noglider 

I really don't have a preference as to whether my ratchet is loud or quiet. But when it's loud, I find it to be a useful pedestrian warning, so I guess I have a weak preference for loud.

rosefarts

I don't shop for hubs based on volume but I like the loud ones.

I have two nearly silent hubs. The spare wheel on my gravel bike, some 135mm cheap thing a friend gave me after buying it used (for a 130mm bike).

The other is the Dura Ace 7400 hub on the Spectrum I just got. It's almost silent

SamSpade1941 

yes that’s certainly a benefit when everyone can hear that audible click .. kinda negates the need for a bell save for the fact it’s very common for people to not pay attention to anything as they keep their heads planted in the smartphone screen

mechanicmatt

I don't understand the want of a click. I have mostly Shimano stuff on road bikes and I hate the click. I'd rather fade into the sounds of the environment and not add to it. Silence or near to it is good for me.

littlevikingca

Hi,

I intended to use a mid-90's Trek 930 for use as my "winter" bike but the one I secured was so nice (lightly used) that I ended-up converting it to my "commuting bike" and, since retirement -my "grocery getter" -I used a modern lower end drive train and derailleurs/shifters (Alivio), Shimano CX cantilevers, (with Shimano road/MTB flat bar brake levers), etc. Kept the original wheels with the Alivio silent hub and it has been in action for the last 3-4 years without issue. I picked-up a spare freewheel body from e-bay "just in case" but I don't foresee the need to ever use it based on my experience to date.

I have used it a few times in the winter (with studded tires) in colder temperatures (0-32 F) and I don't recall any issues under those conditions either.

The conversion


Silent Hub

hokiefyd 

Shimano had silent hubs before the LX ones in the early 2000s: they had an Alivio level FH-R050 hub in the mid-90s. My '97 Trek 750 has one stock, and it looks exactly like the LX hub shown above. I think the only difference is the Alivio has a 7-speed freehub and the LX has an 8-speed freehub.


2017-05-19_05-14-33 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

I rather like it. It does have a softer engagement feel than a pawl'd hub (no "clunk" when quickly engaged).

Reynolds 531 

Thanks for the info. This helps my ebay search.!!!!

littlevikingca

Correction : My hub is the Alivio also -same Shimano number.

riva

Ebay nexave arrived, came in a shimano box. Looks beat up but shelf wear, no spoke marks. Wow its heavy. Doesn't matter much for what its going on, but WOW. Just as much backlash and friction as a pawl setup, feels like. But no clicky clicky.

Viking.. looks like the same as the alivio. At least externally. I did find another post here on BF saying they had years and years on a silent shimano without issues. The guys who exploded them seemed to be locost trials guys, like verk said putting high loads on them.

littlevikingca

Yes -it's an Alivio -I checked it based on the photos.

Cheers!

riva

Hokie, I have read the same comment about the "softer hit" on mtb forums talking about the sprag based onyx stuff. Some of them said it feels like it aids traction on dirt coming back in on the power after coasting.

dddd

That's what I recall hearing the Shimano rep tell us at the Interbike seminar where these hubs were introduced to me. There is added torsional twist flex built into these freehubs, and this was touted as a benefit. I would be interested in trying one out myself.

I built one up into a wheel for my brother, and I recall that the hub seemed quite heavy.

Some time later, while out riding off road, I noticed that when he crossed a rough stretch in the trail, that the chain would tend to go extremely slack for a moment when he coasted, seems that the mechanism was somehow engaging the cassette to the hub body in response to the bumpy surface.

I also heard of these being rather fragile when used for serious off-roading, and they didn't last long on the market.

