nvr

Hello all, first time posting. I've searched the forums already, but didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I figured I'd just ask. I just bought and mounted a set of Reynolds Alta Race wheels last night. I had no idea that the freehub made such a loud racket while coasting. It's just really loud clicking. I hardly ever coast, but it drove me nuts just riding around the block trying them out last night! Does anyone have any experience with these wheels? Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to quiet things down? Thanks!

TallRider

I don't know about these wheels specifically, but lots of wheels have very loud freehub-rachet sounds. Some people like it, think it sounds "strong" and "techy" and stuff. Other people dislike it. But I don't think there's much you can do to quiet it down, other than sell the wheels and get a different set.
Or perhaps it's possible to replace the freehub body with a different one (again, I don't know about the guts of the specific wheelset you're talking about).

kgatwork

I've got the same wheels and boy are you right about loud! Best solution without taking anything apart would be not to coast .

If you're mechanically inclined you could remove the cassette and take apart the freehub and grease those loud freehub paws, (three of them and lots of grease to insulate them a bit). The downside of greasing them up is the possibility of getting sticky paws, especially during cold weather.

I'd probably live with the loud freehub, it lets people know you're coming.

Good luck,

damocles1

Don't overgrease the pawls. That's the quickest way to hit the ground. If you grease the pawls too much, they will stick and not engage, which means you can pedal forward with zero resistance and throw yourself over the bars...

nvr

Thanks for the replies. After taking them out on their maiden ride, I've discovered that I don't coast nearly as much as I thought I would The clicking really isn't too bad, especially with the wind in your ears. The smoothness of the ride, and easier climbs of the mountains of southern WI are worth the little noise they make. I'm sure I won't even notice it after a few more rides. These are definitely an improvement over the Alex DA22's that came with the bike.

endform

Using oil is a good thing to do to quiet the freehub down. There's campy oil which really made my DA freehub a lot quieter (it already was pretty quiet now it's almost dead silent).

iNewton

Coming and coasting? I assume the sound of my fulcrum will make my group ride mates know when I'm bored and / or it's going too slow.

HillRider

All Campy freehubs are much louder than the nearly silent Shimano hubs I'm used to. When I first got my Chorus wheels I was unplesantly surprised how loud they were. The only saving grace is knowing that Chris King and DT (Hugi) hubs are even louder.