I have an Ultegra groupo w/ 2,500 miles on it and lately I’ve noticed the clicking from the freehub does not sound uniform through the full rotation of the rear wheel. My question is do I lubricate it? If so, what should I use and how? Someone told me that I should not lubricate the freehub as it is a sealed unit and the lubricant would breakdown the grease.

The non uniform paw noise isn’t real excessive and I don’t believe it actually hurts anything but I like to keep things fine tuned and running as smoothly as possible. I will appreicate your input.

Drip motor oil between the cassette body and the hub. If you look closely at the end of the freehub, you'll see the gap between the fixed and rotating parts. You may need to remove the cassette to see it.

Drip oil slowly while spinning the freehub so the oil seeps inside. When you hear the sound of the pawls change, you've added enough.

Would 3-in-1 oil work fairly well too?

3-in-1 tends to gum up pretty bad as it ages. A light weight motor oil or something like Hunter ceiling fan oil would be a good substitue for a bicycle specific product.

Doc

I use weapons oil "light". You can find it in military surplus outlets, good down to -60F & inexpensive.

I use Phil Wood "Tenacious" oi. It was recommended from the LBS. Don't use any grease.
Good Luck.

Thanks for the info. I also found some informatio about freehub buddy by Morningstar. Is is worth the $30???

WAIT!! Don't use motor oil or 3 in 1 oil, there is a better alternative called "Speed Skate Lube" intended to be used on racing skate wheel bearings that my LBS in Bakersfield sold me. I bought a new freewheel about 3 years ago and about 8 months after I bought I had the same clicking problems you have. I sprayed the Speed Skate Lube liberally into the freewheel, then slowly spun the wheel with the bike laying on it's side so the lube wouldn't run out for about 5 minutes, then I let it set like that for 12 hours on it's side. Over 2 years have now pass and there has not been on peep...or click from that freewheel and it's only had that one application. Motor oil will run out of the freewheel opening causing a mess because it won't dry and adhere to the bearings and pawls-but it's better then nothing or 3 in 1 oil. Speed Skate Lube is a dry film lubricant with teflon.

This Speed Skate Lube can be found anywhere quality inline skates are sold and serviced; if you can find the stuff you can order it here: (714) 898-4377 (this is a California number).

Below is a letter they sent me in regards to this product:

Dear Mr. Froze:
I received your e-mail inquiry regarding a bike chain
lube. You mentioned that you had tried our Tiodize
Speed Skate Lube. This product has been used for years
by several bike maintenance shops, with very good
results. One of the largest shops on the West Coast,
Action Sports in Bakersfield, Ca, has been using it
exclusively in their repair shop, and sells it to
their bicycle customers as a chain lube. As long as
you wipe off the excess after spraying, you will
eliminate almost all of the tendency chain lubes have
to attract dust and dirt. The advantage of Speed
Skate lube as a chain lube is that it is a very good
penetrating lubricant. It also has corrosion
inhibitors in it, unlike other chain lubes; making it
excellent for protection in bad weather and when
cycling through wet areas.

Because Speed Skate lube has been widely accepted as a
bicycle chain lube, we do not make a separate product
for that purpose.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Wade Friedrichs
Product Manager
Tiodize Co., Inc

DON'T use chain lube in a freehub/freewheel. It is too thin and won't properly keep the bearings and pawls lubricated.

If your talking about the Speed Skate Lube Dan; it's not chain lube, it's intended purpose is to be a bearing lube...but people at LBS's found out that it works very well at lubricating chains.

If you go to an auto supply store and ask for lubricants for bearings they will throw a few products @ you. I dont know if its proper or not but i find wheel bearing grease does the job quite well, the high quality stuff, i think its slick 50 or something.

I never tried auto grease so not sure if my comment is correct, but I understood from a LBS mechanic some years ago that auto grease is too thick. BUT, Mobil 1 has a synthetic grease that might work; but until I see someone else doing it, I'm not taking the chance and will stick with products that LBS's use when in comes to freewheel lubrication.

Automotive grease is too thick. It is designed to withstand high heat and much adverse conditions.

Yes thats true but there are usually several lubricants they have, i have never been dissapointed with slick 50. If you ask for a thinner lube they will most likely have it

The bearings in a freehub are the least stressed bearings on a bike. It should outlast the rest of the bike. The type of lubricant used in a freehub is not critical. Any medium weight oil will work perfectly well. 3M oil is too thin. Gear oil is too thick. Forget about grease; you'd have to disassemble the freehub to use it.

I happen to prefer motor oil because it's cheap and does the job. Mobile 1 is a synthetic oil based on PAO. It would work as well as motor oil for a freehub though it's more expensive and will not work any better.