How do you declick a bike?

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
How do you declick a bike?
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flag woodymnt
Posted: May 28, 2018 at 6:30 Quote
I'm the proud owner an excellent condition 2012 Santa Cruz Blur LT, Brown in color. I absolutely love the thing. Except, it clicks very loudly when I'm coasting. I don't like that at all. It's noise pollution.

Remember when we were kids, and we took a clothes pin and a playing card and fastened it so it would flap against the spokes, making a really annoying noise? That was fun for like one day. I don't want that feature built into the bike. What is that for? To scare away bears?

So it took it to a bike shop To have them do what they have to do to get rid of it. I thought it would be as easy fix. But the guy said, "Naw, man, you can't really get rid of that." He had an expression on his face that looked like he wanted to say something different, but wasn't allowed to. I said, "I'll do anything. I'll get a new rear wheel, a new drivetrain, whatever it takes." And he said, "naw, the only thing you can really do is sell that thing and get a new bike." Then he began showing me the line of new bikes they had. Needless to say, this kinda pissed me off. I just got a new bike. So I asked the guy that looked like his superior, and he said to me, very curtly, "It is what it is, man."

F**k that. There has to be a way to get rid the clicking. Is that noise made by the frame? If it is, I'll f**king take it apart and saw off the piece of metal that does it. But I think it is BS that you can't get rid of that. How is it done, Pinkbike? Thanks.
flag Davec85
FL
Posted: May 28, 2018 at 6:39 Quote
It's the sound of the freehub. You can take off the cassette and the freehub body and apply a shit load of grease on the pawls and engagement teeth, which will quiten it down. What wheels/hubs do you have? My other halfs bike has Shimano Deore hubs and they are pretty silent, you could pick up a wheel with that hub for very little if you went down the new wheel route. I'm sure there are others out there, just do a search for silent freehub. The guy at the shop is talking BS, obviously. And they wonder why they are losing trade to direct sales and online retailers like CRC.
flag BarneyStinson
Posted: May 28, 2018 at 8:40 Quote
Don't Chris King hubs make a slightly different noise?

If you can wait until Autumn (Fall) then the new XTR hubs are meant to be virtually silent when coasting.
flag Mntneer
O+
Posted: May 28, 2018 at 8:54 Quote
"bikes creaking. Never seen this turn out well before. Burn it and buy a new one at 150% markup"
flag fielonator
Posted: May 28, 2018 at 10:26 Quote
My brother loves a loud freehub. He thinks he's menacing when he's riding behind you. I'm with the OP, it's good to be able to slip through the woods without making too noise.

On the other hand a loud freehub is useful when you've got a band of walkers ahead on a trail and they're taking up all the room. Bit like a bell, only less polite.

Hope hubs are pretty loud in my experience. My dt swiss one was fairly quiet.

It could just be how a santa cruz communicates with other santa cruz's (bad grammar? Probably). Like dolphins or Bill and Ted.
flag rpet
Posted: May 28, 2018 at 15:26 Quote
Grease the free hub. If that doesn’t work look at Shimano or Hadley hubs.

My old King hub is also fairly quiet, yet still audible.

I hate the noise too, but not enough to spend money on it.
flag maxmcculloch
Posted: May 28, 2018 at 17:11 Quote
To completely get ride of the clicking you could get a new rear hub like an onyx or Nobl hub. They use a different engagement system and are completely silent. They are some of the few hubs on the market with absolutely no sound at all. It's probably one of the nicest hubs on the market but it will be around $450.
flag lifted-d
Posted: May 30, 2018 at 8:50 Quote
Pedal more! no coasting slacker!! haha! there were some quiet WTB hubs in the past too, XT/XTR would be easiest to find I think. I have a few bikes and the 2013 Xtr is the quietest of the lot. others are dt swiss, and magic xmax. which to me are not really loud but def. louder than Shimanos finest.
flag zsandstrom
O+
Posted: May 30, 2018 at 12:17 Quote
Davec85 wrote:
It's the sound of the freehub. You can take off the cassette and the freehub body and apply a shit load of grease on the pawls and engagement teeth, which will quiten it down. What wheels/hubs do you have? My other halfs bike has Shimano Deore hubs and they are pretty silent, you could pick up a wheel with that hub for very little if you went down the new wheel route. I'm sure there are others out there, just do a search for silent freehub. The guy at the shop is talking BS, obviously. And they wonder why they are losing trade to direct sales and online retailers like CRC.

Everything here ^ is correct.

One thing I would add is that if it doesn't get quiet enough after applying grease, then you could order new softer springs for the pawls. However, I'd suggest that you do exactly what Davec85 said, and use a pretty thick grease (Mobil XHP 222 is my personal favorite).
flag dirtrider76
Posted: May 30, 2018 at 13:48 Quote
My Industry nine hubs which are fairly loud get a good bit quieter when I clean and service then for a bit.
flag erikhall
Posted: May 30, 2018 at 13:54 Quote
zsandstrom wrote:
Davec85 wrote:
It's the sound of the freehub. You can take off the cassette and the freehub body and apply a shit load of grease on the pawls and engagement teeth, which will quiten it down. What wheels/hubs do you have? My other halfs bike has Shimano Deore hubs and they are pretty silent, you could pick up a wheel with that hub for very little if you went down the new wheel route. I'm sure there are others out there, just do a search for silent freehub. The guy at the shop is talking BS, obviously. And they wonder why they are losing trade to direct sales and online retailers like CRC.

Everything here ^ is correct.

One thing I would add is that if it doesn't get quiet enough after applying grease, then you could order new softer springs for the pawls. However, I'd suggest that you do exactly what Davec85 said, and use a pretty thick grease (Mobil XHP 222 is my personal favorite).

Be careful about this, your pawls may not fully engage anymore causing chipping and skipping
flag lifted-d
Posted: May 30, 2018 at 14:09 Quote
yep agreed, heavy grease slows the pawls, so they don't engage fully, then fail

erwick wrote:
zsandstrom wrote:
Davec85 wrote:
It's the sound of the freehub. You can take off the cassette and the freehub body and apply a shit load of grease on the pawls and engagement teeth, which will quiten it down. What wheels/hubs do you have? My other halfs bike has Shimano Deore hubs and they are pretty silent, you could pick up a wheel with that hub for very little if you went down the new wheel route. I'm sure there are others out there, just do a search for silent freehub. The guy at the shop is talking BS, obviously. And they wonder why they are losing trade to direct sales and online retailers like CRC.

Everything here ^ is correct.

One thing I would add is that if it doesn't get quiet enough after applying grease, then you could order new softer springs for the pawls. However, I'd suggest that you do exactly what Davec85 said, and use a pretty thick grease (Mobil XHP 222 is my personal favorite).

Be careful about this, your pawls may not fully engage anymore causing chipping and skipping
flag zsandstrom
O+
Posted: May 30, 2018 at 14:14 Quote
lifted-d wrote:
yep agreed, heavy grease slows the pawls, so they don't engage fully, then fail

Yes. I use a heavier grease because temps in Utah during the summer regularly hit 100F, so thinner options can start to get too thin to make a difference in sound. With that in mind, consider your climate when choosing a grease option. If it's cold regularly, use a thinner option. If it's hot, go a little heavier.
flag stumpymidget
Posted: May 30, 2018 at 23:55 Quote
Freehubs are meant to make that noise. The clicking noise is just a by-product of it doing its job. They can be made quieter with home remedies as mentioned above, but these methods can have an impact on reliability. Personally I use my freehub sound as a substitute bicycle bell when I need to pass walkers on the trail, just back-pedal.
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