The best grease to quieten a noisy freehub

eThirteen hubs are very noisy. What’s your favourite freehub grease to quieten things down without affecting engagement?

Shimano freehub grease.

I’ve recently bought some Reynolds wheels that use I9 Hydra hubs.

Initially I thought the sound was great but it soon annoyed the bejesus out of me at anything more than 5mph.

The grease as below works so well I’d swear it’s a different hub. It’s almost too quiet now and I’m on the verge of taking a bit out.

It’s very thin and stupidly expensive but so little is required that the tub will last ages – probably longer than the wheels

Ohh that sounds like what I’m after! Is it this stuff? https://www.dumondetech.com/portfolio/pro-x-freehub-grease/

It is indeed.

I paid £13 delivered I seem to remember.
Will dig out where from if needs be.

I found some for nearer £20 delivered which is crazy for a little pot of grease but I’m actually buying blissful quiet and sanity so I reckon it’s worth it. Thanks for the tip off.

This one I assume? they appear to be the distributor / registered international dealer for the UK.

https://marshguard.com/product-category/dumonde-tech/

Just ordered. Thanks for the tip.

That’s what I ordered but for £5 more because I’m less good at research apparently.

@chaos yep that’s where I got mine. Delivery in a couple of days.

Tbh for the annoyance the noise brings, I’m sure appltn is happy to pay more.

It’s a strange one because most things that are slightly annoying can be tolerated but, the hub that suddenly grates your teeth is something where the lowest cost doesn’t matter at the time. I just want it to stop. 😂😂

Yep, agreed. Enjoying your ride – priceless.

Googling / researching stuff keeps me in a job (IT) so I’m practicing everyday!

You’re not wrong, as soon as the guy put the hydra back together I was smashing the buy button on the first shop I could find.

I stripped my freehub today and re-lubed it with the pro-x grease. I was a bit concerned because the grease I cleaned out was thicker than the new stuff but sure enough it’s gone back together nice and quiet.

Now there’s a gentle tick rather than a swarm of wasps and I can already feel my jaw unclenching and my shoulders loosening.

Great news.

I received mine the day after ordering only to realise that the hubs needed proper 17mm narrow cone spanners.  No bodging with cheapy adjustables!  Back to google and hoping that Hunt do equally quick delivery.

This made me go and regrease my DT Swiss 350. I’d forgotten what it was actually supposed to sound like. Good reminder!

bookedmarked to quieten down my new rear hub… i dont suppose it will also dull the “Klang!” that i get from the cassette/freehub when its engaged by the chain

Lots of folks buying the same product only to use a small amount of it. We should set up some kind of central repository of bike tools and equipment, maybe with a skilled mechanic to administer them. We could have lots of them around the country so that there was always one local and instead of everyone buying each thing we could just pay for the mechanic’s time to perform the task.

I know it’s a stupid idea really, just daydreaming.

——————-

Side note: I went for a ride and the quiet as you roll down the trail at top speed was quite something, it felt like I had more time to think about what I was trying to do rather than having my head full of freehub noise. A+ would recommend.

Interesting. Wonder which other hubs this would work on

Haven’t used this product but Slick Honey is my normal choice. Quite thin, very very slippy. Also a good suspension grease.

Interesting. Wonder which other hubs this would work on

I ordered a tub last night to try on my Hopes, I’ll report back. I don’t like folk hearing me when I’m not trying/pedalling.

I’d be interested to hear the result. Is the plan to regrease with normal stuff first? Curious to know how freshly serviced hubs compare rather than a hub that needs a service anyway.

Unfortunately not – they’ll be on used hubs although not really sure if they’re in dire need of a service or not. It’ll have to join the queue on jobs to sort out on the bikes as I’ve a build to start/finish first!

Can anyone explain/speculate why this thin magic Pro-X grease is (or isn’t) quieter than Shimano Freehub or XHP 222 ?

Just had a go on my Hunts (Aero Light). Wow – what a difference!

Firstly cleaned off the factory grease, then just a tiny dab on the teeth of the pawls and inside the drive ring.  That muffled the Hunt buzz to a lower duller pitch but still quite noticeable.

Second time, I added a little blob more on the ‘axle’ of the pawl where it flicks back against the hub itself and also a bit more generous inside the drive ring.  Now a lot quieter and still engaging fine 🙂

I’ll try to post an update when I’ve actually been for a proper ride to see if the effect lasts but fingers crossed!  Even if it doesn’t last 100s of miles, at least I’ve found out that it only takes a couple of minutes to apply it.

Mine got a little louder over the course of a ride but still a nice low tick rather than the loud rasping buzz.

Sounds like miracle stuff.

Just tried it on my Hope Pro 4. Normally use RG2 or Maxima (which looks a lot like XP222).

No noticeable difference noise wise. I’ll reserve judgement on performance until I’ve ridden it.

Mine is definitely louder than it was when I first greased it but still less so than before I reckon. I’m going to slap a bit more in there when I get a chance.