Freehubs Explained: Everything You Need To Know About Road Bike Freehubs

How do I change the noise of my freehub? How do I repair my freehub? How do I replace my freehub? All common questions, and all answered in our comprehensive guide to bicycle free hubs.
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In this video, we explain all the essential details of road bike freehubs from all of the major manufacturers. The freehub is one of the more complex parts of your bike, so it is worth having an understanding of how they work and how they can be repaired or replaced.
All of the major types of free-hub - including Mavic, Vision, DT Swiss, Zipp and Chris King - are covered in this video. Please comment with your freehub-related question if it's not answered here, though!
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends. 👍
If you'd like to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link - gcntech.co/fH
Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound:
Magnofield - Swerve Lands
Magnofield - Tiny Fast Vehicle
Magnofield - MoneyMoneyMoney
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[@danielbum912]

Jon, out of nowhere, with the best GCN Tech video so far. Thank you so much.

[@TheWaxChainFanClub]

#poty2019

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

Nope. Lots of skimming over and hand passing.

[@zzhughesd]

I hate my disk brake bike ... I’m Holding onto my 5 emonda rim disk frames and bikes. The pawls just fall out hub on disk hub assembly. And cassette comes off. Could anyone let me know how to tighten the slack up now I’ve pushed the pawls into the hub. Then it’s off on eBay

[@tomnewham1269]

I have to say I didn’t know there were so many different types of free hubs before I watched this video. Very informative. Thanks for sharing.

[@fepatton]

What I want is a quieter freehub. After 30 years with a Regina freewheel (on a Campy hub) that had a very subtle buzz, my new bike with a Shimano freehub just makes such a racket! Part of that may be the amplification of the noise through the CF frame, but really... Great video as usual!

[@ellmer1fudd]

Ah wow, you've just scratched an itch I've had for years! Jon, you are a legend. This vid is super nice

[@tomrengert1221]

You've got to do STI Shifters next... ...I've stripped them down and now it's your turn to show em how it's done!

[@elijahkwon422]

Not stripped them down yet but had one snapped off my bike in a bunch crash, ( complicated things)

[@tomrengert1221]

@@elijahkwon422 Yes, they can be monsters... ...you use similar tactics with clocks as you might with STI shifters. Now hub gears can be harder, and I have yet to master some of them...

[@swolebro]

STI shifters? I'd like to see a teardown of some Di2's! In any case, this guy has a great video for a set of old, old STI shifters. There's going to be some differences with the modern stuff (eg. with both brake and shifter cables going under the bar tape), but it at least gives you the gist of it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpyqf4GVZ6iZebs

[@yanncampbell7401]

Just got a handbuilt pair (built by and for a mechanic that ended up not using it) with Bitex hubs. I wasn't too fond of the noise at first as my stock wheels were dead silent, but I now appreciate the added safety it gives me on shared paths.

[@jerrygundecker743]

You load your videos with so much information that I often have to watch it again later to get what I missed the first time. Thanks for the education and all the experience.

[@brianwillaman1776]

"Free Hub Sound Test"...love it!!! Bike geeks love the sound of free hubs. Love this video and this channel. Keep it up with the amazing stuff. I've learned so much from watching GCN!

[@vladamirkb1]

i think about changing my free hub sound all the time,This video explained it perfectly.Cheers

[@jonthedoors]

Great explanations Jon! Brilliant video

[@HaloWheels]

Thanks for featuring our exploded Supadrive hub guys! :) We find that high engagement offers the ability to build in a bigger surface area between the pawls and drive ring, as well as offering near instant pick up for those all important sprints. Sometimes split seconds make all the difference.

[@ygtcbee23]

I'd really like to see a deep dive into derailleurs! Please discuss topics like derailleur pull geometry, touch on why certain gear levers only work with certain derailleur, and any cross compatibility hacks with derailleurs/cassette options!!

[@halu959986]

I was helping someone on my saturday ride because their free hub jammed. Thankfully it wasnt the hub, just the plastic cassette guard getting mangled. Could tell they didn't ride often so I'm glad I could help :) great video as always

[@simmo26]

Fascinating video. I love seeing how things work and why things are slightly different. Levers would be interesting with STI/Doubletap/ergoshift differences. Derailleurs too as that would help me understand them better for indexing!

[@squishybiker]

Phew! I have a DT Swiss 350 rear hub on my tourer and the freehub came off when I was trying to remove a jammed on cassette! Now that I understand how it works, I'm happy that I've put it back together correctly!

