Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - how quiet are your fixies?

i keep reading and hearing how "whisper quiet" everyones fixed bikes are. is there something wrong with mine? i am running a 42 zen messenger ring with a kmc 410 1/8th chain to a 16 tooth dura-ace 1/8th cog. it feels super smooth, and it all looks pretty darn straight - just not that quiet. sounds like my 20" bmx bike. lots of chain spinning noise.

I haven't quite gotten around to purchasing one yet, but I suspect it will likely be a Soma Rush model.

Try a better chain, KMC 410 is ok stuff but the rest of your drive train is way classier than that.

Some drivetrains are just loud, especially when new.

Mine's pretty loud too, despite a perfectly straight chainline and my best attempts to keep the chain clean and lubed. I think it's either the cheap KMC chain or the Surly cog. Or both.

Mine was quiet until I switched from the factory 16T cog to a Surly 19T. Now it sounds like a coffee grinder. Louder the harder I pedal, it seems. Izumi ESH chain.

i was used to riding my beat to hell iro crankset/duraace cog/i don't even know what chain combo on my iro that when i got my bareknuckle all built up with miche crankset and chain to phil cog, i was shocked at the difference. fresh drive train = deathly silent and smooth as butter. love it love it

I think it does have something to do with the Surly cog, mine was loud as hell when I first got it

mine is also a little bit louder than i want it to be. I've been blaming my heavy duty z-chain, but maybe it is the rear cog (or the suntour one piece cranks, ugh)

(or the suntour one piece cranks, ugh)
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

quite quiet

stealthy.

Quiet as a mouse

Quiet as a mouse

I have a no-name mtb chainring on front --42, and a 16 Dura Ace on back--
with a KMC chain. It makes a little noise but I really don't care--
don't fixate on it if you don't have to--or unless it seems to be warning
you of something.

straight chain line
clean chain
some phil or white lightning lube
quiet as a corpse

I have a no-name mtb chainring on front --42, and a 16 Dura Ace on back--
with a KMC chain. It makes a little noise but I really don't care--
don't fixate on it if you don't have to--or unless it seems to be warning
you of something.

Memo to self...

Memo to self...

Doh! I meant this in regard to the OP

silent and greasy

When I built mine, I used regular SRAM 8-9 sp chain because that's what I had on hand. It's always stealthy quiet as long as the tension is right. That was the first thing that really grabbed my attention was the silence of it. So much so that I went to great measures tracking down and then silencing the slight rattling caused by the cable-less brake lever on the right side.

Mark

Chain makes a big diff. I switched from a cheap KMC to a nicer SRAM (P58), and things got quieter.
Still not silent, but not a problem.

i've found that cog makes a bigger difference than chain. my surly cog is noisey, my DA cog is not. not a wide net of experience, but still.

sometimes it has to do with the chain being too tight, or just not lubed up... put a little bit of lube on there and be sure to remove the excess.

Some set ups are just loud, there are a lot of factors, frame, ring, cog, chain, etc

My Steel track bike, with an Izumi ESH chain, Campagnolo chainring, and Campagnolo cog, is quite loud. I've noticed that most bikes in the Velodrome are loud, maybe its the gear combination, or surface of the track amplifying sounds.

My conversion, which once had a jacked chainline, a cheap SRAM pc-1, and 20 year old sakae ringyo chainring, and a surly cog, was dead silent.

My current set up on that bike is a miche ring, eai cog, and a izumi ESH, pretty quiet, but not "silent"

I just replaced my KMC Z/H chain with another Z/H. It went from quiet to loud, but the previous chain started off loud too. I think that's partly just the nature of a new drivetrain; as everything gets worn into each other it'll get quieter.

I just replaced my KMC Z/H chain with another Z/H. It went from quiet to loud, but the previous chain started off loud too. I think that's partly just the nature of a new drivetrain; as everything gets worn into each other it'll get quieter.
One thing about new chains.... The cosmoline used on new chains is not lubricant, it's rust preventative and attracts dirt like a b!tch. New chains should be thoroughly cleaned to remove the cosmoline and then lubed properly with your chain lube of choice. Maybe this is a "duh" statement and not applicable to the noisy drivetrain issues being dealt with here. I just thought it worth mentioning.

Mark

my drivetrain is a little louder than i'd like right now, but i have no money to fix it. i think it's my chain (KMC Z chain) because my cogs and chainring are both quality (sugino 75 lockring, eai/da cogs).

service your bottom bracket. that makes a huge difference.

service your bottom bracket. that makes a huge difference.

Repack your 25 year old headset too...

One thing about new chains.... The cosmoline used on new chains is not lubricant, it's rust preventative and attracts dirt like a b!tch. New chains should be thoroughly cleaned to remove the cosmoline and then lubed properly with your chain lube of choice. Maybe this is a "duh" statement and not applicable to the noisy drivetrain issues being dealt with here. I just thought it worth mentioning.

