I really don’t get it. Is this a bit like how motorcyclists like noisy exhausts though?
I’ve been trawling through thread after thread trying to work out the pros and cons of different hubs, and the thing that most people tend to focus on is how noisy (or not) a free hub is - to the extent that some people are grumbling because they feel their hubs are too quiet.
Personally I like my bikes silent and my hub pickup snappy …which is possible. Does anyone remember Shimano’s LX silent clutch hub? Back in my trials days that was the hub to have due to its near-instant pickup, though they had a tendency to explode and leave your face all over your stem.
Am I missing something?
So walkers hear you on the tracks.
Cos those daft timber bells would do my nut in.
I'd happily run a silent hub. What are my options?
I imagine it can mask a variety of other annoying noises from a badly tuned bike.
Yep I do t get it either, I’ve had silent hubs in the past and now appears impossible to get quiet ones
Love my Onyx Vesper on the hardtail. Pick up is too quick for the bouncy bike though.
Love my timber bells.
I like the noise it makes, pedestrians can hear it (in addition to the bell) and it masks the squeaking noise from my back wheel that I haven't fixed yet.
To give braindead pheasants a hope of heading away from their and my danger, instead of darting out of the hedge just ahead of me while I'm freewheeling at 20-40mph.
I cannot be the only one thinking this.
Simply because walkers & horse riders know I'm there - far more effective than a bell.
Can I hear the hub?
YES: ok, must be not pedalling, probably going downhill
NO: ok, must be pedalling, probably going uphill
YES A BIT BUT I THOUGHT I WAS PEDALLING: probably time to change gear
Works for me but YMMV I suppose.
Ah, it starts to make sense now.
See, I don’t have the same issue as others on here when it comes to walkers. Near constant screams of terror as I negotiate features seem to clear the way most of the time, and I have a timber bell for when that doesn’t work.
Because they are mentally unhinged.
I don’t. I’m happy enough with a Hope Pro 2 on the MTB, because that’s kind of noisy anyway with a bit of chain rattle, buzz from nobbly tyres and squishes and slurps from suspension. Most of my riding is more like sightseeing by bike, and silence adds hugely to that. Sounds of the river, birds, the stuff you went out to see and hear. A bell works fine to alert people I’m approaching, but more often than not there’s room enough to go round and I’ll just waft by.
I almost caused a jogger to jump into the river a few days ago, there was plenty of room to pass but he wasn't expecting me. My bike is well silent.
Because some people like the sound of it.
The same way some mentally unhinged people like grabby brakes that leak and need replacing frequently.
Or levers that randomly pull to the bars.
Etc
Because they sound good.
I assume joggers and lone walkers all have earbuds in these days, so wouldn’t hear you on a tandem with two Hopes out back and five playing cards buzzing the spokes.
I’d happily run a silent hub. What are my options?
Pedal you lazy bastard 😀
It’s a sign of wealth !! Noisier the hub the richer you are 🙂 See/listen to Chris king Hubs etc
Did you never attach a playing card to your forks so it would click on the spokes going past? 'Grown up' version innit.
It is genuinely good for alerting walkers also, a bell feels rude and annoying in a non-urban setting and can be a shock - the hub sound is noticeable but doesn't just appear from nowhere.
the hub sound is noticeable but doesn’t just appear from nowhere
Surely that depends on when you stop pedaling.
I don't mind a bit of noise but I sometimes get a bit embarrassed by my pro 2's if I'm riding some where really quite and I just want to roll for a bit.
I’d happily run a silent hub. What are my options?
Fixie.
My old Claude Butler pub bike has Shimano Altus which is silent.
It’s a sign of wealth !! Noisier the hub the richer you are 🙂 See/listen to Chris king Hubs etc
Have you seen the price of Onyx?
Not had a silent hub since a very old XTR one. If someone made one that was robust and affordable I’d choose it.
I love a silent hub
It gives me an idea of how fast I'm going when my eyes are shut.
They're great for letting my pal know I'm not trying when riding behind him on the trails.
I also like how they seem to annoy others, I don't really hear them anymore, must tuned them out.
Also let's you know that all the pawls are working and you're not about bash your nuts on the stem.
They (used to) let others know you had a more expensive hub.
