Originally Posted by
pastorbobnlnh
Clubman, not to be contrary or disagreeable, as far as freewheels are concerned, I'd say noise = appropriate lubrication. Too much lube, whether grease or oil in the pawl and ratchet teeth region, causes less noise at the cost of extra friction. I've worked on silent freewheels which were gummed up with excessive lubrication. Just my two cents.
You would know! Just splitting hairs...my point, I think is that a freewheel/hub is going to inherently have more friction than a front hub.
But there was a generation of very quiet freehubs if I'm not mistaken?