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Noisy freewheel

daveclowdaveclow Posts: 164
edited August 2009 in Road beginners
is a noisy freewheel a 'cool' noise? A dude went past me the other day clicking away and i couldn't decide whether or not it would get on my tits.

i have an allez and am looking to upgrade as ive heard good things from going to something like fulcrum racing 7's and maybe some pro race 3 tires, compared to the standard set up.

i'd like to hear your experiences,

cheers,

d

Posts

  • WooliferkinsWooliferkins Posts: 2,060
    "Cool" is debatable at many levels,but I love the buzz of my Campag freewheels
    Neil
    Help I'm Being Oppressed
  • teagarteagar Posts: 2,100
    Depends how much you like telling everyone you're freewheeling.

    I'm really not a fan to be honest, but I'm too mechanically inept to bother making my freewheel quieter. It's not as loud as some of the really expensive bikes anyway.

    Isn't there one really expensive wheel which has a silent freewheel?
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • KillerMetreKillerMetre Posts: 199
    A noisy freewheel is good from a safety point of view whilst approaching oblivious pedestrians etc.
  • skinsonskinson Posts: 362
    I have fulcrum 7's and they click quite loudly. Doesn't bother me as I just keep pedalling!! :D That way you can't hear it..
    Dave
  • sovedasoveda Posts: 306
    daveclow wrote:
    is a noisy freewheel a 'cool' noise? A dude went past me the other day clicking away and i couldn't decide whether or not it would get on my tits.

    i have an allez and am looking to upgrade as ive heard good things from going to something like fulcrum racing 7's and maybe some pro race 3 tires, compared to the standard set up.

    i'd like to hear your experiences,

    cheers,

    d

    I like a noisy freewheel, others don't. Personal preference.
  • daveclowdaveclow Posts: 164
    skinson wrote:
    I have fulcrum 7's and they click quite loudly. Doesn't bother me as I just keep pedalling!! :D That way you can't hear it..
    Dave

    do you rate the 7's? i know they arent the lightest out there - but ive seen them on £1500 bikes so im sure they're good enough for me and my steed! must be better than the standard ones.

    another option was the spend an extra £80 and go for some Halo Mercury's. they are over 300g lighter.
  • skinsonskinson Posts: 362
    Having come from Mavics on a 1980's bike, I find them ok at what they do, go round and round. I wouldn't pay a couple of hundred quid more, for a saving of 50-100 grams. I could save that by having a censored before I go out.
    Dave :lol:
  • rokkalarokkala Posts: 649
    skinson wrote:
    Having come from Mavics on a 1980's bike, I find them ok at what they do, go round and round. I wouldn't pay a couple of hundred quid more, for a saving of 50-100 grams. I could save that by having a censored before I go out.
    Dave :lol:

    bet you could save a lot more than 100g by doing that :wink:
  • deswellerdesweller Posts: 5,175
    I don't like them. My Planet X Model B freewheel makes an astonishing racket, if I'm just puddling along in the countryside it makes it makes it impossible to enjoy the peace and quiet. When I wear the rear out it will be replaced with a Shimano R500, they're lovely and quiet!
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • mgcycleguymgcycleguy Posts: 292
    daveclow wrote:
    skinson wrote:
    I have fulcrum 7's and they click quite loudly. Doesn't bother me as I just keep pedalling!! :D That way you can't hear it..
    Dave

    do you rate the 7's? i know they arent the lightest out there - but ive seen them on £1500 bikes so im sure they're good enough for me and my steed! must be better than the standard ones.

    another option was the spend an extra £80 and go for some Halo Mercury's. they are over 300g lighter.

    ... I've had some 7's for a couple of years on my Allez winter bike. So they have done a lot of work always in bad conditions. They are of course Campag's just rebranded (hence the noise from the freewheel), so they are a good quality wheel... im no light rider (around 12 half stone)... and they have been faultless, still true and had no issues with bearings etc... I would recommend them as good upgrade for your Allez...
  • AnonymousAnonymous Posts: 79,667
    Lets the bunch know you are pulling a free one, naughty,naughty.
  • skinsonskinson Posts: 362
    Lets the bunch know you are pulling a free one, naughty,naughty.

    Not if you keep spinnnig!!! :twisted:
    Dave
  • Takis61Takis61 Posts: 239
    Changed to Campag with my new Ribble Sportive, have a 2003 Allez as 1st bike, TBH could not believe how noisy the Ribble is, had to post on here to check it was O.K. !
    Have to say, got used to it & really like the racket, makes all the pedestrians look round.
    My knees hurt !
  • ChrisszChrissz Posts: 727
    I like the near-silent running of my Fulcrums - I hated the noise my old Gippeme Quatros used to make!
    http://coastalcommando.wordpress.com/
  • 3legs3legs Posts: 30
    I've just upgraded from Fulcram 7's and now have quiet wheels. I've always been irritated by the clicking noise, but didn't quite realise by how much until I had my first quiet ride today. I'm convinced that I'm going faster downhill now because i'm not being deafened by the noise coming from the freewheel when freewheeling/descending at speed. The bike just feels smoother for being quiet - in my mind at least. It's clearly a personal preference thing though, so each to their own.

    As an aside - I had a bit of a surprise when it came to removing the Shimano cassette from the Fulcrams. Turns out that it was held on with a Campag lockring. I wasn't expecting that....
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