I recently bought some aluminum Scribe wheels for my winter bike. They have a fancy star ratchet freehub mechanism.
They're ok apart from the noise of the freehub. I have had plenty of noisy freehubs before, such as Hope, Zipp, and DT with a 36t ratchet thing. I quite like a slightly noisy buzz, but these are way beyond that.
These are utterly obnoxious. I showed MrsF in the garage and we had to yell to each other to be heard. On a club ride, most people complained, or laughed, at how awful they sounded.
Scribe said to grease the freehub mechanism. I did so. they were then quiet, but there's so much drag that i can't coast; the chain gets dragged along, a pseudo-fixie.
they then said to remove the grease from the outside surfaces of the ratchet ring, i.e. where the spring is, and grease only the faces of the ratchet itself, i.e. the two vertical teethed rings. There is now less drag, but the noise is as bad as ever.
So it seems the design only works when the outside (cassette or spring-side) of the ratchet is bone dry, and when bone dry it makes this appalling sound.
I have read a forum (people trying to quieten DT ratchet freehubs) all debating which grease to use. Is that really likely to make a difference? I note that Scribe sell their "own" "ratchet grease" for £15. Is that really likely to make much difference over the Finish Line Teflon grease I've used?
Thanks
GF
I can't help, other than to sympathise. When I ride with a mate who has them, I find the noise really obnoxious.
Much more of a penetrating sound than Chris King/Hope/i9/etc
It was enough to push me in the direction of Mason instead of Scribe.
sadly i had no advance warning that this would be the case. i had read that they would be loud, but I expected hope-loud, not hammer-drill-into-concrete loud.
I've put a bit more grease in. they are a tiny bit quieter, still super-loud, not dragging too much. Maybe it's just a matter of finely tuning the amount of grease.
I love the mechanism on these hubs, it’s so easy to service and will be simple to replace if it ever needs that. It is a bit noisy though and I have added a little bit of grease that did the trick, it shouldn’t cause any drag unless you have added way too much, a light smear on the surface of each ratchet should do it. I used shimano dura ace grease and from what I see it looks very similar to the grease Scribe supply.
My silt hubs are no worse than my hopes.
But my scribe hubs are as you say utterly obnoxious - especially with the slightest hint of back pedal coasting at 30mph.
I got to the point that I couldnt freewheel through my local village at any time before 9am for fear of waking the whole place. After 9 i just get tuts and scowls.
Solution - dont stop pedalling! But more seriously, dont stop pedalling. Just gently pedal forwards instead of a complete coast. Not perfect but quietens a bit. Takes it down to hope levels.
Try the specific freehub grease. Shimano do some and it's a really thin sort of runny jelly. Should provide a quieter operation.
Someone did mention another brand on here a while ago. Dumonde Pro X which was well regarded.
Just get to the front and keep pedalling. It's only a problem if you stop pedalling.
Most of my mtb friends take the grease out of their hubs and take pride in how loud their hubs buzz.
Maybe you just need to embrace it? Use it as a horn when approaching pedestrians 🤣
gingerflash
Full MemberI have read a forum (people trying to quieten DT ratchet freehubs) all debating which grease to use. Is that really likely to make a difference?
It does make a massive difference to DT240s. Whether it's the same for these I don't know but it's definitely worth a try.
Thanks all.
I've put a tiny bit more grease in and reduced the noise a tiny bit but it's still super-loud.
It seems that perhaps maybe my grease is too thick.
It the ratchet-specific grease is thinner, perhaps i can use more, get more noise-dampening effect, without increasing drag too much.
I'll give it a go.
Edit - ignore
Scribe do a 54t upgrade kit that not only makes for a faster engagement, it also quietens down the freehub apparently. £70 though 😬
I’ve used DT grease in mine, works well. Goes from obnoxious clack to purr or thrum.
Doesn’t last long (300-500km) but is very quick to do.