[@freddavidson73]

Thank you very much for this remarkable video. You covered a wonderful range of territory in a relatively short time.

[@johnnyhanel]

easily my fav GCN tech video yet

[@peterjames-martin629]

Excellent presentation, one of the best explanations on free hubs I have seen, thank you.

[@pibba]

JT... aside from performance, it is all about the sound! Loved the sound of the mavic hubs on my '75 Raleigh Competition, until I heard the silky silence of Rolf on my '80's Conalgo Sarroni...weaving silently through neighborhood at night is a sacred pleaser that really is more akin to flying than cycling. Love it. Thank you for this expose.

[@Sijray21]

Still helping me today. Thanks! About to upgrade my 18t dt Swiss 350 Pro37s to the 54t.

[@gethind-j2390]

Great demystification JonnyTech, I am now wiser, thanks!

[@bhumiriady]

Cool and awesome as always! Now I know the magic behind the awesome freehub sounds.

[@bicyclist2]

Believe it or not you can get Chris Kings freehub buzz as a ring tone. I have a set of Chris King MTB hubs, but I'll never take them apart as they look more complected than the Shimano hubs. The detailed explanations are greatly appreciated. This is one I'll have to watch more than once. Thanks.

[@scottishjohn]

A really helpful video from the point of view of know what goes on in a freehub but do have a feeling that you have gone into some detail like this when you have gone through the process of servicing a freehub. I am very fortunate to not have to really look at my freehub all that much since the small parts inside bring me out in a cold sweat! Please can we have a video going into the crazy world of headsets... so many different types and ways to install. Would be really useful. Thanks once again Jon!

[@markmathews1072]

Love to see Jon stripping it down, getting dirty and educating us all. What a top pro he is!!!!

[@Blackhawknightstrikr]

This was fantastic. Thank you Jon!

[@MeFreeBee]

7:35 I don't understand that bit about "more power transfer". Surely, unless the freehub is slipping, power transfer should be 100% when engaged. The only difference would be how quickly the engagement occurs when you start pedalling.

[@frankthetankricard]

I think what you're thinking of is different than the losses they're talking about. 1 revolution of the chain ring forward would indeed result in 1 revolution of the hub body. But the losses are in the fact that the parts have flex and friction which turns a percentage of the force into heat. The more of those exist the more power you have to put in from your legs to overcome them and rotate the wheel. If the friction is reduced or some of it is eliminated then you can move forward the same amount by using slightly less energy.

[@TheLionEric]

@ I'd argue if you're a sprinter or just racing cars the flex in components can become more significant, though if you're on a casual ride it may not matter

[@JonCannings]

More engagement, better power transfer and reliability I reckon. just saying.

[@georgehugh3455]

@@JonCannings Better reliability, perhaps. The only advantage I see is the *quicker engagement* of, say, a 54 or 36 tooth DT Swiss Hub over a 25, assuming the mechanism can engage that fast (just 6.6 deg or 10 deg of rotation vs 14.4 degrees).

[@QiuyuanChenRyan916]

That is the actual efficiency a freehub can do. Material flex does cause some loss in power transfer though as little as they are on smaller components can, in fact, affecting the transfer.

[@tommccafferty5591]

Very entertaining and informative video Jon.

[@pibba]

The GCN refurb "super bike" hanging proudly just behind...proud!

[@prestachuck2867]

It’s probably his fair weather commuter bike now. That’s what I’d use that tank for. 😁

[@brunocyclist]

The enthousiasm for the inner workings of the different freehubs is visible on Jon's face. :)

[@Daluke61]

Super informative! Many thanks.

[@tubbycosmos]

This video was amazing! So much excellent information. At least for the nerds out there.

[@DrBreezeAir]

A loud freehub is a nice bell replacement. Never new DT Swiss offer an option, thanks, Jon!

[@charlescarlson1290]

That was a great review of free hubs and how they function. Thanks

[@cegmino]

Great video as ever, but also the set looks amazing, Rocket shining in the background making me need another coffee!

[@josephfenech6325]

Thank you for your video explaining free hubs it gave me what i wanted even my oval 900 6 pawls double engagement free hub wasn't in your video , thank you again,,,, from Aussie land

[@TheWaxChainFanClub]

I'm liking this tinder profile lighting, JC.

[@Knives183]

Brilliant video, I learned a lot. Thank you!

