Nothing excites riders more than the continuous clicking noise while riding down the street. Honestly, most people don’t know what attracts them to a loud BMX hub, but the sound is gorgeous.
So how do you make your BMX hub louder? This article will help you make your BX hub louder for a memorable riding experience.
Table of Contents
Why would one want to make a BMX hub louder?
There are several reasons why riders prefer loud BMX hubs. Surprisingly, some people get loud hubs by chance, while for others, it’s by choice. Basically, most high-end freewheels are much louder than entry-level ones. So, cyclists looking for quality cassettes may end up with loud hubs by chance.
However, there are riders who install loud hubs by chance. For instance, riders who ride through trails and parks with pedestrians love loud freehubs. Pedestrians notice the hub’s buzz and step out of the way without using the ring bells.
Additionally, some cyclists install loud hubs for bling. In fact, some riders degrease their rear bike hubs to get the loud buzz. Unfortunately, degreasing the hubs can shorten the lifespan of your freewheel. Therefore, to keep the freehub fully lubricated, use lighter grease to protect the hub’s crucial parts and repel moisture.
Other benefits that come with using free hubs include:
- Faster engagement on resuming pedaling
- When cycling in a paceline or a pack, a loud freewheel signals the rider behind you when you’re coasting.
How to make your BMX hub louder
There are many ways you can use to make your hub loud. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty and removing your hub, then cleaning out the hub greases will increase the noise the hub will make when the wheel is rotating. Cleaning the whole hub, wiping all the grease, and replacing it with thinner grease will also function the same as removing some.
If removing some grease doesn’t make your hub louder, then you can disconnect the hub and slightly bend the springs under the pawls. However, doing this can break your hub, but if done carefully, it can create more pawl tension and produce more noise when you place it back in position.
If you’re unsure about the mechanics and disconnecting the hub, you may have no chance of making your hub louder apart from investing in a newer hub.
How to take your bike hub apart
If you want to make your bike hub louder, you need to have some mechanical understanding. Although you don’t need to be a top mechanic to make your hubs loud, you need a decent toolkit and some experience for the best outcome.
In order to access the part of your hub that increases your cassette hub noise, start by removing the bike wheel. If your hub is separate from the wheel, this will be a great advantage.
Start by taking off the driver, the part with the chainring. Most BMX hubs are similar, and you only need to unscrew the bolt on the drive side of the hub. After removing the driver, you will have access to the pawls, bearings, and springs so you can make your hub louder.
How do Bike Hubs Work?
Front hubs are mainly designed to help the spin the wheel and don’t have an advanced design. BMX hubs and mountain bike hubs come with some differences between them. All rear bike hubs are equipped with a freewheel on the drive side of the hub. It usually has a thin cylindrical shape where the chainring or cassette is placed. This is where the main difference between a mountain bike and BMX hubs comes in.
With an MTB hub, you can replace the cassette easily, but it’s harder to replace the rear chainring in BMX hubs. The spring-loaded pawls that produce the clicking sound are found inside this freewheel.
When coasting the BMX bike, the pawls will flex over each groove and allow the hub to keep moving. When pedaling, the chainring causes the pawls to spin in the opposite direction, thus engaging the pawls into the grooves. The more grooves and pawls on the hub, the faster the engagement.
FAQs
Are all good hubs loud?
No, not all high-quality hubs are loud. Some high-end hubs are quiet on purpose. These silent hubs are ideal for riders who like concentrating on the ride without noise from their coasting freewheels.
Conclusion
If you like your BMX hub loud, you need to invest in a bike with high-end rear hubs. Although you can degrease your bike’s hub to make it loud, it can cause rapid wearing of the freewheel. Therefore, the best way to make your BMX hub louder is by investing in a new hub that will suit your riding style.