unit said:Shimano makes a free hub that is restricted for law enforcement use only. You may be able to get one if you have the right sources. They are called Shimano Nexave Silent Clutch hubs...It is not a freewheel, but it is silent, and very hard to get for civilians.
I like silence in the woods so I simply pedal most of the time to silence the freewheel.
Why is a silent freewheel important to you? Just curious.
That particular hub (Nexave) was claimed by an article in Bicycling a few months back to be restricted for law enforcement use only. I talked to a Cop friend and he said that there is some special contract with shimano and for some reason they dont want civilians to have them. Sounds dumb to me, its not like its a machine gun or something, but I have yet to see anyone offering them for sale to the public.hollister said:silent clutch hubs are restricted to law enforcement use only?since when?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Sturmey-Archer has been selling them to the general public for a long long long long time.hollister said:silent clutch hubs are restricted to law enforcement use only?since when?
Can you imagine what would happen if they were legal? Bicycle riding hooligans would rule the streets, given new courage in the knowledge that they can finally coast away silently.unit said:That particular hub (Nexave) was claimed by an article in Bicycling a few months back to be restricted for law enforcement use only. I talked to a Cop friend and he said that there is some special contract with shimano and for some reason they dont want civilians to have them. Sounds dumb to me, its not like its a machine gun or something, but I have yet to see anyone offering them for sale to the public.
I have one of those STX Silent Clutch hubs on my commuter. It's an old cop bike. Soooper stealthy.dannybob said:Shimano introduced the Silent Clutch about ten years ago. It works in sort of the opposite way as their roller brake. A bunch of rollers "coast" inside the freewheel until pedalling forces push them up little ramps and the "wedge" between an extension from the hub body and the cassette body. It is silent and offers pretty quick engagement. Problem is the material of a freehub body is pretty thin and the system generates a lot of force radially outward on that freehub body (pawls don't) and the freehub bodies crack pretty frequently.
I believe Shimano originally offered a Silent Clutch freehub option on the STX group (entry level mtb) but it never went any further up the line than that. I think they still offer it in one of their hybrid/commuter groups but I would never put one on a bike I really cranked on. I wouldn't trust it.
It might be good for creeping up on the doughnut shop but not for MTB'ing.
Because it's not a freewheel.CBBaron said:Why hasn't someone mentioned a fixed cog yet. ...