Forum home› Road cycling forum› Workshop

Noisy 10 speed hub

ProzProz Posts: 136
edited August 2015 in Workshop
Hi all
Please be gentle as I'm not very sure of the technical terms.
I bought a pair of deep rim new carbon wheels. Cheap chinese i would assume but rebranded as Aero-Tec.
The wheels are great and roll wonderfully , look great and I'm very happy with them .... but ,
The only problem I have is that when free wheeling the noise from the rear hub is louder than I'd like. The rear wheel this replaced was almost silent when free wheeling.
It has been commented on by others that it's "quite loud" .... i did drop into my LBS to see if it could be replaced for a quieter one but he says no and that loud ones are becoming the norm and quite popular. I didn't ask any further lol.
I'm sure they are Nova or novatech ? hubs or freewheel .... as said in not sure of the proper terms.
I will put up a pic etc when I can as I realise pictures or even video would help but I'm at work just now so can't till later.
I know it shouldn't matter about the noise and to stop it I could always keep pedaling ..
So can the inner gubbins be changed for quite ones ??
Thanks
Boardman AiRPro C
Boardman FS Team 650b

Posts

  • dgunthordgunthor Posts: 644
    the noise is due to the design of the hub, you can't make it quieter.

    your only option would be to buy another rear wheel that you like the sound of

    personally, i'd stick with it and you'll get used to it. it also has the advantage of alerting pedestrians / other riders when you freewheel (like a free bell)
  • keef66keef66 Posts: 13,123
    You can probably make it a bit quieter by applying some thick oil or even oil mixed with a bit of grease. The downside being that it can dry out and thicken with time and the pawls can stick so you lose drive completely.

    My guess is if it's noisy then the manufacturer designed it that way and it's probably best left as it is. You can use it as a warning to dozy pedestrians, or as an incentive to keep pedalling...
  • HantsTooFLatHantsTooFLat Posts: 122
    If you were a BMXer you would be their King. Loud chainsaw sounding hubs are all the rage among us youthful MTBers too!
    “Jij bent niet van suiker gemaakt”
  • ProzProz Posts: 136
    Heres the noise .... volume warning lol ....
    I thought I would get used to it but its getting on my nerves now.
    Doesn't seem to bad but when out cycling freewheeling at speed its loud .
    th_20150825_082751_zpsoeyoxi9l.mp4
    Boardman AiRPro C
    Boardman FS Team 650b
  • ProzProz Posts: 136
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19687277#p19687277]HantsTooFLat[/url] wrote:
    If you were a BMXer you would be their King. Loud chainsaw sounding hubs are all the rage among us youthful MTBers too!

    I'm too old for that carry on now a days lol .... :D
    Boardman AiRPro C
    Boardman FS Team 650b
  • fortyonefortyone Posts: 165
    It's the freehub and wheel which is making the noise, not just the wheel. I notice some makes such as Mavic are very loud along with lower end Campagnolo wheels. I remove the freehub and put grease in the wheel where the freehub touches the wheel. This always works and have never had a issue with the pawls on the freehub sticking but, after several weeks, you might have to re-grease once more. I believe also that most Shimano freehubs for Shimano cassettes are steel which can be louder than most Campagnolo freehubs (I have Campagnolo Neutrons, which are very quiet), because the latter are alloy. I don't know what the high end Shimano wheel freehubs are made of.
  • deswellerdesweller Posts: 5,175
    Interesting that you should say that. IME Shimano freehubs are usually very quiet, because their unique 2-bearing design allows them to use a sealed freewheel mechanism running in oil. Shimano compatible designs have to run in grease as the freewheel mechanism is usually exposed when the freehub body is removed. I've never encountered a loud Shimano OEM freehub.

    Regarding the Novatec hubs, you can use a bit of grease but be careful, the seats that the pawls sit in are the same shape as the pawls, so they are a little prone to sticking if the grease is too thick. I use molyslip.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • dgunthordgunthor Posts: 644
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19688264#p19688264]DesWeller[/url] wrote:
    Interesting that you should say that. IME Shimano freehubs are usually very quiet, because their unique 2-bearing design allows them to use a sealed freewheel mechanism running in oil. Shimano compatible designs have to run in grease as the freewheel mechanism is usually exposed when the freehub body is removed. I've never encountered a loud Shimano OEM freehub.

    Dura Ace 7800 had the ratchet cut out in the hub itself (quite noisy) - not sure what they did with Dura-ace 9000 etc

    Most shimano do have the classic 10mm allen key bolt holding a self contained freehub
  • ProzProz Posts: 136
    Can the noisy one be removed and a quieter one put on then ?
    Boardman AiRPro C
    Boardman FS Team 650b
  • deswellerdesweller Posts: 5,175
    No. But as keef66 says, you can apply a bit of grease and that will do a lot to reduce the noise.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • dgunthordgunthor Posts: 644
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19689522#p19689522]DesWeller[/url] wrote:
    No. But as keef66 says, you can apply a bit of grease and that will do a lot to reduce the noise.

    keef66 also recommends leaving it as is - it's been designed this way
  • ProzProz Posts: 136
    Ah well ... Thanks for the help guys .
    Could be a set of 50mm carbon clinchers for sale as I cant bare the noise any more .... going back to the old Ultegra wheels as they were silent when freewheeling.

    Thanks
    Boardman AiRPro C
    Boardman FS Team 650b
  • dgunthordgunthor Posts: 644
    i'm sure you'll have no problem selling those
  • deswellerdesweller Posts: 5,175
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19689766#p19689766]dgunthor[/url] wrote:
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19689522#p19689522]DesWeller[/url] wrote:
    No. But as keef66 says, you can apply a bit of grease and that will do a lot to reduce the noise.

    keef66 also recommends leaving it as is - it's been designed this way

    That's a big assumption.

    It might have been assembled wrong (i.e. not enough grease at the factory).

    There might be a manufacturing or assembly compromise (e.g. couldn't use the enough grease or the right grease due to cost or H&S).

    The release to market target date might have forced some other design or manufacturing compromise.

    I'm reasonably sure that Novatec didn't intend for my F482 rear hub to fill up with water on its first outing in the wet, but guess what, assembly fault led to a damaged seal, led to me stripping the sodding thing down after <200 miles.

    Very few products are released without flaws; why would you assume that you couldn't improve on something?
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • dgunthordgunthor Posts: 644
    it's designed by an engineer with certain spec lubricants etc in mind. production should have quality control etc.

    the thought of applying some random grease to a well designed component to quieten it down worries me for the operation of the hub as well as the longevity - but you are of course welcome to do as you wish to your own things...

    if something like this has a fault then I'd recommenf returning it to the store to get it sorted under warranty FOC.
  • deswellerdesweller Posts: 5,175
    You'd design to a tolerance for lubrication just as you would dimensionally for cutting metal; the design engineer should be aiming to simplify manufacture and minimise reliance on special (i.e. expensive or unique) lubricants where possible. E.g. automotive manufacturers aim for this too, but because the performance window is so hard to achieve they must be much more specific about things like lubricants.

    A bicycle freewheel is very, very, very basic! If it has been designed to work with one grease in mind then that's really poor design IMO; particularly since on the Novatec hubs the bearings come with their own grease already present.

    NB I'm not going to unlace a wheel and send the hub back to Taiwan for a seal, that's a moronic suggestion.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • dgunthordgunthor Posts: 644
    that's your first mention of taiwan...
Sign In or Register to comment.