UKH

In the depths of last winter I bought a road-bike (a Specialized Allez) second hand from someone at work.  During the winter of rain I didn't get a chance to take it out more than once, and on that occasion I was somewhat overwhelmed by the need to use clip in shoes and by the difference in riding position from my sturdy beast of a commuting bike.

I finally managed to summon up the gumption to go out on it tonight for my exercise period and noticed that when I freewheel it makes a weird noise I can only describe as 'ratcheting'.

Is this normal?

Yes.

It is exactly what you describe a ratchet mechanism.

https://www.missionbicycle.com/how-do-freewheels-work

Gah, thanks.  Fecking annoying when you are done spinning and want a bit of peace and quiet and to appreciate the view : (

Edited to add - so why don't I hear it on my commuter? 

Some free hubs are noisy and some are quiet, Shimano are quiet but some like Hope make a selling point of a loud distinct sounding click

I think Hope will also sell you a clothes peg* and a playing card to get that proper click-clack sound of your childhood...

* CNC'd from solid billet of aerospace grade 7075, and heat treated to T6, and anodised bright purple, with a variable rate cro-moly steel spring...

And it will break in six months but they will be briliant about fixing it

I clicked this thread thinking it was about something worrying like the Mavic Howl of Death, but it's not. Carry on.

I thought I heard clicking. 

A loud freehub is normally a sign of quality!

I normally strip my hubs and rebuild with a very lite oil to get as much noise as possible, you could always rebuild with grease to dampen the noise... 

Although if it's a open bearing/cone bearing hub dismantling the freehub can be a bit tricky. 

I've noticed that when i give the chain and the cassette a right good clean, it sounds noticeable more noisy when i freewheel.  The noise gradually gets quieter over the next month until i reclean it ( i clean them every 100 miles or so).

I put the change in noise down to the amount of dirt/oil on the cassette.

Different designs also affect noise.  Those which are stiffer and have less damping will tend to 'ring' louder each time the ratchet clicks over.

So your variation is probably a combination of design and grime.

I appear to have inadvertently entered a parallel universe.  What on earth is the Mavic Howl of Death, who are Hope?  Why is a noisy freehub a sign of quality?  Why would I even consider dismantling my freehub?  Feels like the first time I ever opened UKC back in oooh, 2006.

Is it possible to just quietly close the door and slip back out again?  Or am I now committed to this path?

Somebody tell him about 'the rules'. 

😬

Never mind that. Who's gonna do the hazing?

I used to find my new free hub annoyingly loud when it was first fitted, but it's more or less negated the need for a bell. On my local ride I cycle carefully along a stretch of tarmac towpath (bikes permitted with care) to avoid a busy stretch of main road. Folk hear me coming now and call their dogs and children/elderly relatives in. I always slow down (hence the freewheeling) and say thanks. Before I'd always have to ask politely for folk to move when coming up behind them. I'm a convert, I must say! 

As for Mavic Howl and Hope... No idea. except possibly "Abandon Hope all Ye who enter here..." 🤪

For road bikes campagnolo freehubs make this lovely sound as well. Hope and mavic are parts manufacturors, hope mainly MTB and mavic mainly road, or used to be.

And keep it quiet about fixies! I thought I was going to die the first time I went on a sizeable downhill. 

And costing 135 pounds. And it doesn't even included the playing card.

I've been learning all about free hubs over the weekend.

I managed snap the mech hanger and to put the back mech through my back wheel of my gravel bike two weeks ago. I then did much early lockdown soul searching about the ethics of ordering spare bike parts during a pandemic. I eventually came to the conclusions that the bike shops have been told they are essential services and the delivery vans are out and about even if i don't buy anything so tracked down the correct replacement hanger and order a new mech. But on fitting the new parts I realised my free hub was sticking and that is what might have led to my rear mech's sad demise. So wheel back off, watch a load of youtube vids on servicing free hubs, but still can't work out how mine comes off. Various FB bike group posts later and under the watchful eye (but still 2 mtrs away over the garden fence) of my next door neighbour (ex pro-rider and keen bike mechanic - super lucky eh? ) I hammer out the axle to find the freehub is a sealed unit that seems to release with some weird special tool that neither Tom next door or none of the online experts had seen before! 