[@CheesyHotDogPuff]

Awesome video, thanks. I'm currently learning on a job to be a technician, this video does a great job of explaining how different technology's and brands of hubs work.

[@prestachuck2867]

@joncannings, You’ve forgotten to mention that one benefit of having more points of engagement is less lag from coasting to pedaling. This is especially important for XC and technical Trail riding since mountain bikers are often riding in situations where a complete revolution of the crank is not possible due to rocks and other obstacles thus requiring the rider to propel the bicycle by “jogging” the cranks. It for this reason that wheels built with Chris King hubs have become something of a holy grail for many mountain bike enthusiasts. It is also the reason that many other manufacturers have recently been upping the pawl or tooth count in an attempt to swipe a little bit of that hardcore mtb business.

[@sch79]

This was mentioned in GCN interview here kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJizfX2JibyojJY

[@jimjr4432]

Hi Jon, I hope you stay on with GCN, seems like others are moving you to the background ala Matt and Emma. In any case, I do really enjoy your competent videos. Cheers!

[@barryneilson5199]

Really helpful video fr someone like me who is not a "techy" but wants to understand and perhaps do a bit of self maintenance.

[@DameEdnaBrown]

Thanks for this great video

[@FfoegR]

Superb vid, very thorough and well explained, with no pointless waffle. Can you give Doddy lessons please?

[@RonHei]

I wish my free hubs were silent. Very cool and informative video. Thanks Jonnytech!

[@jonpoon3896]

The video we’ve all been waiting for

[@davidmoreno790]

I always wanted to know well how hubs work and you bring this video. Thanks a lot!!!!!

[@ZOB4]

I took my bike in for a full overhaul and my rear wheel came back much, much quieter than when I dropped it off. Having said that, it also feels more smooth and picks up more quickly when I go from freewheeling to putting in power. So while I do miss the noise it made, I feel like it's faster and more responsive now.

[@tiegejh715]

Very thank you to Jon and the GCN Tech's backroom boys so much，since I buy my new Cervelo S5 with DT Swiss wheel very loud freehub sound，so I'm very curious how the freehub looks like and how to they works so long for such massive mileage，then I search anywhere from Google to KZbin for any freehub explain but there's nothing，until GCN Tech unveil this video，I think it is the first video that talk about freehubs so detailed，and take each brands compare about how insane are the technology，I think this is why GCN makes the world's biggest education program，should you guys get some awards？😝

[@gcntech]

hi, this may be useful too. Thanks, Jon kzbin.info/www/bejne/jom9nYBrnsefa9U

[@bobferguson1696]

Thoroughly enjoyed that! Have no intentions of depriving the cycle mechanic the joys of servicing & looking after my bike, or indeed of giving him more work due to me "touching" it with tools. Would actually like to see something about chain rings, as I swapped to absoluteBLACK sub-compact oval. Much better for my knees!

[@steppings5645]

Great stuff John. Used Royce hubs for years now, not the lightest but as Tina Turner said "Simply the Best"

[@gcntech]

Good stuff

[@itsdeebs5156]

Please do these for an near everything...this is fantastic

[@n8ha-d332]

Super-helpful vid. Thanks!!

[@pinoparietti2229]

Very good video and expertly explained

[@gcntech]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JulianRoss2011]

Awesome video. Thanks so much!!

[@Fixedgearradu]

Great tutorial! The Zipp magnet system is pretty impressive, but so are the others. Do the Shimano Ergo shifters insides next, maybe compared to Sram and Campagnolo? The Rotor hydraulic shifters are interesting too.

[@johnadaviles6039]

very informative. tnx gcn!

[@timmoss8510]

Hi John, great and informative as usual. However, you missed out Onxy sprag hubs, which I have on my MTB and CX bikes. I'm sure everyone will be fascinated to see how they work, including me!

[@moschmivatec7741]

Brilliant video, very cool ! Derailleurd in Detail please on the next one

[@davidide1525]

Hey Jon , Great video as always . Love the tech stuff !

[@greasyfingerprints]

To make your freehub louder, I suggest holding a swap card onto your stays with a clothes peg so it hits your spokes. That's how we did it on our Malvern Stars.

