Which Freewheel?

Hello, I'm new to this forum (and single speeds) and I'm looking for some advice on freewheels.....

I've just picked up a Pearson Touche to use as a winter bike. I'm using it as a single speed with a freewheel til I feel bold enough with it go fixed. The freewheel it comes with is so noisy it's ruining an otherwise really fun ride. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good quality freewheel upgrade that doesn't sound like a rusty combine harvester?

so what freewheels are you using, if any?

Thanks in advance!

More information needed.

Is it noisy all the time? Or is it noisy when coasting?

Its probably nothing to do with the freewheel, noisiness is probably caused by an off-center chainline. I guess this is unusual in a brand new bike though. Also I'd recommend flipping the wheel and giving the fixed side a go.

It's only noisy when coasting, it's fine when pedaling. It also takes a bit long to engage when going from coasting to pedaling....I thought this might be a sign of a cheap(er) freewheel.

I'm keen to give fixed a go too...

ah fair enough. Could try a bit of lube, it sounds like it needs it. If not freewheels are pretty easy to come by, any evans/cyclesurgery will have one.

white industries make good freewheels but however good they are they are not as good as a fixed wheel.

You mean it has a noisy ratchet sound? This is just the case with some freewheels. Try another. Shimano are usually quiet. Wayne's is noisy but I prefer that (White Ind?). King are noisy. Mavic are noisy.
Be careful lubing freewheels.. too much or too heavy and you risk sticking the sprung pawls down = bye bye engagement = no forward motion.

king and mavic don't make freewheels.....only hubs yer fat aussie;P

i hear aerospoke are bringing out a freewheel :)

haha

31t®um king and mavic don't make freewheels.....only hubs yer fat aussie;P

Yeah, which you can make singlespeed with the use of a cog and spacers. Muppet.

And before you get clever on me.. I'm not paying attention to the bike which is probably using an ss specific hub. Piss off, I'm packing :P

ha!
go on bugger off :0)

@DirRT, just get an ordinary shimano freewheel, they are reasonbly quiet, or an ACS claw from here!
should last a year or two.

Yeah, I'd recommend the Shimano one. Before I went fixed I used one of them, I couldn't hear it ratcheting away whilst I'll was on the roads, only in really quiet places.

white industries make the best freewheel I've tried

really quick pick up, bulletproof, smooth as

as hippy mentioned they make a ratcheting sound - but if you're used to road kit then it's the same kind of moise you'd get from a tune or chris king hub

Agree with Wayne, I sold mine on to my flatmate when I went straight to fixed and he loves the shit out of it... It is expensive and a bit noisy, but it's a beautifully engineered bit of kit... Sideways Cycles do them...
I've been told you can dismantle and re-pack for silent running, but you need a special tool to take it apart... Pain in the arse at the end of the day...

as everyone says, white ones are meant to be the best. i've always used cheap dicta ones. they are fine. some are clicky and some are smooth. having chatted to bike shops about it, seems its luck of the draw. check a few in a shop and you should find a quieter one. doesn't seem to effect performance at all.

"It also takes a bit long to engage when going from coasting to pedaling...."

i suspect this is because the chain isn't tight enough, i.e the axle is too far forwards in the dropouts, hence the slight lag as the slack is taken up when you put your foot down.

i may be wrong.

cheap freewheels have less engagement pawls, hence the lag.
most freewheels are a bit noisy when new

...arn't White inds like £80 quid or somet..
soaking a FW in oil quietens them down a bit.
I ridden most FW's in my BMX years except White Ind and never had any probs with Dicta,Suntour, Shimano or ACS.

Yeah, they are.

Personally I think £80 on a freewheel is just plain stupid if it's just going to be used on city streets. If it was in a really extreme climate though, it makes sense, mind.

i got the cheapo ones. i never use them anyway, it's just in case a lesser friend wants to ride one of my lovely bikes but is too scared.

I've got a Touche & it was pretty noisy on the freewheel (not noisy from normal clicky, but kind of grindy - hard to explain).

Anyway, flipped over to fixed side and back to silent running. (Also got a new KMC chain as the standard one was crap and then broke).

So go fixed.

they can be grindy if the chain tension is too tight.

flipped over to fixed side and back to silent running.