I've been fixing my own bikes for well over 20 years but there's always something new to learn, and tools to buy it seems! In the end I swallowed my pride, avoided thinking of the credit card bill, and bought a new wheelset. They cost about a third of the price of the whole bike and seem ridiculously expensive to me - but I'm assured "that's really cheap for good wheels" by people with more knowledge?/more money?/less sense? than me!

Lolz, etc.

Oh yeah, and different freehubs make different amounts of noise. Not sure why really. It's just a "bike thing". Mumble something about the pawls and tooth engagement angle, stroke your beard and go back to sipping your IPA, and everyone will presume you know what you're talking about.

There's even one company (Project 321) that offer the choice of loud or quiet pawls depending on your aural preference... 

as a fellow freewheeler, the unduly loud clicking of some cassettes would irritate me.

some crazy people seem to like to make them click louder to create the illusion of quality:

youtube.com/watch?v=-Yv6mgMToaI&

The Mavic Howl of Death happens when people don't maintain their Mavic freehubs properly. Mavic have a unique engineering philosophy so their wheels are designed in a simple and clever way. If you like that, they are fantastic - I recently re-rimmed my Ksyrium rear wheel in defiance of Mavic's policy of destroying all spares five years after they discontinue a wheel and I was absolutely delighted with the ease and precision of the spoke and nipple system.

The freehub is a simple shell, which rotates on a plain boss that's part of the hub. There is a tiny bearing at the outer end to give stability but the main stress is carried by a plain bush arrangement, with tiny spirals machined in it to distribute oil. You have to keep it clean and well oiled with 3-in-1 oil, which is exactly the right weight. If you don't it dries up, wears, and the freehub begins to oscillate on the boss with a loud dry howling noise. Regular stripping and servicing (easy) prevents this so Mavic wheels are not for everybody.

I was under the impression that (sound) energy that doesn't go into making the vehicle move is an inefficiency, so how can a loud freewheel be a sign of quality. In a sport that celebrates marginal gains I would have thought the quietest freewheel would be the most efficient/quality/expensive.

Chris King said he did some research into this and basically any design he could come up with that was inherently silent had a higher resistance than the noisy ones. I take his word as fairly definitive on this particular subject.

The sound is only made when coasting, if you pedal and the freehub engages there is no sound either way. The noisy ones have pawls engaing in a ratchet, the silent ones cam on the inside of a smooth shell, which can potentially slip a bit, reducing efficiency. I prefer the "noisy" type, as they are usually more robust and more easily fixed when broken.

Also, Campagnolo only for road bikes....

CB

And the fzzzzzzz of a Chris King hub is a delight that beats the tac-tac-tac of something else any day. It just sounds fast, apart from actually being fast.

I myself am an industry nine aficionado. Nothing beats the virtually instant engagement and they don't hum or click they howl.

What's that weird noise... Like a percussive clicking but also a strumming guitar and wailing harmonica.

Oh... it's just the freewheeling Bobling Dylan... "cos the Gears they are a changin..'"

Sorry everyone. Been indoors too long... I'll get me coat 

Took it out again today, and when pumping the tyres (who knew 100+psi was a thing?!) noticed my wheels are made by....MAVIC!  Ahhhhh! Does this mean I am a potential victim of the howl of death or is it a different component I need to worry about?

Now I know it is a cool thing though I rejoiced in my clicky coasting noise : )

rims are mavic but is the hub mavic?

Quite common for hubs to be different manufacturers to the rims. I’ve 4 sets of wheels, 3 are mavic rims and the other HPlus Son rims. The mavics are all 105 shins no hubs and the Sons are novatec. Do mavic make hubs even? 

Chris King hubs are unrivalled they really are the best - stunning design, easy to service, last forever and have immediate pick-up unlike standard pawl based hubs. 
 

The Chris King R45 road hubs are an engineering masterpiece 

Yes Mavic make their own hubs but it is possible to have a Mavic rim built up with non-Mavic hubs and spokes, especially older wheels.