[@WanderABit]

Finally the content I love, thank you! Pity you didn't disassemble Chris King hub, and glance over contact points (there is a a difference because the more you have faster engagement but it comes at the cost of the lifespan). As for Zipp hub -- shouldn't it mean it is silent when running free (I just checked, Zipp does not offer hubs at all, it looks like you have to buy entire wheel, bad, bad, bad)? My vote for next topic would be internals of the headtube -- how fork is stabilized, what benefits come with tapered headtube, and so on.

[@hugobci]

Just the video i was hoping for

[@brianbackes4974]

Best GCN video yet. Thanks for advice on changing freehub sound signatures. You guys really are good for something. ;)

[@JoLe1991]

I have tested various lubricants for the dt star ratchet, besides the original special grease. any grease wether thin or thick is inappropriate to reduce wear of the teeth as it quickly gets displaced and does not return. Additionally, the stiction created by grease impairs the mobility of the ratchet in the drive ring, which is crucial to prevent misengagement and damage to the teeth. the best lubricant hands down is transmission oil (75W/90), maybe hypoid gear oil (85W) is better for hot weather. This oil is thick but thin enough to flow arount, yet does not leak through the seal. it's excellent anti wear property effectively reduces wear by friction which is visible as black "dirty" grease after a short amount of time using grease. I've done my testing on a powerful ebike (750W mid drive motor), making the ratchet's life very hard.

[@MrLuigi-oi7gm]

Ring the Bell! That was a Super Nice video. Thanks!

[@barrymonaghan6593]

Would be interesting to do a test on which freehub makes the least noise.Chis King makes a racket, others not so much.

[@migelafa]

Hi Jon love the show, you have explained how free hubs work but how do you know which is the right hub to change it from a 10 to 11 speed as there are a lot of people selling good second hand quality wheels that are 10 speed at bargain prices but when looking for an 11 speed hub there are several of the same make so how do you know which is the right one?

[@josephojatson4538]

I like the DT swiss freebub sound 📢.... 😉👍🏾

[@metamurph]

cool walk through, personally the only time I want a loud pawl and click sound is when a steelhead grabs my fly and takes a run, on my bike I think that sounds cheap and plastic like. Not precise DT Swiss for the win on that.

[@bephrem]

super cool!

[@christophwei2890]

It's always good to learn something ;)

[@johnnycee5179]

I have a bike with a freewheel from 1971. It works great. I was not able to break it down for cleaning but did use WD-40 to clean out old grease and any dirt by spraying it in one side and draining out the other. Afterwards using good penetrating oil in the same manner. It makes a very faint clicking sound, for all intensive purposes it doesn't make a clicking sound at all. I kinda wish it did as I like the sound. A loud free hub means or could mean it's not lubricated or at least not very well which of course leads to a short free hub life.

[@johnsourke7663]

Great overview ....demystifying the freehub .... thanks 👍

[@mcorbett01]

That’s a really interesting video, very well explained by Jon. How complicated they are!

[@GoldenGaze1985]

Great explanation of each type of freehub but how can I service them? Do I just clean all the old grease away and reapply some fresh? Any areas I must avoid grease etc?

[@brannmacfinnchad9056]

Great video Jon--I'm one of those who have always been confused by them. Any feedback on which style seems to be the most durable? I really like the theory of the DT Swiss hubs.

[@racovert1]

Do a video on servicing hydraulic disc brakes and changing disc pads

[@FML22]

I remember when Shimano introduced the first 600EX freehub in the 1980s. I think they basically said it was a more compact and efficient way to package the freewheel mechanism, resulting in more symmetrical dishing than existing separate freewheel/hub combination, which allowed more than 5 cogs on the rear wheel. Are there any other advantages to either freehub vs freewheel?

[@JackMitchell404]

If you want to see a crazy freewheel mechanism, look no further than the left freewheel in a Sturmey Archer Model X or Model K, or a BSA 3 Speed hub. They have inverted freewheels where a toothed planet cage sits within a ball cup which is fitted with two sprung pawls. When you freewheel, the pawls spin around the static ratchet teeth. Another interesting freewheeling arrangement is to be found in a Sram Automatix hub, where high gear is in fact fixed and in order to freewheel, the hub must change down into low gear, though it does this automatically and will change back up instantly when you start peddling so long as you're above the threshold speed for activating the centrifugal clutch.

[@tahalmo3347]

Thank you

[@molkkonen]

Nice video. How about touchin a subject about different front wheel hubs. There seems to be all kinds of hassle about the freehubs but a lack of talk about the front wheel hubs in KZbin. Would be nice to know how to service different types of front hubs, tools required etc.

