Originally Posted by
sysrq
Might be misophonia or the harsh noise just adds to mental fatigue/anxiety during longish 3-8 hour rides at night/early morning.
If the sound bothers your, either learn to live with it or learn Broadway show tunes and sing them at the top of your lungs while coasting. Quit trying to modify your free hub.
The cup and cone bearings are hard to adjust just right in general. Shimano now makes few wheels with cartridge bearings such as WH-MT601
using 145mm OLD truough axles and disc brakes only as far as I know. Since I happen to have available rim brakes only at the back of the Thorn Audax Mk3R frame then Shimano is still out of the question. Also couldn't find any videos with WH-MT601 hub sound.
There are literally millions of hubs out there that will meet your needs if you want to build a new wheel. Look for something with fewer teeth on the engagement gear. Or look for older used hubs. Or look at another brand. I have several White Industry hubs that are quite, although older ones are a bit quieter than newer ones. Phil Wood hubs are relatively quiet.
And since I have spare bearings for current wheel already stocked up then buying new wheels is not justifiable.
Well if that is the reason, then learn to live with the noise. On the other hand, you don’t need to “stock up” on cartridge bearings. They don’t wear out all that often. I have cartridge bearing hubs with tens of thousands of miles on them and I haven’t had to replace the bearings…ever. I’ve only every had to replace three or 4 cartridge bearings in hubs since I got my first cartridge bearing hub in 1984. One of those replacements was on a hub that I purchased for cheap at a bike swap because the seller didn’t understand that the bearings can be replaced. It’s still going strong.
Originally Posted by
sysrq
Aren't shorter springs stronger? Previously I have just bent them more inwards to be less forceful, but it didn't make any difference in terms of loudness or grease longevity.
Stronger how? Strength of spring depends more on the material and thickness of the rod use for the coil than length.
And either cutting the springs or installing shorter ones is just a bad idea. You would reduce the amount of the pawl that is engaged on the engagement ring so you are just catching the very edge of the teeth. You’ll either end up breaking teeth or not engaging at all. Again, quit trying to modify your hubs. It’s a really bad idea.
Originally Posted by
sysrq
Finding to buy one that checks all of the boxes and trade offs currently seems to be too complicated. Currently the prices have doubled for bike components while selection is reduced.
If it is too complicated, then learn to live with what you have. Ignore it or learn show tunes. Oklahoma is a favorite of mine.