[dump]

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.

A bit of an update to this. I called up DT Swiss (USA) and they shipped me a new cassette body for about $50. Hub is still running very smooth, and pretty quiet as things go.

 

[kidwoo]

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.

Hey Udi: I've got the freehub body off an evo 2 right now. The springs are these little plates with a rounded end to mount them. Is that the same system you've messed with? What are you doing just sticking in something like a vise and bending them down?



edit: Okay that's what I did.

I think it's louder now

 

[HAB]

Hey Udi: I've got the freehub body off an evo 2 right now. The springs are these little plates with a rounded end to mount them. Is that the same system you've messed with? What are you doing just sticking in something like a vise and bending them down?



edit: Okay that's what I did.

I think it's louder now

Lulz. What did you do for lube when you reassembled?

 

[Udi]

Whoa kidwoo, I thought you were joking about the vise...

They are just little leaf springs, if you look at how they work, all you need to do is slide them out by hand and ever so slightly bend them (with your fingers or with pliers gently) so that they don't stick out as much. Which way to bend should be obvious by looking at how they sit in the freehub.

They are pretty fragile little things so be careful. It's pretty easy though, you want them soft enough that they are *just* pushing the pawl fully into the track seat, rather than really slamming it in there (which is how they work stock - drag and noise central). If you go too far you'll know because they won't push the pawl up at all.

I take full responsibility if you screw it up... and by that I mean I'll probably just laugh.

Edit - here's a pic. Obviously have to take the spring out to manipulate it.

 

[kidwoo]

Yeah it ain't rocket surgery once you get in there. I stuck the flat part in a vise and just flexed them a little with my fingers. I over did a few of them and had to bend them back.

All four pawls are definitely under less pressure now (you're right though, those things are way too sprung).


It's just not any quieter

I'll probably pull it apart again tomorrow and try a different grease. Like a metric shlt ton of it.

 

[dump]

Yeah it ain't rocket surgery once you get in there. I stuck the flat part in a vise and just flexed them a little with my fingers. I over did a few of them and had to bend them back.

All four pawls are definitely under less pressure now (you're right though, those things are way too sprung).


It's just not any quieter

I'll probably pull it apart again tomorrow and try a different grease. Like a metric shlt ton of it.

Re-read my original post

 

[Udi]

All four pawls are definitely under less pressure now (you're right though, those things are way too sprung). It's just not any quieter

I'm sure you figured this out, but the pawl doesn't need to spring back to "top out" point when installed in the freehub body, only needs to go *just* far enough to fully seat in the track when installed in the hub body. As you slide the freehub on you can see how close you got to that point.

With all pawls set to do that, it should definitely be quieter than stock. I've usually used thicker grease than slick honey (Motorex Bike 2000 at the moment) but be careful obviously.

 

[big dan]

the best part of hopes are the noise!

Agreed, i love loud hubs!