Noisy freehubs cause me much distress. Why so noisy ?

[pwa]

The Shimano design seems to be reliably quiet (a good thing), but are there any other quiet freehubs out there?

[Mick F]

Like I said, the higher groups of Campag.
When I was running a Chorus rear hub, it was silent.

Also rather delicate. Broke the cassette carrier twice, and gave up with Campag rear.
Cheaper to buy a whole new hub and harvest the bits and sell the shell and QR's, than to buy a single replacement cassette carrier.
At least I had the bearings and seals, and the cups and cones too ............ which fit the front too.

[pwa]

Like I said, the higher groups of Campag.
When I was running a Chorus rear hub, it was silent.

Also rather delicate. Broke the cassette carrier twice, and gave up with Campag rear.
Cheaper to buy a whole new hub and harvest the bits and sell the shell and QR's, than to buy a single replacement cassette carrier.
At least I had the bearings and seals, and the cups and cones too ............ which fit the front too.

So if I want quiet and reliable I'm best sticking with Shimano?

[Marcus Aurelius]

Told this story before.
May have all been superseded by now, but what I say is valid.

Campagnolo have (had?) two different hubs.
One is/was used in the lower groups ........ Xenon/Mirage etc, the the other in the higher groups Chorus/Record/Super Record etc.

The lower one is/was very noisy - very noisy indeed.
The higher one is/was almost silent.

Why?
Because of the number of teeth on the ratchet ring, the size of the pawls, and the spring system. Higher groups have/had a single circular spring and the lower groups individual spiral springs one each for the three pawls.

All these design differences make a huge difference to the noise.

I have the super record on mine. It’s pretty loud.

[cycle tramp]

Loud Freewheels Save Lives!

Pardon Our Freewheels, Its The Sound Of Freedom!

..and, er, other slogans that I've misappropriated from the biker community...

p.s My Das's old BSA exhaust noise was tested once during an MOT, its recorded out put was 104 db - that was loud....

[bgnukem]

I pack my freehub bearings with grease, mainly to avoid diluting the grease in the hub bearings with oil. I get no clicking noises from the freehub pawls and they work fine though you need to allow for some slippage initially until the grease breaks down and thins a bit.

You need the type of freehub body with a removable rear seal though, and push grease through with the palm of your hand until it emerges into the hub bearing race.

[Brucey]

...So if I want quiet and reliable I'm best sticking with Shimano?

yes. Just avoid some of the more recent designs which ought to have been 'stronger' but in practice weren't.

FWIW I think bgnukem should use SFG; any slippage means a fair chance of breakage.

cheers

[francovendee]

I'm glad it's not just me that dislike these noisy things.

[Mick F]

Told this story before.
May have all been superseded by now, but what I say is valid.

Campagnolo have (had?) two different hubs.
One is/was used in the lower groups ........ Xenon/Mirage etc, the the other in the higher groups Chorus/Record/Super Record etc.

The lower one is/was very noisy - very noisy indeed.
The higher one is/was almost silent.

Why?
Because of the number of teeth on the ratchet ring, the size of the pawls, and the spring system. Higher groups have/had a single circular spring and the lower groups individual spiral springs one each for the three pawls.

All these design differences make a huge difference to the noise.

I have the super record on mine. It’s pretty loud.

Which vintage?

Sorry, should have said, I mean the 9sp/10sp stuff, not anything earlier or later, so if you have something different, I couldn't comment.

[bgnukem]

...So if I want quiet and reliable I'm best sticking with Shimano?

yes. Just avoid some of the more recent designs which ought to have been 'stronger' but in practice weren't.

FWIW I think bgnukem should use SFG; any slippage means a fair chance of breakage.

cheers

I'm sure you're right. I have some of that Carlube spray SFG so might stick a shot of that in next time. still a lot thinner than the grease I use in the hub bearings though so I fear it will dilute it.

I find the freehubs start slipping when the bearings get contaminated too.

[mig]

...So if I want quiet and reliable I'm best sticking with Shimano?

yes. Just avoid some of the more recent designs which ought to have been 'stronger' but in practice weren't.

FWIW I think bgnukem should use SFG; any slippage means a fair chance of breakage.

cheers

or most track hubs

[hoogerbooger]

Probably better to not use a spray SFG and apply SFG to pawls/ dog ring/ chamber they are in. That's what I'll do.

[Marcus Aurelius]

Told this story before.
May have all been superseded by now, but what I say is valid.

Campagnolo have (had?) two different hubs.
One is/was used in the lower groups ........ Xenon/Mirage etc, the the other in the higher groups Chorus/Record/Super Record etc.

The lower one is/was very noisy - very noisy indeed.
The higher one is/was almost silent.

Why?
Because of the number of teeth on the ratchet ring, the size of the pawls, and the spring system. Higher groups have/had a single circular spring and the lower groups individual spiral springs one each for the three pawls.

All these design differences make a huge difference to the noise.

I have the super record on mine. It’s pretty loud.

Which vintage?

Sorry, should have said, I mean the 9sp/10sp stuff, not anything earlier or later, so if you have something different, I couldn't comment.

New 12 speed stuff, it’s loud but not quite Chris King loud.

[Mick F]

12sp .......... can't comment in the slightest regarding Campag 12sp.

I was illustrating the point that the "noise" was changed by the pawl spring(s), the pawl sizes, and the number of ratchets on the ring.

[Boring_Username]

They're noisy because they're shouting at fellow cyclists:

These are £600 wheels! These are £600 wheels!