, normally these freewheels are not removed by hand without using any tools, their tools are cheap, you have to buy their tools from the emchanic stores or online cycling stores.
So when we talk about the freewheels, locknut freewheels are reverse threaded and those frwheels which do not have lockts are not reverse threaded.
Selection Of Tools:
Never choose any non -recommended and non-compatible tools for the removal or installation of the freewheels because different tools would cause and ruin the cogs and teeth of the cassette, due to which chain of your bike starts jumping from higher to lower and lower to higher cogs of the cassette, there are recommended and special tools for this setup to avoid random tools.
Fixed Gear Hub:
Those freewheels which have fixed gear hubs usually have anticlockwise or reverse threaded lockrings, because as the name is suggesting these freewheels are fixed, so backpedaling would cause uninstalling of the freewheels from the hub axles due to which lockrings are installed in these fixed gear hubs.
Function Of Lock Ring:
Lock rings function in such a way when you push your freewheel pedals in the forward direction, the lock ring would not rotate along with the freewheel but when you rotate the bike pedals in the backward anticlockwise direction, then the lock ring would also rotate in the backward direction but freewheel sometimes rotates and sometimes does not rotate, depending on the condition of the freewheel.
Track hub Lock Ring:
Most hub axles have threads on a single side left or right side of the cog, but these track hubs are threaded on both the right and left sides of the cogs, so these are simply installed and uninstalled as other freewheels and other bike categories of hub axles and freewheels.
Is It Possible To Install Lock Rings In A Single-Speed Hub:
Yes, it is possible to install lock rings within the single-speed freehubs but after doing this setup, these hubs would have different threads as compared to track hub lock rings, because these hubs have threads on just a single right side of the cog. lock rings are also different in their shapes and structures with the different numbers of notches, there are some lock rings that have few numbers of notches and other rings have a greater number of notches present on their surfaces. these notches would play an important role in uninstalling and unscrewing the lock rings and freewheel hubs by using different compatible tools.
Normally there are two notches that are present in the interior of the lock rings, these notches are present internally and externally, when you want to uninstall the freewheel, with the help of a proper tool you have to rotate these notches in the counter-clockwise direction and when you are installing new freewheel or cassette, then you have to move these notches in the clockwise direction, and when you notice the notches, freewheel and the cassette and thoroughly tight, then never apply further force, because larger torque force would ruin or cause damage to these notches of the freewheel hubs.
Is It Possible To Remove Freewheel And Cog By Chain Whipping?
No, It is possible to remove single and multi-cog freewheel by chain whipping, but yes it is possible to remove the cog of the freewheel by chain whipping. if the cogs are too much tight and are not uninstalling by using their recommended tools, then yes it is possible to remove these stuck or seized cogs by chain whipping.