[@hoekmr]

Interesting, now please review all the quiet freehubs.

[@scottmccullough8030]

I like that Mavic pawls will be flung out with centrifugal forces where as the others rely on spring alone.

[@burtonblume973]

Please show us how to clean & lube the popular types of freehubs.

[@jochem1986]

This was a great video for me, since I will be upgrading my Shimano driver to XDR on my DT Swiss ARC!

[@Tamoduske]

Great video Jon. I have a pair of Hollowgram SI carbon clinchers on my Cannondale S6 Evo. Is the freehub serviceable on those? I cannot seem to get it off the axle.

[@firepumpertruck]

Could feature foss silent hubs? Or other silent hubs big thanks!

[@Anthony_in_Bloomington_Indiana]

I am wondering how to disassemble my hub, so I can clean out the grease and neatly put it back together. The hub says Formula on it. The rim had a piece missing along the edge. So I took it apart and recycled the rim and spokes. . RJ the Bike Guy demonstrated using a large hex wrench to get the freewheel thing off, but I couldn't follow what he was doing after that. It's an older style, and I expect it is the type that has loose ball bearings inside.

[@colinjava8447]

I've ordered a ribble R872 with basic mavic wheels, hopefully they are not too loud, they seem the softest in the video anyway. I don't recall my MTB wheel hub making noise, I'll try it tomorrow.

[@walthansen6333]

SPD Road brake lever repairs, and EPS calibration videos would be nice

[@jmanbball]

You should have covered Onyx hubs! Also, while the points of engagement don't matter that much on a road bike, it does on a mountain bike, especially in the low ratios!

[@kedarkulkarni3030]

Please show the mechanism of shifters and the derailleurs...love the show

[@brianbackes4974]

Yes, please do! I promise to say nice things.

[@stin11111]

Would love to see the internal of the new silent shimano hub

[@troycollett8540]

How about a video on headsets and expansion plugs etc

[@mytglg6uh]

Informative vid...Question you may be able to answer if you read these comments...I have a late model Campag Bora One wheelset and late model Bora Ultra wheelset. The Bora One freehub has a nice sound but the Bora Ultra freehub is almost dead silent...any thoughts why the difference?

[@AbdallahHarati]

Thanks a lot for the video. I have an old MTB Bontrager rim (29er RXL Scandium) with the freehub body FH-420386 TPI, which is clearly worn out. I'm upgrading my groupset to Shimano M-8000 2x11, with an 11-46 cassette. My questions: - Which freehub do I need? Quite difficult to find how to evolve from the existing freehub to a newer one. - Which one would be compatible to my bike? And another question: - I suspect my axle is also worn out and would need to replace. Which part would I need? - Should I replace the entire hub? If so, which part(s) do I need. Many thanks!

[@__-js8ix]

I love the sound of my hallowtech wheels. Killer bees on the way!!!

[@Kim_Miller]

I had clicky freehubs as a kid but in my early 20s (1970s) had a custom bike made and its Shimano hub is still totally silent. These days I ride a Specialized Roubaix and a Giant Toughroad, both of them have silent hubs. However, some of the people I ride with have clicky hubs and I find it annoying to ride behind them. I can't understand why anyone would want a noisy hub.

[@kareemalmond]

i think it just sounds cool, sort of like putting an exhaust on a car. another reason you might want it is if you ever get stuck behind some people walking or another biker they would easily hear you when you were to stop pedaling

[@sarangparmar9785]

You can't understand the real feeling of hubs noise i love it and it's like you don't have to own a cycle bell just your hub is like a monster and everyone is looking at you & give you a side

[@felipesimon]

I guess there's a trend here in Germany as most bikes are super loud. I find it very annoying and don't really understand the fuss. it sounds like there's something wrong with the bike and that's gonna break at any moment

[@iwontreplybacklol7481]

Its like putting baseball cards in your spokes, the noise is fun for a lot of people.

[@PicaMonedula]

Many people believe that how loud the hub is indicates quality. Im not excactly sure why

Thanks for the info. I'm riding a touring bike with a Pinion gearbox system with a carbon drive strap. In this transmission system, a lot of strength is lost, also traveling long distances, a low maintenance hub is needed and easy to repair, also traveling with saddlebags, many-spoke wheels are needed more or less 34 or 36 spokes to support a lot of weight. What hub or system do you recommend for 34 or 36 spokes? bikers hug,