Most common hubs on my bikes are Deore and they're pretty quiet, this is because I'm poor/ tight.
Well serviced Chris King hubs aren’t particularly loud, but the sound is very different to normal hubs. Like a mechanical angry bee if you backpedal. But certainly not as loud as a Pro2 or an I9
I love a noisy hub, and a silent too, duplicitous bastard.
Shimano altus +1
I think there's a bit of a scale from silent, to obnoxiously loud buzzing. Personally I like them to be towards the bottom third of the scale, not silent but not like a tin can full of angry hornets. A well used Shimano generally makes about the right noise for me...
I agree it helps those 'in the know' identify your income bracket simply by how audible you are when freewheeling.
It's quite funny riding with my youngest, my current Deore rear hub is about half the volume of the almost 20 years old, spares bin Bulb fitted to her bike. She likes the "clickyness" but then she is under ten and also enjoys competing with her Dad to see who can ping their bell the loudest...
My new hub, Stans is a bit on the noisy side for me... but not a lot i can do about it. I don't necessarily 'want' it.... but it's what i have.
The purpose of noisy hubs is to alert the slow ****s ahead of me that someone important is being held up by them and they need to GET OUT OF MY WAY! *
*may not be actually factually correct.
As above BITD noisy hubs = Chris King = Bling = Envy.
I ride in the Cairngorms, there are lots of randoms about. A Pro4 hub is a relatively discreet way of alerting them that a bike is coming up behind them. Plus, I’m fine with that level of noise, you on,y hear it when you’re not pedalling, there’s a solution to that....
I’ve a mate who was pretty rapid on the downs, he used to sit behind you and ping his bell continually all the way until you let him past. Now That Is ****ing annoying... 🤪🤣
Built my son a wheel with used Onyx hub, sneaky silent thing and one definitely needs a bell for bike with those hubs.
I like freehub noise just as a sort of reassurance of a well engineered freehub mechanism!
When the freehub is quiet or intermittent it gives me the fear that something is going to go wrong.
DT 350 seems the best compromise, lovely, precise but relatively quiet clicks
Cause they sound nice I guess
There's been research done on the rattlesnake's rattle (bear with me on this), apparently it will increase the frequency of the rattle to trick humans into thinking it's much nearer than it really is.
With a nice clicky hub, just do a quick backspin or two and the tone of the clicks increases and walkers think you are much nearer than you are.
I'd love an Onyx hub for the fat bike because of the near zero engagement but they are the same cost as a full wheelset.
Not keen on the real noisy ones, but then I'm riding a Hope Pro 4 so I am sounding like a right grumpy old man. I do think when they first started making an appearance it was done as a way of showing off, but now most hubs are making noises, they do make an effective way of alerting other trail users of your presence.
Interesting to listen to the junior section riders talk about them, they are all desperate for the noisiest/loudest rear wheel they can get their hands on - unclear on why but the noisier and the more it sounds like a tin of angry bees and it seems to get their approval!
As above BITD noisy hubs = Chris King = Bling = Envy.
And on road bikes these days you can still often tell how expensive someone's wheels are by the volume and timbre of noise the hubs make.
In N America I like that when you ride by with buzzy hubs the cicadas start up, as if you're some hot female cicada just flying through 😀
Industry Nine Hydra hubs on my Canyon Lux - 690pts of engagement - it's so loud I followed Industry Nine suggestions that said you can lube with pro x grease if you wanna reduce the noise - for me it was just too loud.
Nothing a little dab of light grease or thick oil cant quiten down. I'm in the nice and quiet category too.
It’s a sign of wealth !! Noisier the hub the richer you are 🙂 See/listen to Chris king Hubs etc
Or you ride Scribe / Hunt 😀
The DT350s on my FS and gravel bikes is nearly silent, my DT240 on my road bike is slightly noisy and an awful lot quieter than my mates DT370, the Fulcrum Racing 3 on my CX bike is like the DT350's. I much prefer the sound or lack of from these types of hub.
Weirdly, I kept reading this as "Why do people *want* noisy pubs?" and wondered why it wasn't in the Chat Forum.
Agreed, I thought. At 51 I like a nice quiet pub.
Like my noisy CK and Hope hubs, also like quiet pubs
