Police are good for 1 thing.....
 

I got an old cinelli mtb frame on ebay with a rigid fork. I decided to make a singlesped mountain bike with it. Boy is it hard to find an italian threaded mountain bike bottom bracket. I had to call "phil". Since I was over budget anyway, I had a wierd idea. I ordered shimano whels that are spec'ed with the "police package" "mountain" bikes. The clutch on them is completely silent. No sound whatsoever, at least from what my concert damaged ears can discern. It's absolutely fabulous, riding trails downhill with only the sound of the leaves crunching. Since I didn't want to use a chain tensioner, I had to find a "magic gear ratio" with the use of a half link. the chainline isn't perfect, as I have a triple ring and a 8 speed casette, for when the chain stretches and i have to find a new magic ratio. I am somewhat concerned with the reliability of the wheels, as I did have to true them twice in 50 miles of trail riding.
Has anyone else thought of this or tried it?
And yes, I know fixed gear mountain bikes are also silent and don't have these problems, but I clipped the road with my pedals on my track bike, and don't want a repeat performance.

i use shimano bmx MX freewheel on my mtb SS wheel, its virtually silent...when in good condition... all one can hear is the knobby treads rolling. after it gets dirty it starts to make a discernable sound on back-pedal

You can make any screw-on bmx freewheel silent, with Phil Woods Tenacious Oil.

I destroyed one of these in under a hundred miles of SS mountain biking (only one race in that time). So, I guess I didn't have a good experience with them.

I've had much the same luck, I destroyed three of those crap things last winter just comuting to work on pavement.. kept them as clean as I could and well oiled... but the pawls eventually were ground to bits and would no longer engage... it was frustrating.
Anyone ever tried the AC freewheels?
adventure components

OP: i totally thought you were going to say for writing police reports when automobiles hit cyclists.

Do they do that in Reston? They don't do that here.

Back in my observed trials days, those silent clutch Shimano hubs were in high demand. They have a faster, if softer, engagement as compared to other Shimano freehubs.

Whats the point? I don't know. Bike trivia.

-brad