ExpertTools

On my Specialized Roubaix with Sram Red and Roval wheels, the cassette mechanism is very noisy, and I gather needs some lubricant. (I don't know if this ratcheting unit is made by Sram or Roval/Specialized.)


What would be the recommended lubricant?


Thanks

cpach

Has it changed in sound? Many bicycle freehubs are pretty loud--some riders like loud hubs, particularly since some high end brands are particularly loud (Chris King, Mavic). Your Roval hub has a Roval freehub. Current Roval road wheels use DT swiss star ratchet internals in their freehubs. The officially approved lubricant for these is https://www.amazon.com/DT-Swiss-Hugi.../dp/B001CJVM6Y . They will be pretty loud regardless.

Ghrumpy

Yep. It is the nature of ratcheting mechanisms to make noise. So a noisy ratchet is just a ratchet. The star-ratchets and ring-drives are the noisiest. The original Hügi hubs were the loudest, but DTSwiss have tamed them somewhat by reducing the size of the star contact area.

For these mechanisms, only irregular or dry-sounding noises indicate a problem. The volume of the noise doesn't necessarily mean much.

Homebrew01

Grease, not oil, so it stays in place. But not so much that it gums up the pawls.

Kontact 

If grease is too sticky, Phil Wood Tenacious Oil is a thick and sticky lubricant that makes freewheeling mechanisms noticeably less noisy.

HillRider

It better be very light grease, particularly if you ride in cold weather. I once greased a Campy freehub with Phil Grease, which is a light grease, and it had enough drag in cold conditions to spin the rear wheel backwards and developed slack in the top run of chain when back pedaling. I redid the hub with light oil (Tri-Flow) and that solved the problem.

70sSanO

I've been using Phil's Tenacious Oil for both freehubs and freewheels for decades.

John

mild steel

I second that! Phil's TO is great stuff and has quieted the freewheels and internal gear hubs I've used it in.

cpach

Way to miss the fact that I pointed out that there are probably exactly zero pawls in his freehub as it's probably a dt star ratchet.

Also advising people to use grease in freehubs without knowing anything about the specific design is sketch as with a lot of designs it can make the pawls stick, fail to engage, and possibly cause a loss of control.

Iride01 

Noisy while pedaling? It very unlikely lubricating the cassette freehub will help. The sound is from the chain on the cassette or something else.

Noisy when you turn it backwards? If you are in the quiet of your garage or home, then yeah they are noisy. More so after they've been used a while and are broken in. But still well lubricated to last many years.

Even on the road, the only time you should hear it is when you coast. Unless coasting is ninety percent of your riding, you aren't going to wear anything out as long as there is a minute amount of lube on the freehubs internal mechanism. It just doesn't have enough movement to cause the wear people imagine.

You really can't lube the internals without taking it apart. Lubing it incorrectly with too thick or too much lube can cause the very same bad things to happen that a worn freehub might exhibit.........

• The chain going slack when you coast.
• The freehub not engaging as soon as you start pedaling.

So first ask yourself if it's just the noise that bothers you, or is there actually an issue.

Ghrumpy

Thank you for taking the words out of my mouth.

Jon T

Marvel Mystery Oil is your friend.
Jon

Racing Dan

If its the DT circular ratchet, there is some special grease that is mandated. Not sure if its absolutely necessary though.