I always felt that Shimano's standard cassette hubs were some of the quietest around, but these are quieter for sure.

riva

Yes, not sure how true it is but one user posted in a mtb forum said it felt like traction control.. iirc the trials guys are always exploding hubs, its not just the silent shimano.

hokiefyd 

That could be true (traction). I think the real benefit of this design for mountain bikers, despite a number of drawbacks (like ultimate strength), is the absolute instant engagement of the hub with input torque. The ramps and balls and whatever it uses inside really work -- you can't turn the hub really slowly by hand to "sneak up" on it and incite forward free movement...it locks up tight. So instead of the 15, 20, 25 degrees of pedal movement before engagement...it's pretty much instant engagement, wherever you are.

I think the "softer hit" is the very slight damping effect from the hub driving the balls up the ramps and firmly into their pockets or outer shell or whatever it does to engage the clutch. Unlike a pawl-and-ratchet where you have a hard "clunk" engagement, these balls running up the ramps seems to provide that bit of damping.

One of the drawbacks is the freehubs are not interchangeable with standard freehub designs. Mine has a 7-speed body on it and I'm stuck with that. I didn't know that some of these came with 8-speed freehubs, and I suppose that an 8-speed R050 body could possibly be swapped to a 7-speed R050 body, but that'd be a long shot. In any event, if a freehub body on these was damaged or failed, I don't think the hub could really be saved (especially now that parts are long obsolete).

Darth Lefty 

Great! Now who has a Nexave Di2 bike?

Miele Man

When I ride the trails I like to be able to take images of animals. Unfortunately my 2001 Campagnolo 9-speed Veloce Freehub makes so much noise when coasting that any animals are long gone by the time I can get close enough to take an image. The Campagnolo Veloce hub is LOUD compared o all my other hubs.

Cheers

HTupolev

I don't see the problem. I take loads of photos of animals.

Miele Man

Neat.

The problem I have with the Veloce 9-speed freehub is that it's so noisy the deer and other mammalian critters are spooked by it before I can get within range to take a halfway decent image. I don't have that problem with my Shimano freehubs or freewheels or my Suntour freewheels.

Cheers

riva

Do slugs have ears?

I think for downhill or tandems these hubs would be great. My thinking... tandems are already heavy, plus you have somebody to try and chat with. And DH.. the soft hit for dirt, you're often not pedalling, plus weight there is probably not as big an issue as road stuff. Might be good for commuting too.. knocking a few db off your bike could allow you to hear your surroundings that much better..

Some of the comments I read about soft hit were not necessarily related to traction but rather feel. Some folks said it just felt "right" to have the cushion of the engagement. I think its one of those things were you just have to try it to see if you like it. Like dragon fruit. If you never had one, what do you do. You try it.. maybe it is for you, maybe its not. Or like Robbie said.. just never stop pedaling!

Reynolds 531 

This is EXACTLY why I am paying the extra 100 grams for the Onyx hub.

I noticed that my other bike, with a DT Swiss all freshly lubed up, I would see more deer, turkeys, foxes, compared to when it needed relubing.

hokiefyd 

My '70 Peugeot Mixte is the quietest bike I have. It has a conventional pawl'd freehub, but the pawls are so quiet, it might as well be a silent roller clutch hub. And its older Bontrager Select Invert tires are the quietest tires I've ever had on a bike (though they don't necessarily look like they'd be quiet). Compared to some of my other bikes, which go humming and clicking down the road with various normal bike noises, this Peugeot is notably quiet. And I like that. When I ride it, it's like the bike just disappears, and it's just me and nature, with no machine between us. Maybe it's like taking a walk, but covering much more distance in the time spent.

I have a number of different types of bikes, from that '70 mixte (my oldest) to a pair of 2018 model bikes with aluminum frames and hydraulic disc brakes (my newest). I'm not converting all of my bikes to silent hubs or fanatically searching for the quietest tires, but there is something refreshing and fun about hopping on a bike that is almost like it's not even there.

Given the choice, I'd rather have no noise from the hub. The only advantage (to me) of a hub that makes noise is it alerts pedestrians to my presence. But my bell also does that, and I'd rather selectively ring a bell for the few times I interact with pedestrians than having a hub buzzing away every time I coast.