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.

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. 👍

Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound:
Magnofield - Swerve Lands
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[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!

[danielbum]

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

[tomrengert]

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!

[tomnewham]

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.

[ellmerfudd]

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

[JoLe]

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.

[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.

[halu]

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

[brianwillaman]

"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!

[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.

[pibba]

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

[ygtcbee]

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!!

[bicyclist]

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.

[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!

[steppings]

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

[prestachuck]

@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.

[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.

[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.

[ZOB]

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.

[jerrygundecker]

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.