Why are modern BMX freehubs so freakin loud?

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bunnyman666

bunnyman666

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They are loud. The questions on Amazon consist of “is this wheel loud?” when it comes to BMX rear wheels. The guy who sold me some hubs said “and this rear hub is super loud!”

I used to accept the clicking of the ratchet pawls, but did not seek for them to be loud. The loud pawls are kind of annoying. Is this just a sign that I am old and unhip?
 
It's something that bothers my OCD. I like my machines to run quietly and smoothly, to my brain, that equals running right. If I had one of those hubs, I'd always be checking. Ask my wife, I spent days greasing and tightening and adjusting stuff on Duck Norris to eliminate an annoying creak to no avail, eventually realized it was the seat springs complaining about ol lardd butt :rolleyes:
 

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I'd never even heard of the Onyx hub before, but a sprag clutch, rather than a noisy ratchet, is the way to go.
 
My MTB has Hope Pro II Hubs on it (Made in England) and the ratchet is loud, nice and snappy. Can be heard coming down the trail.

Honestly Hope makes one of THE best hubs out there for modern bicycles..they're also all convertible, so new standard? Just swap the axle to match your new bike. if I had to recommend a modern hub, It'd be Hope.

Other loud MTB hubs include Chris King, i9 and Hadley Hubs. Though those are extremely expensive, compared to Hope.

RustySprockets said:
I'd never even heard of the Onyx hub before, but a sprag clutch, rather than a noisy ratchet, is the way to go.
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Onyx Hubs are apparently pretty good for the money.
 
bunnyman666 said:
The loud pawls are kind of annoying. Is this just a sign that I am old and unhip?
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Yes. And me also. I just ride around on country roads, and I like quiet.
See how close you can roll up to deer quiet. I like RJ the bike guy, but washing out a nice factory lube on a new part is cray cray to me. :confused:

Maybe the noise is preferred to repel wildlife (bears). Some folks hang bells on their horses for that reason...
 
Dr. Tankenstein said:
My new SA 3 speed is quite loud.....which actually works for this bike.
Pardon the other sounds, there is some ‘temp’ things out of sight creating some extra noise




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Hub sound effects are welcome for certain bikes, and warning pedestrians. I had a broken coaster hub shell that made a wicked motor noise.
 
hamppea said:
Hub sound effects are welcome for certain bikes, and warning pedestrians. I had a broken coaster hub shell that made a wicked motor noise.
Click to expand...

The ‘motor sound’ will fit my build..when I’m ready to share it... (don’t hold your breath, waiting on some fabrication to be completed by someone else)....[emoji849][emoji2957]


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