[Closed] Quietish rear hub

Not the same price (much cheaper IIRC) but I have Shimano XT. Pretty quiet and reliable as long as you can cope with the loose bearings, etc.

what's the loose bearings issue, and also, what's the etc? 🙂

Loose as in not a cartridge bearing so you need to keep on top of maintenance or the whole hub can be ruined. DT Swiss 350 are similar price and quieter but not silent. More of a buzz than a rattle

A lot comes down to the grease - you can make a hope a lot quieter by adding more...

My DT Swiss 240 was close to silent when new but has got quite a lot louder over the last 6 months of riding. But DT Swiss 350 is one option - same internals as the 240 but with a slightly heavier Taiwan made hub body

Can you still get American Classic hubs? I ditched my XT (loose bearings? what is it the 90s??) for an AmClass rear and it has a lovely quiet hum.

Shimano XT.

I've given up on Hope and other cartridge bearing types. An annual re-grease and the Shimanos seem to last for ever. They're much cheaper. They just don't come in fancy colours, nor can they be switched between hub standards.

Love the lack off buzz on my 350's

DT ratchet hubs tend to let know when they need a service, when they get noiser it's generally a sign they could use a quick clean and a regrease.

Easy job to do.

Gah! Piccie no workie!

My 350 is very quiet.

Thanks guys - I'm leaning toward the DT's then. I had a Swiss a while back built into a wheel which I wanted as 'silent'. It only ever got briefly used, but was very quiet indeed

steivied - 350's - are they DT's too?

steivied – 350’s – are they DT’s too?

Yes. I've had a couple of sets of them and have been really happy. FTR I've had Hope too, just prefer DT

I have DT 350s and Hope Pro2 Evo and would buy either of them again. Note that the sound the DTs make depends on the ratchet they have. The standard is 18t and the clickiest, 36t is buzzy I imagine the 54t is quietest but it's less robust apparently.

Mine's an 18t pauper spec, lightly greased, still super quiet.

The standard is 18t and the clickiest, 36t is buzzy I imagine the 54t is quietest but it’s less robust apparently.

It's all relative, any super fast engaging hub sacrifices a degree of reliability as they require a finer mechanism with smaller teeth which will intrinsically have less tolerance to wear and the ingress of crud into the hub, which will happen to even the best sealed unit eventually.

Really high quality items (i.e, Chris King) can offset this trade-off somewhat but I'd be wary of any cheap hub that's sold on super fast engagement, that's never going to end well once something gets in past the seals. Of course this is less of an issue if you're on top of your maintenance.

My Industry Nine Torch hubs are pretty quiet, and super fast engagement. Quality is impressive. A few bling colours to choose from too, if that’s your thing.

I’ve always liked Hope, including the noise, but if I’m honest I’ve had more cracked freehub bodies, spoke flanges and broken axles than I would have liked over the years. Sorted out first-class by Hope of course, but I’d still rather they didn’t break.

My Industry Nine Torch hubs are pretty quiet

Said nobody with a sense of perspective. Ever.

My Industry Nine Torch hubs are pretty quiet

Ha ha ha ha ha! Compared to what, a chainsaw?!? They're quite possibly the loudest hubs around. Also, the freehub on my I9 hub has just eaten itself after only 1100 miles, not impressed.

Onyx - Sprag-clutch rear hub. Completely silent and instant engagement. Bit more spends though.

Mavic Hubs are nice and quiet too. More of a whir than Hope style chainsaw racket.

Onyx – Sprag-clutch rear hub. Completely silent and instant engagement. Bit more spends though.

Damn heavy though, and, like other super fast engagement hubs, sprag clutches really don't like getting grit in them and if they jam in the middle of nowhere you're stuffed.

I can see the appeal, they're amazing for BMX racing where mileage is limited and they don't get covered in crud but for MTB I'm not so sure.