road292

When I pedal normally, rear hub area sounds normal.

But... when I pedal backwards, I hear a squeaking noise from the rear hub/cassette area. Completely repeatable, on and off the bike. Bottom bracket area is not the source of the squeak -- it's definitely from the hub/cassette area.

Bike is ~10 years old with probably 15K miles on it, and these are the original (albeit sealed) hubs. The cassette and rear derailleur jockey wheels I changed last winter, so those are relatively new.

Thoughts?

MoreCarbs

The wheel hub and its bearings won't be rotating if the bike isn't moving, so I'd suspect the noise is originating from your freehub/freewheel or its interface with the wheel hub or cassette.

Maybe take off the back wheel and see if you can recreate the noise by spinning the freehub/freewheel.

alcjphil

How about providing some information about your bike? It is pretty hard to diagnose anything without knowing what you have

dsbrantjr

Bicycles are intended to be pedaled forward. If it does that OK I would advise leaving well enough alone. Never Fix A Running Piece.

KerryIrons

First thought is that you could provide at least a little information, like the brand and model of the wheel. For example, if it is a MAVIC wheel, this is a well-known issue and is fixed by lubing the cheesy plastic bearing interface. This is obviously an issue with the freehub. Presumably you get the noise when you just coast as well?

road292

Sorry -- should have provided some more info. Bike is a 2011 or 2012 Trek 2.3 with Shimano 105 10-speed (5700 series) components. The rear wheel is the original Bontrager <something-or-other> (forgot the exact model), with the original hub, rim, and spokes. As I noted, I did replace the cassette, with a Shimano Ultegra CS-6700 12-30, but I did this in early 2021 and the drivetrain has not made this squeaking noise until just a week or two ago.

road292

Good suggestion, I'll give this a try over the weekend.

road292

Oh, and no, I don't get the noise when I coast. I specifically have to pedal backwards to hear the noise. The chain is running smoothly, not skipping.

Trakhak

If you haven't lubed the chain lately, do so. That might be the source of the squeak.

frogman

Easy.
Don't pedal backwards

alcjphil

Clean and lubricate the pulleys on your rear derailleur