Why is My 80's Entry Level 10 Speed Louder When Coasting?
10-29-23, 07:08 PM
#26
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I have no doubt I need to repack hubs this winter, I plan to do so. But it seems like the tick tick tick of the ratcheting mechanism in older ten speeds (and they were actually "10 speeds") have a different sound. I'm wondering if it's the fact it's a freewheel (I'm assuming)?
Lay the bike on it's left side, a bit of incline should remain, then look for the tiny circular slit/opening between the central and outer part of the Freewheel ratchet.. this will be inside the smallest gear on the freewheel(No, NOT the gap between the Axle and freewheel center hub.)... i drip several drips onto the flat part around that tight gap, wait for it to seep into the ratchet, then i spin the freewheel ratchet to work the oil around... At some point, the oil will begin weeping out a similar tiny slit on the backside of the freewheel... add some more to the outside slit area, wait, spin, wipe up the excess, and expect some more to weep out.
this is much easier to do with the rear wheel removed,,, no chain/pedals or frame to mess with.
you'll have already noticed that the freewheel will be far quieter once the grease and oil worked some of the old hard gunk back into an actual Lubrication state.
LOUD means Metal on Metal, Quiet means lubed and working better.
i have a container of ACTUAL SHIMANO FREEWHEEL GREASE sitting a few feet from me as i type this.
Manufacturers install LIGHT GREASE, not oil, in their brand new freewheels, but just enough to do the job.. packing a freewheel with thick axle grease will completely prevent the pawls from quickly and easily.engaging the ratchet valleys and you will not like what that does to your bike.
Ratchet pawls Must work with high speed and precision. the grease used is very light weight, and has excellent Flow Back properties too.
and most oils will run out onto the floor and your rim, eventually rendering your freewheel UN-LUBED, but nicely lubing your Brake Tracks in a very bad way... !
the pentrating oil trick is a temporary thing.. It will not stay put, but SOME Will mix with the old grease, and make it mobile for a while....
Last edited by maddog34; 10-29-23 at 07:17 PM.
10-29-23, 07:30 PM
#27
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I do not think I've ever used that term, "fully grease."
I use the term "fully overhaul" often.
And I really don't care if the manufacturer greases the pawls. I do not do that when I fully overhaul a freewheel. Nor does our resident freewheel guru, pastorbobnlnh, do it when he fully overhauls his freewheels.
I use the term "fully overhaul" often.
And I really don't care if the manufacturer greases the pawls. I do not do that when I fully overhaul a freewheel. Nor does our resident freewheel guru, pastorbobnlnh, do it when he fully overhauls his freewheels.
Apparently that means grease and not grease.
10-29-23, 07:33 PM
#28
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like i said, the old grease has gotten hard and the sound changes... Free wheels are indeed greased, but it is a special Extra-Light weight grease... if you add some 3 in 1 or PB blaster to the grease, it will get a bit softer and become more mobile in nature..
Lay the bike on it's left side, a bit of incline should remain, then look for the tiny circular slit/opening between the central and outer part of the Freewheel ratchet.. this will be inside the smallest gear on the freewheel(No, NOT the gap between the Axle and freewheel center hub.)... i drip several drips onto the flat part around that tight gap, wait for it to seep into the ratchet, then i spin the freewheel ratchet to work the oil around... At some point, the oil will begin weeping out a similar tiny slit on the backside of the freewheel... add some more to the outside slit area, wait, spin, wipe up the excess, and expect some more to weep out.
this is much easier to do with the rear wheel removed,,, no chain/pedals or frame to mess with.
you'll have already noticed that the freewheel will be far quieter once the grease and oil worked some of the old hard gunk back into an actual Lubrication state.
LOUD means Metal on Metal, Quiet means lubed and working better.
i have a container of ACTUAL SHIMANO FREEWHEEL GREASE sitting a few feet from me as i type this.
Manufacturers install LIGHT GREASE, not oil, in their brand new freewheels, but just enough to do the job.. packing a freewheel with thick axle grease will completely prevent the pawls from quickly and easily.engaging the ratchet valleys and you will not like what that does to your bike.
Ratchet pawls Must work with high speed and precision. the grease used is very light weight, and has excellent Flow Back properties too.
and most oils will run out onto the floor and your rim, eventually rendering your freewheel UN-LUBED, but nicely lubing your Brake Tracks in a very bad way... !
the pentrating oil trick is a temporary thing.. It will not stay put, but SOME Will mix with the old grease, and make it mobile for a while....
Lay the bike on it's left side, a bit of incline should remain, then look for the tiny circular slit/opening between the central and outer part of the Freewheel ratchet.. this will be inside the smallest gear on the freewheel(No, NOT the gap between the Axle and freewheel center hub.)... i drip several drips onto the flat part around that tight gap, wait for it to seep into the ratchet, then i spin the freewheel ratchet to work the oil around... At some point, the oil will begin weeping out a similar tiny slit on the backside of the freewheel... add some more to the outside slit area, wait, spin, wipe up the excess, and expect some more to weep out.
this is much easier to do with the rear wheel removed,,, no chain/pedals or frame to mess with.
you'll have already noticed that the freewheel will be far quieter once the grease and oil worked some of the old hard gunk back into an actual Lubrication state.
