I’ve owned a few HED3 wheels over the years, and have had a close look at several I didn’t own.
I gotta say, almost everyone of them felt like they had bearings and/or freehub that felt like shit. Like they were spinning very rough, or making a loud noise or grind every revolution, enough to feel through the frame on the workstand. And not that it matters so much, but the outsides of the axles always look corroded…
I just got another rear, and sure enough, same thing. I’m not talking about the small wobble you sometimes see at the hub, I know that is normal for these wheels…
I took the axle out and cleaned the bearing surface and bearings. The sealed bearing on the non-drive side feels very smooth. When I put it back together, it seems to spin smooth while pedaling and thus the freehub body engaged, but when I stop pedalling, and let the wheel spin on the freehub, there feels like a very rough spot every revolution. I guess the freehub is shot? It is a bit of an older one, the one with threads on both the outside and inside. Looks like I need an odd tool to remove it, I know most use a 10mm allen wrench, but it almost looks like it needs one of those older splined tools, not sure, will try tonight…
I sent an email to HED about it via their web page, but when I’ve done that in the past, I don’t hear back. Will try calling, but still frustrating…