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forum
Hub noise - relatively speaking
Can anyone help me out with a decision on wheels where the noise from the freewheel may be a factor? I can't stand wheels that make a sound like a fishing reel, the ones that you can hear coming from way behind. I realise that no hubs are totally silent, but there are certainly some I can live with and some that I can't. This is for a bike with disc brakes, if it makes any difference.
I'm getting a new bike whose wheels will have DT Swiss hubs. From what I understand, those are typically on the noisy side. My shortlisted possible replacement wheels will have either Hunt or Bitex hubs.
If all three will be about the same noise level, then that's one thing. But if there is likely to be a noticeable difference then it will help me with my decision. One person has suggested to me that the Bitex hubs are likely to be less noisy than the DT Swiss ones.
I'm not purely basing my wheel-upgrading decision on hub noise, but it is a factor that goes into the mix (especially where wheels are very similar in other regards). Thanks in advance.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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15 comments
Thanks for the reminder about DCR, I've looked at them before and if I went for their wheels then again it would probably be Bitex hubs (i.e. their own DCR hubs based on Bitex, as you said).
I have Mason Hunt Four Season disc wheels - coming from near silent Shimano, which I love, noise was a concern before I bought them - Hunt’s FAQ helpfully says their freewheels are neither loud nor quiet. The freewheel was tolerable from new but I did quieten it down considerably by adding some Castrol LM grease I had, but this didn’t seem to last long. Where did it go to? I’ve now tried some Shimano Freehub Body Grease (Special Grease) as Velo USA refers to, but this, if anything, has made them louder than ever.
DCR Wheels use Bitex hubs in their own brand wheels - they tweak them with ‘dedicated UK weather treatment applied to them and they are treated to make their ratchets quieter and more durable.’ I’d like to know what they do!
Edit - from more reading of their site, they recommend Wickens and Soderstrom HL grease - but £24 for 140g is taking the michael somewhat. Surely pawls/hubs don't need high load grease?
ridden loads of brands, never really noticed much hub noise bar Hope, Chris King. avoid them
Thanks for the comments so far, very useful.
It is starting to sound like perhaps I'm worrying too much about this. Well, I still want a freehub that's on the quiet side (I realise that some like the noisy hubs, while others aren't bothered either way and yes, I know the sound goes away when you pedal ...) but I guess that whatever I end up with I should be able to quieten it down quite a lot if necessary.
Does greasing the hub typically last for quite a while, i.e. it'll be less noisy for quite some time?
I know I've literally just said that you could put some grease in the freehub and I don't want to sound hypocritical , but...
It is worth noting that hubs generally sound loud because they are fundamental all the same, having bits of metal (pawls) bashing against a ratchet. Generally, they don't really need much grease or lubricant at all as they are a closed system protected from the elements.
Too much grease and you could potentially hinder the pawls and the ratchet system might get gunked up over a long time and become less efficient. Also, it may be worth double checking what the manufacturer has in terms of a warranty for taking off the freehub (I know, it's really silly, some say your warranty is void as soon as you take off the freehub etc).
ANYWAY, enough of my "disclaimer" if you will. The grease should last ages, only once have I ever properly greased up a freehub. I only did it because the wheels were really cheap and the seal was very poor so lots of water got into the pawls/ratchet and was beginning to damage the parts. The ratchet was very quiet after that, I only had the bike for a few months after, so I don't know how long it lasted.
Some hubs (like Shimano) are the sealed ball bearing type. You can't actually take these apart to get to the pawls - well you can, but you aren't meant to. DT Swiss, on the other hand, are very easy to service.
Park Tool has a really good webpage for freehub servicing http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/freehub-service Apologies if you already know all this!
If I'm perfectly honest, I think it would be silly to buy some nice new wheels then take apart the freehub and ram it full of grease - but then again I like freehub sound.
Agreed with the above. Shimano are generally quieter.
Personally, I really like my loud Mavic Cosmic freehub.
I had an oldish wheelset that I sold at the beginning of this year... The freehub went totally silent and got very sticky, following disassembly and blasting it with GT85 (and a little bit of light chain lube), it became free and was louder.
If I were you, I'd base your decision on which wheelset is the best overall and try and live with the freehub sound - if you really dislike it that much, put some lube/grease in it and it will be quieter.
I agree that shimano is more quiet
I got Hope wheels, which were crazy loud, so I lubed them with DOW Molykote 111 and now they are virtually silent. Guessing any high temperature and high viscosity lube will do the trick.
Noisy free hubs are usually cheap shite or top end.
i like the noise personally. Chris King, Campag, Phil Wood, White etc.
I have found shimano freehubs to be kind of quiet, especially as they wear in.
The woods can often be full of the sound of angry bees. Mainly Hopes, though I understand Chris Kings are even louder.
My Hunts are quieter than I would like. I can hear them, but pedestrians don't
Shout at them
My Shimano hubs seem to be virtually silent, my FLO hubs are quite loud, I'm not bothered unless it annoys others in a group ride... If they went faster I wouldn't have to freewheel so much
Sorry I can't offer much help, pedalling stops the freehub noise
Despite being a little on the deaf side I can confirm that my DT Swiss rear hub is certainly loud, probably very loud and possibly extremely loud. But I like it.
Freehub noise comparisons is a hard one. YouTube has several hub comparisions but they don't tell you if the hubs have been greased/lubed prior to testing or - what I call - in a dry state with with minimal lube. Some links are several years old too.
I've had Bitex and DT 240s. Both, IMO, sound like an angry bee hive chasing me. Bitex is low cost with 6 pawl engagement and DT with its star ratchet and cheap internal springs. I use White Industry T11 hubs but they're on the high end side of hubs and are co$tly with its titanium freehub body, but super quiet and spin and spin and spin. I also use Shimano Freehub Body Grease (Special Grease) because of its light viscosity and lubricating quality - helps cut down noise level.
Questions is how much are you willing to spend? I suggest contacting custom wheel builders to get their opinions on hubs in your price range and/or wheels built in your price range. Builders usually have good stock on various hub makers and would know the noise level of each first hand.
Sorry, I wish I could offer better advise but as I first said, freehub noise comparisions is a hard one.
I've got two pairs of DTSwiss DB wheels (R23 & R24) and a pair of the high end Hunt Aero DB wheels.
All are loud while freewheeling when compared to the virtually silent Shimano ones I had on my old bike. I'd say the DTSwiss ones are a little louder than the Hunts - I've gotten used to it so it doesn't bother me anymore. In fact the freewheel noise is kind of useful for letting people know you are there without having to call out.
Cheers,