Why the (campy) whirrr?
08-26-07 | 11:52 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Conquer Cancer rider
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 6,040
Likes: 1
From: Toronto
Bikes: Fun bike, city bike, touring bike, swish new ebike, Bike Friday
Why the (campy) whirrr?
Just curious here...
My new baby, a magnificent, adorable, comfortable Merlin CR 3/25, comes with elegant Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels, which certainly look fast with those neat red hubs, and seem to perform just fine for the 200+ miles I've done so far. But they have that clicky Campy whirr when you freewheel, which you don't get on Shimano wheels at all.
But why is it there? Does the friction of the whirr slow the wheel down at all? Is it a message to me that I should be pedalling all the time? Or is it just because?
My new baby, a magnificent, adorable, comfortable Merlin CR 3/25, comes with elegant Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels, which certainly look fast with those neat red hubs, and seem to perform just fine for the 200+ miles I've done so far. But they have that clicky Campy whirr when you freewheel, which you don't get on Shimano wheels at all.
But why is it there? Does the friction of the whirr slow the wheel down at all? Is it a message to me that I should be pedalling all the time? Or is it just because?
__________________
Zero gallons to the mile
Zero gallons to the mile
08-26-07 | 12:07 PM
#2
Chepooka
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,180
Likes: 1,543
From: South Central PA
Bikes: 2001 Litespeed Arenberg 10 speed; 2015 Giant Escape 2; 2025 Aventon Ramblas
Sounds normal, this is the pawls on your freewheel mechanism. Some are noisy, some sound like a gang of angry cicadas.
08-26-07 | 12:22 PM
#4
purity of essence
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,260
Likes: 26
From: NH
Bikes: 2018 Giant Trance 2, 2019 Trek Farley 7, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit
i got the 2007 Khamsin, and they also have a super loud freewheel. just takes getting used to if you're used to riding a quieter bike.
08-26-07 | 12:52 PM
#6
~ Going the Distance ~
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,180
Likes: 0
From: Hermosa Beach, CA
Bikes: 2006 Bianchi Carbon 928, 2002 Gary Fisher Utopia
During my last century ride I was in a pack of Shimano riders (I was the only Campy)...when my buddies girlfriends mom says "your bicycle is so noisy" (refering to the pawl of the freewheel) to which I responded "That's Campagnolo!" much louder than I planned. She said "SooRRy!?" in that sarcastic way...nice uncomfortable moment. My buddy loved it.
08-26-07 | 12:54 PM
#7
Mooninite
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,186
Likes: 4
From: South of Heaven
Bikes: $53 Walmart Special
08-26-07 | 12:56 PM
#9
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 776
Likes: 0
It is normal. Everyone who rides Campy knows it well. I like it. I live in NYc and it makes pedestrians take note. It also reminds me to get back on the hammer unless the wind is rushing in my ears so loudly that I can't hear it.
Powerglide, I can't imagine why anyone would make a big deal about it, to be frank. It's just a clicking noise. I think she needs to get her anxiety disorder checked out.
Powerglide, I can't imagine why anyone would make a big deal about it, to be frank. It's just a clicking noise. I think she needs to get her anxiety disorder checked out.
08-26-07 | 12:57 PM
#10
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,174
Likes: 0
From: Alexandria, VA
Bikes: 2007 Pergoretti Marcelo
Damn Campy freewheel! Makes it hard to sneak up on somebody. 
__________________
Visit my blog -->MyOrangeBike
"There is love and there is work, and we only have one heart." Edgar Degas
Visit my blog -->MyOrangeBike
"There is love and there is work, and we only have one heart." Edgar Degas
08-26-07 | 12:57 PM
#11
well hello there
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,491
Likes: 390
From: Point Loma, CA
Bikes: Bill Holland (Road-Ti), Fuji Roubaix Pro (back-up), Bike Friday (folder), Co-Motion (tandem) & Trek 750 (hybrid)
08-26-07 | 01:49 PM
#15
bannned
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,228
Likes: 0
From: philadelphia
Bikes: black bike, white bike, blue bike, yellow bike, silver bike
I packed my centaur hub with grease and it was dead quiet for about a hundred miles.
08-26-07 | 01:56 PM
#16
Bike Dork
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
From: Lansdale, PA
08-26-07 | 02:25 PM
#21
purity of essence
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,260
Likes: 26
From: NH
Bikes: 2018 Giant Trance 2, 2019 Trek Farley 7, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit
You think campy hubs are bad? Listen to these.
how about the one guy's comment, "thats hella gay you ride bmx with tires wide enough to be on car and those hubs are gay"
how articulate.
08-26-07 | 02:45 PM
#22
cab horn
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 28,353
Likes: 31
From: Toronto
Bikes: 1987 Bianchi Campione
Code:
* <- Point
O
/H\ <- You
/ \
08-26-07 | 02:48 PM
#24
Chases Dogs for Sport
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,289
Likes: 147
Shimano sneaked an engineer into the Campy factory several years back. The freewheel noise is so that Shimano riders can keep track of Campy riders in the pack. The loud CLUNK shifting sound is so that Campy riders can't surprise Shimano riders with sudden breaks. You hear the CLUNK, you know they're about to accelerate.
08-26-07 | 02:57 PM
#25
purity of essence
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,260
Likes: 26
From: NH
Bikes: 2018 Giant Trance 2, 2019 Trek Farley 7, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit
