Freewheel noise

[fenners81]

It might be perfectly normal. There is a lot going on in a freehub. Two rows of small bearings, and the ratchet mechanism. Having said that, the bearings are not worked hard, as they only rotate when they are not under any load (when freewheeling). What make is the hub? Is it an expensive bike? I'd expect the bearings to be a bit noisier on cheaper hubs.


Probably not a wise move unless you are out in the middle of nowhere on a world tour, and trying to revitalise a knackered, slipping freehub.

The freehub is probably supposed to have grease rather than oil, so you've just diluted a fairly thick lubricant with a thin runny one, hence the increase in bearing noise.

Oh dear. Should I take in for a regrease?

 

[Smurfy]

Oh dear. Should I take in for a regrease?

Most people never disassemble freehubs. They contain large numbers of relatively small ball bearings, and it would be a bit of a fiddle, to put it mildly.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html#disassembly

What make is the hub? I'd just carry on, and get a new freehub body if any problems develop. But new bodies won't necessarily be available for all hubs. Another alternative might be to try and force some grease inside without disassembling, but you probably need to remove cassette and freehub body to do that. As the bike is new, hopefully forcing grease in won't carry in too much dirt/grit with it.

 

[gbb]

Perhaps not a rubbing sound but my Fulcrums developed a low squeek and it turned out to be the rubber seal on the non drive side of the hub. Just a small squirt of oil onto the rubber seal sorted it instantly.
Probably not your problem fenners but for the sake of a 5 second look....

Ok, so I sprayed some 3in1 into the side of the hub and the noise has got worse! Any ideas?

I did say a small squirt . 3 in one is thin. In my case it was just the rubber seal that appeared to have dried out causing the squeek. A smear of oil simply puts a lubricating film between the two surfaces.
Did you spray liberally, did you use an aerosol 3 in one ?
Does your hub have a rubber seal ? Did you spray it into the hub or onto the seal ?

IIRC, my seal just pops off once the wheel is oit. If yours is the same, id remove the seal, clean it out with some absorbent paper or similar then smear a little oil (proper oil, engine oil or similar)on the seal and refit.
The innards of a freehub are usually protected by the bearings etc anyway so I wouldnt think you've done any damage.

 

[fenners81]

Hopefully not. I did it while the wheel was stil on the bike so hopefully didn't get in!

 

[fenners81]

Most people never disassemble freehubs. They contain large numbers of relatively small ball bearings, and it would be a bit of a fiddle, to put it mildly.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html#disassembly

What make is the hub? I'd just carry on, and get a new freehub body if any problems develop. But new bodies won't necessarily be available for all hubs. Another alternative might be to try and force some grease inside without disassembling, but you probably need to remove cassette and freehub body to do that. As the bike is new, hopefully forcing grease in won't carry in too much dirt/grit with it.

The wheel is a fulcrum racing sport but not sure what the hub is

 

[fenners81]

To

I did say a small squirt . 3 in one is thin. In my case it was just the rubber seal that appeared to have dried out causing the squeek. A smear of oil simply puts a lubricating film between the two surfaces.
Did you spray liberally, did you use an aerosol 3 in one ?
Does your hub have a rubber seal ? Did you spray it into the hub or onto the seal ?

IIRC, my seal just pops off once the wheel is oit. If yours is the same, id remove the seal, clean it out with some absorbent paper or similar then smear a little oil (proper oil, engine oil or similar)on the seal and refit.
The innards of a freehub are usually protected by the bearings etc anyway so I wouldnt think you've done any damage.

be honest, I'm not even sure if I sprayed into the hub or not. I sprayed into the side of the black plastic casing in the photo but didn't take anything apart. It all seems sealed anyway so not sure the oil would get in. I did spray liberally though.

 

[vickster]

Is the wheel true?

 

[gbb]

To

be honest, I'm not even sure if I sprayed into the hub or not. I sprayed into the side of the black plastic casing in the photo but didn't take anything apart. It all seems sealed anyway so not sure the oil would get in. I did spray liberally though.

Assuming you're on the non drive side, the side closest in the photo, that'll not effect the freehub itself...at all, thats on the cassette side of the wheel.

 

[fenners81]

Assuming you're on the non drive side, the side closest in the photo, that'll not effect the freehub itself...at all, thats on the cassette side of the wheel.

I sprayed it onto both sides, what an idiot. Oh well, lesson learned. Fingers crossed it's ok but if not, how much will this set me back?

 

[Psycolist]

Does the sound cause any friction? ie - does it slow you down? If not, don't worry about it.

Sorry but IMHO you should never ignore a noise that's not supposed to be there.

 

[gbb]

Fulcrum Racing Sports have cartridge bearings, not loose bearings, so....
Basically the same as my Racing 5s. Non drive side (IIRC) has a rubber seal , then inside that is a metal disc that should help stop crud getting to the bearings...and the bearings are single sealed cartridges, seal to the outside.
IMO, the chances of thin oil (3 in one, which isnt ideal) getting past the rubber seal AND the metal disc AND through the seal of the bearing itself is very very slight...unless the bearings themselves were already worn and on the way out.
Non drive side is similar but you have the freehub which has sealed bearings AFAIK. so similarly, itd be moderately hard to get even thin oil into the bearings to do any harm...unless again, they were already borked.
The freehub design is different to the 5s, so i can't say what may be happening there.

Take the wheel out and spin it, holding each end of the axle...do you still get a bad noise ?

 

[User6179]

It must be a loud noise if the OP can hear it over the sound a Fulcrum wheel makes free wheeling .

 

[fenners81]

Fulcrum Racing Sports have cartridge bearings, not loose bearings, so....
Basically the same as my Racing 5s. Non drive side (IIRC) has a rubber seal , then inside that is a metal disc that should help stop crud getting to the bearings...and the bearings are single sealed cartridges, seal to the outside.
IMO, the chances of thin oil (3 in one, which isnt ideal) getting past the rubber seal AND the metal disc AND through the seal of the bearing itself is very very slight...unless the bearings themselves were already worn and on the way out.
Non drive side is similar but you have the freehub which has sealed bearings AFAIK. so similarly, itd be moderately hard to get even thin oil into the bearings to do any harm...unless again, they were already borked.
The freehub design is different to the 5s, so i can't say what may be happening there.

Take the wheel out and spin it, holding each end of the axle...do you still get a bad noise ?

Thanks for all the advice. Took to LBS in the end and turns out it was a loose bearing in the hub. They fixed it free of charge as its new. Hopefully as you say my 3in1 faux pas won't come back to haunt me later!