Mark

Sorry, I have to go with Professor Brown on this issue:


Factory Lube
New chains come pre-lubricated with a grease-type lubricant which has been installed at the factory. This is an excellent lubricant, and has been made to permeate all of the internal interstices in the chain.
This factory lube is superior to any lube that you can apply after the fact.

Some people make the bad mistake of deliberately removing this superior lubricant. Don't do this!

The factory lubricant all by itself is usually good for several hundred miles of service if the bike is not ridden in wet or dusty conditions. It is best not to apply any sort of lube to a new chain until it is clearly needed, because any wet lube you can apply will dilute the factory lube. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#lube

I think my road bike seems to run quieter than any of my fixies.

I think my road bike seems to run quieter than any of my fixies.

Yeah, mine too.

I've noticed that most bikes in the Velodrome are loud, maybe its the gear combination, or surface of the track amplifying sounds.
That's because track riders are too busy tying to tear their opponents to shreds to care about chain noise.

One thing about new chains.... The cosmoline used on new chains is not lubricant, it's rust preventative and attracts dirt like a b!tch. New chains should be thoroughly cleaned to remove the cosmoline and then lubed properly with your chain lube of choice. Maybe this is a "duh" statement and not applicable to the noisy drivetrain issues being dealt with here. I just thought it worth mentioning.

Mark

thats pretty much the opposite of what sheldon brown says, fwiw. I think a lot of good lubes attract dirt

also in my exp its lube more than anything that effects chain noise. i've got a 44t 1/8th sugino ring, surley 1/8th cog and i cant remember what kind of chain but it was like 12 bucks. if its dry it'll make noise, but freshly lubed its quiet as a mouse.

if you have a new chain wait for it to break in a bit, then hit it with some thick chain lube.

oh and about the cosmoline, i wash it off if im going to use white lightning since it does attract lots of dirt. but if you are going to use petroleum oil, its fine to leave on IMO.

but the stuff is a rust preventer first and foremost.

Metal touching metal makes noise.

That's because track riders are too busy tying to tear their opponents to shreds to care about chain noise.

not according to that track coach on here who swears by izumi's top of the line chain for it's superb silence.

just buy the finest track parts (njs) then all will be good...

Mine are both Ninja.

i know that was a joke, but NJS part's are hardly the "finest" track parts. Good, but not the best, these days pretty much only shimano and sugino make njs rings/cogs anyway

Perhaps most of you with noisy chainlines are running the chain under too much tension.
Gerry

i know that was a joke, but NJS part's are hardly the "finest" track parts. Good, but not the best, these days pretty much only shimano and sugino make njs rings/cogs anyway +1

NJS specifications are designed primarily to ensure a uniform
playing field because betting is centered on the races.
As far as I know NJS specs for things you would never want on the
street--free rather than caged bearings in the bb (never mind
sealed cartridges)--and you often see exposed bearings on hub axles--
where you might want cartridges or at least cones for the street.

NJS Is cool for what it is but a lot of it makes little sense for street use.

+1

NJS Is cool for what it is but a lot of it makes little sense for street use.

ssshhh. say it too loudly and the forum might implode.

Perhaps most of you with noisy chainlines are running the chain under too much tension.
Gerry

I would think that too, but I have a nice amount of play. I have a new Rocket Ring on the way from Harris; when it arrives I'm going to change the chain (maybe get a 105 or Ultegra 8/9 speed) and use a DA cog I've been saving.

Sorry, I have to go with Professor Brown on this issue:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#lube

Notice in your Sheldon quote the wet and or dusty conditions part. Yeah, that's what I thought. Hence my saying "it attracts dirt like a b!tch."

Mark

service your bottom bracket. that makes a huge difference.

And make sure your chain isn't grinding down your high-profile lockring while you're using a 13t cog. nudge nudge eh?

not according to that track coach on here who swears by izumi's top of the line chain for it's superb silence.

makes sense. silence = no friction = less wasted energy, more speed.

Notice in your Sheldon quote the wet and or dusty conditions part. Yeah, that's what I thought. Hence my saying "it attracts dirt like a b!tch."

Mark

I agree that factory chain lube sucks, the only time I have ever disagreed or ever will with Sheldon Brown. My Iro/Iro/KMZ is silent and smooth, first 200 miles on new chain was noisy.

Izumi V chain, sugino 75 bb, crank, chainring, phil wood cog, noisy as all hell and when I pick up the bike and spin, I can definitely feel a vibration in the frame. When I take the chain off and spin the cranks, it spins in steps, looks like the bb's shot after 900 someodd miles.

One thing about new chains.... The cosmoline used on new chains is not lubricant, it's rust preventative and attracts dirt like a b!tch. New chains should be thoroughly cleaned to remove the cosmoline and then lubed properly with your chain lube of choice. Maybe this is a "duh" statement and not applicable to the noisy drivetrain issues being dealt with here. I just thought it worth mentioning.

Mark
+1
Get rid of the factory stuff. I wash it in VM&P Naptha, let it dry, then give it a good dose of Boeshields.

brake parts cleaner works great too.

i like to use a good mixture of fertilizer, gasoline and compressed match heads on my chain. Super silent.