TimArchy

I've been riding fixed for a year or so and I now want to build up a SS urban assault. I've got an old road bike that I've ridden around a little and I've found that I can't f*****g stand the sound of the freewheel clicking (granted the bike is 25 yrs old and in crappy shape). For all you SS'ers, what is the least noisy freewheel out there?
Tim

trekkie820

BMX freewheel? i think those are usually quiet...

isotopesope

shimano freewheels are pretty quiet. they're over packed with grease so you don't hear the pawls at all really. i built a friend a ss with one and it was nearly fixie quiet. i've heard that they don't have great longevity though. white industries freewheels aren't too loud either. they sound good. too bad chris king didn't make a bmx freewheel. i love the way their cartridge body hubs sound. zzzzzzzzzzzz

skitbraviking

I second the Shimano BMX freewheel.

schwinnbikelove

Don't go for ACS if that's what you're looking for, they're pretty loud.

TimArchy

I think shimano or white industries sounds like the way for me. thank for the help.
tim

Hunter

ACS Claws without a doubt are the best freewheels made. The point of the noise is valid. However if you can get over it it should last and last.

legalize_it

not to be a nit-picker, but....generally, to me and many others, urban assault refers to MTBs used in urban environments to perform crazy stunts, such as large drop-offs, gaps, and hucks. i hope you dont plan on using your road frame for this!! i think what you intend to build is just a SS road bike, nothing urban assaulty about it!

and now a reply to your original question....if you want a freewheel that is silent, consider getting a coaster brake hub, and if you dont want it to be a coaster brake you can get an un-brake for it, or you can just get a coaster hub w/out the brake built it. there are no ratcheting mechanisms in coaster hubs. BMX flatlanders like to use them bc it enables them to roll backwards with out the pedals back-pedaling. that would be a nifty trick to learn on a SS roadie!

shecky

The freecoaster is a good idea, or the unbraked coaster brake hub.

The cassette freehub on my wife's mtb is pretty damn quiet, too.

Unfortuneately, both these ideas require a new hub (or whole new wheel).

smurfy

A very quiet one I'm using on my SS (formerly an English 3-speed) is a Shimano old-school BMX freehub thats designed to accept a 3-speed/coaster brake style cog. If you can find one. I've never even heard of these until a friend who used to race BMX in the early '80s gave me one.

TimArchy

my ideal plan would be to get something between a park riding frame and a good old rigid mtb frame. I'd like to have a flip-flop with one side fixed and the other a freewheel. using the old road frame is just a temp. stand-in until I can get what I want. so far, the biggest problem I think I'll run into is that the kind of frames I want (park or 26" BMX frames) seem to have the wrong geometry for a comfortable fixed ride. I've ridden the redline monocog and it seems awsome but I can't find a good, sturdy hub that has 110mm spacing and is threaded for a lock ring.
As for the freewheel, I think I may try the white industries. it seems to be one of the better ones out there and I like the idea of four pawls giving a more responsive ride.
tim

Bikkhu

Shimano freewheels have annoying tendency to freeze up in cold weather, be sure to thin the vaseline if you ride in the cold