LOUD means Metal on Metal, Quiet means lubed and working better.
i have a container of ACTUAL SHIMANO FREEWHEEL GREASE sitting a few feet from me as i type this.
Manufacturers install LIGHT GREASE, not oil, in their brand new freewheels, but just enough to do the job.. packing a freewheel with thick axle grease will completely prevent the pawls from quickly and easily.engaging the ratchet valleys and you will not like what that does to your bike.
Ratchet pawls Must work with high speed and precision. the grease used is very light weight, and has excellent Flow Back properties too.
and most oils will run out onto the floor and your rim, eventually rendering your freewheel UN-LUBED, but nicely lubing your Brake Tracks in a very bad way... !
the pentrating oil trick is a temporary thing.. It will not stay put, but SOME Will mix with the old grease, and make it mobile for a while....
I would not put PB Blaster anywhere where I can't clean it back out. It isn't just oil.
Last edited by Kontact; 10-29-23 at 07:38 PM.
10-29-23, 07:38 PM
#29
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But all you had to do was read my original post in this thread with a most basic level of reading comprehension:
10-30-23, 01:47 AM
#30
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I did not see anyone here mention anything about cleaning dirt off the freewheel before you lube it. The right way to do this job is to take the wheel off the bike, take the freewheel off the rear hub or have a bike-shop do it for you if you do not have the tool to remove it, then clean the dirt off the side of the freewheel that faces the hub so you do not wash the dirt into the interior of the hub with the oil you are adding.
I find most old freewheels much more quiet than the ratchet mechanisms in what is being sold today. In fact there seems to be a contest today as to who can make the loudest ratchet mechanism and market it to the little people who never grew up and need lots of attention. Before society became as ridiculous as it is today, an engineer would try to design something to be silent, as that was the mark of a well engineered piece of machinery, it was the cheap junk that was the noisiest, but today they are certainly designing things to be noisy on purpose so they have the same effect as loud clothing, loud exhaust systems, loud car stereos etc.....
Of course the REAL cycle enthusiast/mechanic would take that freewheel apart to the last tiny bit, clean it to make sure there is no dirt in it, then put it back together with whatever lube it should have so it would be as close to as it was when it left the factory as possible, but that is not something the average cyclist wants to take the time to do, or has the know-how to do either.
I find most old freewheels much more quiet than the ratchet mechanisms in what is being sold today. In fact there seems to be a contest today as to who can make the loudest ratchet mechanism and market it to the little people who never grew up and need lots of attention. Before society became as ridiculous as it is today, an engineer would try to design something to be silent, as that was the mark of a well engineered piece of machinery, it was the cheap junk that was the noisiest, but today they are certainly designing things to be noisy on purpose so they have the same effect as loud clothing, loud exhaust systems, loud car stereos etc.....
Of course the REAL cycle enthusiast/mechanic would take that freewheel apart to the last tiny bit, clean it to make sure there is no dirt in it, then put it back together with whatever lube it should have so it would be as close to as it was when it left the factory as possible, but that is not something the average cyclist wants to take the time to do, or has the know-how to do either.
10-30-23, 02:28 AM
#31
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Loud pawls save lives.
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10-30-23, 09:27 PM
#32
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unless you have an evil pumpkin squeeky toy from hell mounted on your handlebars... then loud pumpkins save lives. It's on my DB linear trailbike.....
i used the "backpedal alert system" for years on my Trek Road Burner... then i found a "scare off Attackers" key fob deely... that sucker was LOUD.
alas, the battery got left in it for too long... fuzzed up the guts.... no more noisy toy.
if i could only mount up the Dolphin cookie jar somehow... Flipper as a Horn!
hmmmm... i wonder if could remove the amp and speaker without damaging the dolphin "jar".... hmmmm... middle of nowhere, Oregon coast range... and you hear a fast approaching Dolphin echoing off the trees........
i used the "backpedal alert system" for years on my Trek Road Burner... then i found a "scare off Attackers" key fob deely... that sucker was LOUD.
alas, the battery got left in it for too long... fuzzed up the guts.... no more noisy toy.
if i could only mount up the Dolphin cookie jar somehow... Flipper as a Horn!
hmmmm... i wonder if could remove the amp and speaker without damaging the dolphin "jar".... hmmmm... middle of nowhere, Oregon coast range... and you hear a fast approaching Dolphin echoing off the trees........
Last edited by maddog34; 10-30-23 at 09:34 PM.
10-31-23, 05:54 PM
#33
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I have no doubt I need to repack hubs this winter, I plan to do so. But it seems like the tick tick tick of the ratcheting mechanism in older ten speeds (and they were actually "10 speeds") have a different sound. I'm wondering if it's the fact it's a freewheel (I'm assuming)?
Some freehubs are loud, some are not, but they all click. Some even buzz like a nest of angry wasps.
Just clean it when it gets filthy and drop some oil into the part that rotates periodically, and throw it out and buy a new one when it breaks or gets worn out.
