WillyWonkaBike

Greetings,

My freehub makes some strange noise that I have never heard before. I am attaching a link to a youtube video in which I have recorded the noise, but I will also explain it down below.

Theory: The freehub has pawls. These have basically two positions: fully extended and compressed. When they fully extend, then the characteristic noise of the freehub is produced, click.

My freehub makes the noise between clicks, that is, when the pawls are compressed and the freehub body is rotating. It is a metallic noise, like if a spring is missing some grease. Better watch the video. The freehub is rather new - 2 years old and not excessive riding. My main concern is that because of the weather conditions some water could have leaked inside, or maybe even degreaser. I think the noise is clearly distinguishable by the end of the video. As said, the pawls are almost new and should be sealed. Besides I have not felt any power loss, indicating they should be in a good condition. Do you have any idea what might be happening? If you have any question/comment/feedback just let me know.

I do not know the brand of the freehub, but in case it might help, the wheels are DTSwiss and cassette is Shimano 105.

Obviously, I could pop the cassette off, pull the free hub and inspect it. But before getting my hands on it, I would prefer to do some diagnosis. So, is it a normal noise? What are your experiences/recommendations?

Video (It is my first post, so I cannot post full links to external websites. Just remove the white space between youtube and the .com): youtube .com/shorts/f7LdLq1Zgz8?feature=share

Thank you!

P.S.: I recommend watching the video with headphones and increase the volume

smd4

I wasn't able to hear the Youtube video for some reason. However, I was SHOCKED to see so many videos on how to make your freewheel/freehub LOUDER!!

WillyWonkaBike

Thank you you checking the video. I do not why you could to hear it. I have made it public now. Could you please try a second time? And please turn up the volume, the video sound is quite low.
The louder the freehub, the faster the bike is.

smd4

I heard it on my phone. I hear what you're saying, but hard for me to say if that's natural or not. It does sound a little gritty.

Not sure why a louder freehub is faster. Unless the sound waves are helping to propel you forward.

Iride01 

Here is your video so others can see....


Click the "watch on youtube" and you'll see it on youtube.com until the OP resolves the sharing issues.

Kudos for knowing how to obfuscate the URL and get by the SPAM filters. Surprisingly too few make the effort and gripe about not being able to post pics, links or vids.

Though personally, I wouldn't worry one bit about it until it started giving you actual issues. Though I can't quite hear very well what you might be hearing. It's likely just a piece or two of trash or grit in the bearings or other moving parts with close fit. Very unlikely to be a big issue.

Disassemble and clean everything if it make you feel better about it.

WillyWonkaBike

Thank you smd4 for taking a second look to the video.

Thank you Iride01 for posting the video, it will definitely make the post more enjoyable. I agree with you in that it might not be a big issue. Nevertheless, it may cause problems in the future. Therefore I will dissemble it and clean it. Hopefully the gritty sound will eventually disappear. Besides, it will also make me feel better

Although it will take me a couple of weeks to service the freehub, I will post the final outcome.

Thank you both for making a good first experience in this forum!

WillyWonkaBike

Hi all,

Short update. I finally managed to open the freehub. I eventually brought to a bike shop because I could not open it by myself. Unfortunately the freehub body is almost done. I did not service it in two years, so due to the weather conditions and other stuff, there was no grease and the pawls were nearly done.
The reason why I did not service the freehub is because I read in several places in the internet that it is sealed and hence no maintenance is required. This is wrong!

Thank you all for your replies!

Cheers

smd4

Well, sorry for the demise of your freehub, but I'm glad that you were able to figure it out!

Troul 

two years of use, it did its job. If it were 2 weeks........