Louder hubs make a louder noise, and it spreads too far along the trails, if you are with the squad your friends will hear you, also if anyone is walking or standing on bike trails it will move to leave the path, although the function of louder and silent hubs are same, both perform equally, louder hubs have more engagement points as compared to the silent hubs which make a louder hub to make noise on every rotation of the wheel. louder hubs are higher-end hubs.
louder hubs totally depend on the thickness of the grease or oil which you are going to lube the hub, thin oils and lubes are recommended for louder hubs because hubs will decrease their sound with thicker greases and if you wet the hub with lube or grease in the excess amount you will not hear the genuine louder sound, leave them dry for making a louder noise on the trails. louder hubs are a sign you are alarming everyone on the trails to get a side. louder hubs are usually installed in the rear wheels and these are not recommended for the front wheels. louder hubs make louder noises totally comparable with the loud noises of the angry bees.
Louder hub noises are more common when you are commuting on the trails and the bike speed is not enough high, the noise will clearly travel to long distances and when the bike is at high speed, the hub noise mixes with the noise of the air and tires and you will not clearly hear louder hub noises at very high speed, but the other riders and other people will clearly identify louder hub. rotate the pedals in the backward direction with a louder hub installed in the rear wheel to warm the pedestrians, animals, and the standing people on the trails.
How To Make Hub Louder On The Trails?
Some riders love louder hubs and some do not, the main purpose of the louder hubs is to create a big clacking sound on the trails to inform everyone about your arrival, louder hubs totally depend on the number of rotations of the wheel; you are pedaling on the trails, the more you pedal the louder noise you will hear arising from the rear wheels, the reason is that louder hubs are made in such a way when the wheel rotates the springs and pawls of their hubs will constantly transfer a pulse and vibration towards the whole drivetrain of the rear wheel.
freewheel hubs are designed to make the noise louder and the hub internal setting is manufactured in such a way that these would cause ticking, clacking and angry bird noises than the normal and quieter hubs, what you need is to give thin oil in a recommended amount as prescribed by the company.
The drivetrain, hub, axle including the chain and the cogs and teeth of the cassette also start creating a squeaking sound like something is broken which further increases the noise. increase the number of pedals on the trails and you will hear a smooth cracking sound.
Change the direction of springs to make the hub louder:
Louder hubs contain small mini springs which are usually not touched with the pawls of the louder hub, if you change the dimension and direction of these springs and face them towards the pawls, the noise will further increase to a higher level which makes the louder hub louder. also, louder hubs are manufactured in such a way these have more contact points and engagement points with the inner pawls and the springs, when the wheel rotates these points would constantly cause the noise of angry bees and simple noises.
When you are at high speed you will hear less noise from louder hubs and when you are commuting the noise increases much more.
Do Grease works for louder hubs in cold weather?
No, grease is usually not a recommended fluid for the louder hubs because it is a thick fluid as compared to other lubes and oils, it dries and causes resistance for the louder hub to maintain the springs, pawls, and engagement points in cold weather, so grease mostly depends on the weather conditions like moisture and cold and it becomes dry within the hub which restricts louder noise of the hub, but if the weather is fine then grease will also work smoothly. in cold weather convert grease into thin liquid oil but before oiling wash thoroughly the hub with soapy water to remove all the residue and old grease. you can also use WD-40 spray for cleaning the previous grease before washing with soapy water.
Do Hub Diameter Matters For Hub Noise?
Yes, a lot. large diameter hubs make louder noises as compared to the smaller diameter hubs. larger diameter hubs have more tight engagement points and larger flanges, which is the reason there is also a difference in louder hubs depending on their diameters when we compare their noises with each other.
Are Louder Hubs Good For Roads And traffic places?
Louder hubs are not installed for the roads, the louder noise starts irritating people and it won’t make any sense in the traffic, because these are used for the rural trails where it confirms your availability on the trails and it is best to install the louder hubs on cross country and enduro trails, that’s the reason louder hubs are not installed in road bikes. the most worthy step especially for mountain biking, gravel biking, and BMX riding is to upgrade their hubs from quieter to louder hubs.
How often do louder hubs need bleeding?
After installing louder hubs within the wheel, you will notice the noise is clearly new and active, when time passes and after a few rides, you will clearly identify the difference in noise of the same hub, the noise becomes higher from the previous which is the sign your bike hub needs bleeding and lubing.
How Louder Hubs Are Useful For Rough Terrain?
The main purpose of the louder hubs is that they prevent every rider from accidents and warn humans, dogs, deers, horses, and everything which is standing or walking on rough terrains of bikes, it saves you from falling and hitting anything, we all hear about the accidents of many riders by hitting any animal on the trails.
Installing louder hubs in your bike increases the lifespan of the rider by saving from accidents, louder hubs are the alternatives to bells that are installed on the handlebar, but due to the hard handling of the bike, often it is difficult to horn when something comes in front of the high-speed bike on the terrains.
Louder Hubs Good Or Bad For Bike Racings?
If you are a pro and experienced rider and you participate in racing then you know well about louder and quieter hubs and how these will help in racing on the trails, louder hubs do not give success in racing their louder noise would clearly identify your location, and the front racer would take the way you are coming on and will not allow you to pass, and if your wheel has quieter hub you will easily pass him because the front rider would not be able to judge your location and you will cross to gain higher position.
But there is also the disadvantage of louder hubs, if any part or component of the bike dropped at any place or if the rim, fork, or frame becomes cracked on the trails, you will not hear the cracking and squeaking sound of the damage, you can only hear angry bees sound coming from the rear wheel very loudly.
Is There Any Difference In The Manufacturing and making Of Louder Hubs?
A noticeable difference is present between them, described below:
These are manufactured differently by using different materials in them.
A single quality brand has a different number of pawls from the other brand.
Engagement points are different among them.
Louder hubs have their own inner power, some brands have lower power and some have higher power and strength quality.
Inner springs have different durability from brand to brand.
there is also a weight difference between them, good quality products are lighter in weight and cheap louder hubs are heavier in weight.
Empty and hollow louder hubs are expensive and are considered high-quality branded products and vice versa.
Different hubs have different noises through which you can clearly guess that person or rider from his hub noise on the trails.
There are a few hubs that have irritating and unpleasant noises from the other hubs which are not good to ride with the same hub in group cycling.
Newly-made and modern louder hubs do not have a much louder voice as compared to the old quality louder hubs, companies are modifying these hubs and their noises day by day.
Best louder noise hubs:
There are 7 best louder hubs used to install for mountain biking and for gravel bikes:
- Hope Pro 3
- Chris King
- Industry 9
- Halo Supa Drive (IIRC)
- Fulcrum 3s
- Hope Pro 2 EVO
- Hope Bulb
All of these are different from each other with different noises, weight differences, and also with different properties and characteristics.