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DT Swiss 340 Freewheel "Ticking"

3K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  FBinNY 
#1 ·
How loud should this "ticking" be? I just bought a 2009 Santa Cruz Nomad today, and it has the above rear hub, which I haven't had on previous bikes. I put it up on my stand to dial in the front fork/shock/RD, and I was surprised at how loud the freewheel "ticking" is.

Is this normal from this brand of hub?
 
#2 ·
MikeMartial said:
How loud should this "ticking" be? I just bought a 2009 Santa Cruz Nomad today, and it has the above rear hub, which I haven't had on previous bikes. I put it up on my stand to dial in the front fork/shock/RD, and I was surprised at how loud the freewheel "ticking" is.

Is this normal from this brand of hub?
Compared to Shimano and some OEM hubs, yes they are loud.
 
#5 ·
Bikinfoolferlife said:
You could pull it apart and see if it has sufficient grease, that could make a difference in volume. The original loud aftermarket hub was the Hugi...
In the few threads I've dug up on DT Swiss hubs, I haven't found anything definitive on it normally having a loud ticking, but from what I've read, servicing is exceptionally easy. Thanks for the tip. Didn't think about the chance of a poorly greased brand-new hub.

Mods: Please move this to Wheels and Tires; my mistake for starting it here.
 
#6 ·
MikeMartial said:
In the few threads I've dug up on DT Swiss hubs, I haven't found anything definitive on it normally having a loud ticking, but from what I've read, servicing is exceptionally easy. Thanks for the tip. Didn't think about the chance of a poorly greased brand-new hub.

Mods: Please move this to Wheels and Tires; my mistake for starting it here.
They're not as loud as the original ones were. Yeah, checking grease in hubs or oil in forks or grease on threads of new components is unfortunately too often something you need to do...
 
#8 ·
It might be a lubricarion issue, though more than likely it's just a characteristic of the hub.

In any case, if you decide to service it, be advised that the bearings get greased, but the ratchet assemply gets oil, preferably something a bit sticky, like Phil Tenacious, or my stuff. Using grease in the ratchet will make it quieter, but creates a real risk of the ratchet slipping under load (ouch!) because the pawls weren't fully pocketed.
 
#9 ·
FBinNY said:
It might be a lubricarion issue, though more than likely it's just a characteristic of the hub.

In any case, if you decide to service it, be advised that the bearings get greased, but the ratchet assemply gets oil, preferably something a bit sticky, like Phil Tenacious, or my stuff. Using grease in the ratchet will make it quieter, but creates a real risk of the ratchet slipping under load (ouch!) because the pawls weren't fully pocketed.
Good point on the grease; a light grease like King's works too, which is what I've used on my 240s ratchet. I'd think Slick Honey would probably work fine as well. Now I have another use for Chain-L, though!
 
#10 ·
FBinNY said:
It might be a lubricarion issue, though more than likely it's just a characteristic of the hub.

In any case, if you decide to service it, be advised that the bearings get greased, but the ratchet assemply gets oil, preferably something a bit sticky, like Phil Tenacious, or my stuff. Using grease in the ratchet will make it quieter, but creates a real risk of the ratchet slipping under load (ouch!) because the pawls weren't fully pocketed.
Contacted the LBS, and they stated that there may be a break-in period. Since tearing a brand new rear hub apart may not be looked favorably upon as far as my warranty goes, I'll see what a week of riding does.

Thanks for the tip on the bearings vs ratchet assembly!
 
#11 ·
MikeMartial said:
Contacted the LBS, and they stated that there may be a break-in period. Since tearing a brand new rear hub apart may not be looked favorably upon as far as my warranty goes, I'll see what a week of riding does.

Thanks for the tip on the bearings vs ratchet assembly!
Get the manual and see how many seconds it'll take you to pop the cassette and freehub off and look at the star ratchet.

Pull the wheel, remove the skewer, lay the wheel flat on the floor/ground, reach behind the cassette with finger tips and pull/pry it up and off.

DT Swiss makes their own grease for the star ratchet, like King does. It's a pretty light grease.

There is no break in period for DT hubs. Bike shops need to either give correct and good information, or say they don't know. If the hub is loud now, it will only get louder. These hubs are only loud if they're not lubed, like Kings. The ratchets start clicking as they get dry.
 
#13 ·
OP-
my 340 is considerably louder than the crappy shimano hub it replaced - I always thought it was a sign of a heavier-duty hub and in some twisted-let's-justify-it sort of way found it as reassurance that it was a better (burlier) hub. Yeah ... probably fool's logic, but it works in my brain.
I've ridden that hub for over 2000 miles of singletrack and I can assure you that I've experienced no "break-in period" with it - like Monte said.

On louder hubs: I had a ranger/mtbr point out that a loud clicking from a hub can sound like rattlers to horses. Just a heads up for those of us riding on multi-user trails with equestrians when yielding :thumbsup:

Jake
 
#14 ·
I took a look at the DTswiss tech manual for this hub. Like a Mavic design of a few years back, it uses a star ratchet, consisting of 2 mating discs with ramped faces which slide apart against against springs in one direction and lock in the other.

This is a nice dependable ratchet system, but will never be as quiet as a traditional pawl and ring system, since it involves the movement of much heavier parts. As far as break in goes, probably what seems loud now in contrast to your old hub, won't seem so loud as you get used to it. The hub doesn't break in as much as your ears do.

Anyway, think of the noise as motivation to quit that lazy coasting and apply some power.
 
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