Is it rude to have a noisy hub?

I have Hunt wheels and the hub is very noisy when freewheeling,  works very well when commuting in London more useful than a bell, becasue everyone can hear me coming when I need them too. A little more emabarassing when in the countryside or drafting - but just makes me practice getting my cadence right to avoid freewheeling behind someone.  Walking to my office without informing everyone in the building is harder though....

Just like the battle of the lumens, I'd just get myself a louder hub than yours.

What I find rude is walking, cycling, running, playing with a dog etc... in the middle of a shared cycle path, while being completely oblivious of oher users and the world around.

People offended by loud freehubs are idiots. 

I like my bike to be utterly silent, pretty obsessive about it if I'm honest. My Vision 35s are clicky-clacky, I resolve that by never freewheeling

When I returned to cycling a few years ago I was out for a quiet pootle when this lycra'ed adonis came flying by on a downhill section. Thought it was a motorbike at first, then assumed he'd fitted spokey-dokeys for some reason.

Is there are point performance-wise to a loud hub? Is it that they've got more/stronger pawls so they engage quicker?

I'm sure my carbon wheels and frame amplify my hub, but it's not nearly loud enough.

Are there any 3rd party add-ons to increase the noise? Something like spokey-dokeys but for the hub.

I loves a noisy hub I dos.  Recently in Holland, going through the dunes on the coast, I thought my Hope was nice and loud, and up comes this Duchy in his Lotto-Jumbo replica kit, overtakes me and coasts for a bit in front of me's like saying "my CK hub is noisier and more expensive than yours mate". 

Some hubs are noisy, I understand that Chris King's are exceptionally loud, yet everything he makes is proper good.

It definitely sends out a passive aggressive signal, especially if your cruising close behind the person in front. 

You can add to this nuisance by back pedalling half a turn to momentarily raise the pitch levels. 

I get a bit embarrassed by my passive aggressive hub noise,  in a paceline, if I freewheel, it shouts 'HURRY UP SLOWCOACH' to those in front.. which just means I pedal more and rest less (which is not what I think and not helpful).. 

On the other hand I 'appreciate it' when used instead of a 'bell'..  it sure does alert people to me coming. 

Jeez, people getting irritated by noisy freewheels? They need to get a life. Think of it as a safety feature. A noisy freewheel alerts other riders and pedestrians to your presence.

Both my BMX race bikes have very noisy freewheels. It's common in BMX. I do commute short distances on my BMX bikes and I know plenty of other BMXers who commute quite substantial distances on their BMXs.

Seriously, I think I'd just laugh at them if anyone complained about this while I'm riding.

tommyraleigh86 wrote:

Is this person just a bit daft

Assuming that you weren't furiously back pedalling, yes, ignore. They'd probably have had a go at you for sneaking up on them and giving them a scare if you'd approached in silence.

If you don't like it, squirt grease in there.

I startle sheep with my Hunt 4 seasons

Useful on shared use paths...

It just seems silly to have a really loud hub. That’s a lot of energy to waste on making noise every time you aren’t pedalling. 

My Reynolds strike have taken the angry bees approach. Ok on open roads but on the moot (I'm inbetween commute bikes) they can be bloody annoying to me let alone those in front of me I reckon. But what else to do? At least I'm waiting until its safe to overtake...

...not a good idea for race wheels though, you dont wanna let people know you are there!

I saw  a guy on a Cannondale today it sounded like he had a playing card in the spokes. That sort of thing was all the rage in the BMX scene for some reason but I can't see the point in it on road bikes. Quiet please. 

Not sure why some mong would view it as harassment though.

I’ve got a set of Fulcrum Racing Zeros which are absolutely silent. Great when you’re getting an easy ride drafting in a group, they have no idea you’re freewheeling 

Swinley used to be filled with the sound of angry bees, Hope mainly I believe, now it's more a case of the hiss of e assist, perhaps it's all rattlesnakes.

From the sound of my reassuringly expensive and loud sounding freehub and the reactions people have you'd think they were being attacked by a rattlesnake. 

This is normally followed by passive aggressive comments from middle aged women like 'don't they have bells any more?' No love you heard me fine, and if you did hear me it means I wasn't pedalling.