Aluminum Freehub Gouging

[loxx0050]

What you could've tried was to use a mallet with a flat head screwdriver against the teeth of the cogs to "tap" it loose. Opposite direction of the way it spins. That should dislodge it from the splines enough to be able to remove it. Takes a bit longer than using that fancy tool but does work. Forcing it with brute methods runs the risk of damaging or breaking things.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by loxx0050

What you could've tried was to use a mallet with a flat head screwdriver against the teeth of the cogs to "tap" it loose. Opposite direction of the way it spins. That should dislodge it from the splines enough to be able to remove it. Takes a bit longer than using that fancy tool but does work. Forcing it with brute methods runs the risk of damaging or breaking things.

Brute force wasn't required or used, but rather my hand hitting a block of pine against a piece of poplar dowel. It didn't take much. And there was no risk of damaging the teeth of the cogs with a screwdriver this way either.

[regularguy412]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

At least in my case this isn't me "buying into" an aluminum freehub body. It was the only choice. It's definitely not why I chose these hubs and I would choose them again. The small strip of steel (bite guard) more or less solves the issue so I don't understand why all aluminum freehubs don't have them.



And the issue is obviously exacerbated by the large torque easily created with a 42-46t rear cog.

BTW, the area around the pawls and springs was greased, but there's certainly room for more. How much grease should they get?

Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr

I do pack mine 'prettttty' full of Phil Grease, but I also use a liberal amount of homebrew lube (3 parts synthetic motor oil and 1 part camp fuel). Never had a problem with sticky pawls. And,, for a while,, the hub runs REALLLLLLLY quiet.

Mike in AR

[loxx0050]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Brute force wasn't required or used, but rather my hand hitting a block of pine against a piece of poplar dowel. It didn't take much. And there was no risk of damaging the teeth of the cogs with a screwdriver this way either.

Ok. Your first post stated mallet was used which sounded like forcing it to me. Lightly tappping does not damage the teeth unless your definition of "tap" is different than mine.

[DavidC]

Many have said to file down ridges that develop. I guess lots have had success doing that. Not me: upon light filing, some small flaps of metal came off where the cogs had dug in. This rendered the freehub useless. There was then nothing for the cogs to push against, and they spun around the freehub body. Maybe it was a fluke, but worth pointing out. (On a powertap hub, if I recall.)

[josephr]

Originally Posted by BikeNY

I did invest in a steel freehub for the DT hub on my singlespeed just in case. At least DT and Hope have steel freehubs available.

didn't know DT had a steel option...I asked a few years ago, so maybe this is new? I dunno...the gouging was pretty bad. I filed it down and then vowed to not take the cassette off again until its completely worn out. That was 4k miles ago, so probably coming soon. I'm scared to look!

[purplecu22]

I pinned my shimano 105 cassettes. If you align the cogs, there is a hole that goes through the entire cassette. I took a 3mm allen key, inserted and cut the end off. I did this on my all cassette bodies and it helped cut down on gouging a great deal.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by purplecu22

I pinned my shimano 105 cassettes. If you align the cogs, there is a hole that goes through the entire cassette. I took a 3mm allen key, inserted and cut the end off. I did this on my all cassette bodies and it helped cut down on gouging a great deal.

Hmm. 8 of the 10 cogs on this particular cassette were pinned. The 11-42t 11s XT cassette that was on previously and didn't do near the same amount of gouging featured two aluminum carriers for the largest 6 or 7 cogs which certainly goes a long way to prevent gouging.

[yetitotheheady]

My sram s 900 hub did the same, not as deep but noticeable. Replacement freehub bodies are around $60. If you are 11spd and not loaning your wheels out to 10spd friends, you could get the xd driver body instead. Then you wont have gouging ever again. Downside it would require an xd cassette, and they are more expensive than the shimano cassettes you are currently using.

[ergott]

Sram Red cassettes are another solution. Not cheap though. Good part is they work with all 3 11 speed groups.

[BikeNY]

Originally Posted by josephr

didn't know DT had a steel option...I asked a few years ago, so maybe this is new? I dunno...the gouging was pretty bad. I filed it down and then vowed to not take the cassette off again until its completely worn out. That was 4k miles ago, so probably coming soon. I'm scared to look!

I believe they've had the steel freehubs available for many years. Only downside is they're not cheap, $90 or so.

https://www.amazon.com/DT-Swiss-Moun.../dp/B017EGAIHW

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by BikeNY

I believe they've had the steel freehubs available for many years. Only downside is they're not cheap, $90 or so.

https://www.amazon.com/DT-Swiss-Moun.../dp/B017EGAIHW

Not 11s road or Campag either..

[BikeNY]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Not 11s road or Campag either..

They also have 11 speed road:

https://www.amazon.com/DT-Swiss-11-S.../dp/B017EGAECG

Generally it's not needed for Campag because the splines are deeper and don't gouge as much as the Shimano ones.

[GregL]

Hopefully more vendors will follow BikeHubStore.com and add anti-bite guards: http://www.bikehubstore.com/SL210-p/sl210.htm

[ColonelJLloyd]

Three stainless steel splines? Wish they showed a photo. The bite guards I've seen are all like the ones on my Velocity convertible hubs. It basically looks like one of the splines was machined off and replaced with a piece of steel.