Quantcast

quiet or silent rear hubs

dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,234
4,494
I got a hope proII ss wheelset recently. Mounted it up for the first time today and couldn't hear myself think rolling around the house. This thing is LOUD - will give it some time, but I'm not sure this is going to work.

Any recommendations on a quieter hub?

Are the regular proII this loud?
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
dump said:
I got a hope proII ss wheelset recently. Mounted it up for the first time today and couldn't hear myself think rolling around the house. This thing is LOUD - will give it some time, but I'm not sure this is going to work.

Any recommendations on a quieter hub?

Are the regular proII this loud?
Click to expand...
As someone who rode Hope Pro IIs for a LONG time. It won't. If anything, as the grease works it's way out, they get louder over time.
 
D

Deano

Monkey
Feb 14, 2011
233
0
i seriously hate my hopes, the noise is just too much, doesnt matter how little or much, its just too loud..

i tried to love them, i really did, but just too much crap noise..
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
second dt swiss...they are more of a 'ka chunk' dead sound than something like a hope,king,i9...

Hope are a good value so I run that on my dj bike and dh...but for pedaling all day i woudl go insane.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,234
4,494
Cool. I have an old hayes/dt-hügi. Good little hub - casette body is mush unfortunately, but otherwise good.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,088
6,024
borcester rhymes
i've heard that using thicker grease in the freehub can quiet the noise. It gets louder as the grease breaks down. I do not know what you're supposed to use or what works, but looking into that might be an option for quieting down your hub in the meantime. It's usually not too big of a deal to take out a freehub, so it might be a better option than finding a new hub.
 
S

staike

Monkey
May 19, 2011
247
0
Norway
Yes thicker grease works good on keeping them quiet. But be very careful with how much you apply, you don't want the pawls/springs to get sticky and not fucntion as they're supposed to. The grease will not last very long anyway.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,234
4,494
Sandwich said:
i've heard that using thicker grease in the freehub can quiet the noise. It gets louder as the grease breaks down. I do not know what you're supposed to use or what works, but looking into that might be an option for quieting down your hub in the meantime. It's usually not too big of a deal to take out a freehub, so it might be a better option than finding a new hub.
Click to expand...
Yeah, going to give it some time - may try the grease. Really don't want to rebuild the wheel.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,234
4,494
All this reminds me. back in the day I used to run hope bulbs - don't remember those being loud @ all.
 
iRider

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,653
3,093
Pedal all the time = dead silent Hope hub! :lighten: :D

On a serious note, Shimano hubs might not be cool but are as silent as you can get.
Mavic hubs too.
 
Bikael Molton

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,029
1,167
El Lay
My DH bike's Hadley is very quiet. I have a 108 Hadley on another bike that is mid-volume.

Hopes are annoyingly loud, in my opinion.

Yeah I have a 10 year old XT hub rolling on original grease that is silent. Same with the freewheel on my 1speed commuter.
 
goodgrief

goodgrief

Monkey
Aug 13, 2008
104
1
Innerleithen, Scotland
atomlab pimplite hubs are very quiet, it has the same pawl design as hadley but doesn't seem anywhere near as noisey as two 72pt hadleys i've used.
i've had 3 proII wheels on my trailbikes and love the workmanlike service they give but they don't quiet down, ever.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,049
24,576
media blackout
goodgrief said:
atomlab pimplite hubs are very quiet, it has the same pawl design as hadley but doesn't seem anywhere near as noisey as two 72pt hadleys i've used.
i've had 3 proII wheels on my trailbikes and love the workmanlike service they give but they don't quiet down, ever.
Click to expand...
Freeridin' said:
I wouldn't call a DT hub quite compared to a Shimano, but they are quieter and less annoying than Hope, King, and Hadley.

The DH bike currently has a Hadley and the DJ and trail bikes have DT. I love DT because of how easy they are to work on.

Here's a little spam as well...http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/965855/
Click to expand...
generally, if hadleys are really loud than it means they probably need to be cleaned
 
ldw222

ldw222

Monkey
Jun 16, 2009
170
0
Rochester, NY
i have a dimension 150 x 12 and you can't hear it at all. it's so smooth. i know dimension might not be the highest quality name out there but this thing has held up. i've had it for at least 7 years and raced steadily on it for the last three with zero problems...
 
descente

descente

Monkey
Jul 30, 2010
430
0
Sandy Eggo
i had an old azonic hub, as well as a commencal branded one. when i greased the freehub body with phil wood they go silent for a month or so. like crazy silent.
 
C

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
Another vote for Shamano saint hubs. I had only ever used hope pro 2 hubs and liked them but once got a bike with a saint rear hub I can't stand to hear my rear hub while riding. I like hearing how my bike interacts with the trail.

I have I9's now and the ones I have are almost silent while riding
 
Udi

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
dump said:
I got a hope proII ss wheelset recently. Mounted it up for the first time today and couldn't hear myself think rolling around the house. This thing is LOUD - will give it some time, but I'm not sure this is going to work.
Any recommendations on a quieter hub?
Are the regular proII this loud?
Click to expand...
Yes they're loud, no they won't get quieter, and yes they are all like this.

I do have a solution though. This might be a little unorthodox, but basically those hubs have a lot more spring tension on the pawls than they actually require - which means they click louder and have more drag than they ideally should.

What I've done (and have been doing for a long time) is to remove two of the pawls / springs, and slightly weaken / bend back the remaining two springs. I know this sounds like a brutal mod, but I've run them like this for a long time and had no dramas. The load bearing itself is done by the pawl, and it is held in place (without the spring) once loaded - the only purpose of the spring is to make sure the pawl is pushed into each gap initially.

One thing to remember is that if your SS is the 48pt engagement one, 2 of the pawls are offset - thus there are only 2 pawls in use at once anyway, but this also means that if you remove two, you'll be back to the 24pt engagement of the normal Pro II's. If you want to keep the engagement (I would), I'd just try bending/weakening the springs a little and using plenty of grease. Shimano Dura-Ace grease works well, but anything will do as long as it's not too thick.

With a little experimentation with pawls, springs, and grease - you'll have a silent Pro II, all of mine have been, and it means they have a little less drag too. Don't overdo it though, the pawl should still spring up enough to engage completely into its track - you can test this easily by removing the freehub body seal (plastic thing that clips into main hub body) and slowly sliding on the freehub body while watching the pawls in relation to the track.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,234
4,494
manhattanprjkt83 said:
so dump you are still running the hayes branded dt? That is incredible.
Click to expand...
Yup, it's working well too, but the cassette body has gotten really chewed up. I wonder if I'll be able to get the current cassette that's on there off.
 
Raingauge

Raingauge

Monkey
Apr 3, 2008
692
0
Canadia
-BB- said:
Really? I have a hadley and it has a distinct "buzz" to it.

I recently put on an old XT hub (circa maybe 2004) and it is almost DEAD silent.
Click to expand...
His is really quiet. You can't hear it while riding down the trail.

The person in front of me can hear my Hope hub when if I'm riding their ass.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom