Free hub problems

[deanl1]

I went cycle touring last year and had a rear pannier with around 8-9kg worth of stuff in it. During my trip, I noticed that sometimes the freehub would fail turn properly when I was free-wheeling down hill resulting in the chain hitting against the chain stay. This wasn't really much of a problem at the time and I continued to use my bike after the trip without any problems. Then the freehub completely broke a couple of months afterwards and I had to get it replaced, if this had happened during my touring holiday it would have caused a big problem but fortunately I was very close to my home and didn't have far to walk. Now that the freehub has been replaced, I've not had any problems, but I'm going on another similar touring holiday next year and worry I might have the same problems again. Is it common for wheels not to be able to support the pannier load like this? and if so what would you recommend before I go touring again?

PS the wheel set I have is http://www.merlincycles.com/supra-ra30-wheels-57767.html

 

[Levo-Lon]

Bearing failed in a superstar hub and ive had a pawl fail which broke the pawl retaining spring.
thing is how many spares do you take? Law of the sod usually rears its head and the spares you take are the wrong ones ..

 

[User6179]

Think they wheels are about as opposite as you could go for touring , deep rim makes them a harsher ride , low spoke count makes them flex more plus if you snap a spoke with only 24 rear spokes you wont be able to limp to your destination as the wheel will be rubbing the frame .

Plus point , I doubt it was the weight that caused the sticky hub , more likely it just needed cleaned and oiled .

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Loaded touring doesn't stress the freehub more than any other kind of riding. Freewheels fail from dirty or rusty pawls that won't engage and in the case of Shimano, bearings that rust, break and jam the system. Wheel load and freewheel load are different issues. If your wheels didn't fail, i.e. the spokes didn't come loose, then the wheel is good enough for the job. It is a good idea to service all bearings before a long unsupported ride and although most mechanics won't include the freehub in such a service, ask for it. That will give you peace of mind. Even better, learn how to do it yourself and how to diagnose imminent problems.

 

[accountantpete]

The hubs on that type of wheel tend to be cheap Chinese made stuff that is not very consistent in quality. So you can get hub failures - usually when the pawl starts playing up as in your case and also spoke breakages if you have a heavy pannier.

If I was going touring I would want something more dependable for the rear wheel at least - Shimano hub and quality spokes like DT Swiss.