Mavic Ksyrium - ghost pedaling

Triathlon Forum
1

Looking to confirm/check that it’s a thing w/Mavic wheels?

Noticed it after cleaning the drivetrain over the weekend. It’s not bad, but just annoying when wheeling the bike around.

LBS guy said that there’s something inside the hub that dries out and can’t be replaced as Mavic no longer supports it. Said the ghost pedaling will progress and be accompanied by a hum and screeching sound at some point. Could be months or years away depending. Then at that point time for new hubs and wheels.

Before trying to futz around w/hub maintenance and YouTube videos, anyone experience and fix this? Or have other suggestions? Or just leave it as is?

*ghost pedaling - when the rear wheel rolls forward, the pedals also turn (apparent when not clipped in). I can spin the cranks backwards and all’s normal. If I’m clipped in, I can also coast normally. So it’s not like it behaves like a fixed gear single speed.

2

Hub drag causes it, did you try cleaning the freehub and regreasing it? My cross bike does it, I’ve not bothered to clean it up enough to stop it.

3

Cassette and cogs came off for cleaning, and I wiped the cylindrical part of the hub and splines clean (i.e. the outside), then put the cassette back on, and relubed stuff. I didn’t do anything on the “inside” of the freehub where the pawls, bearings and other inner workings sit. But I figure that’s where there’s now enough friction to cause the problem?

4

Yeah, the pawls is where the action happens.

https://youtu.be/eSR7luKf2t4

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5

Make sure you don’t have some grass or something wound around the backside of the cassette.

You should be able to take that freehub body off and clean it up with some weed wacker gas and put a little bit of light grease where the pawls go

6

No debris around the cassette at all. Whole bike is still clear, spotless and sparkling after my clean up job and the few rides since.

But now, the issue seems to have solved itself. I figure a couple of rides redistributed lube or whatnot within the hub. Ignore a problem and hope it goes away strategy seems to worked for now.

But thanks for the cleanup advice, and to Sullie for the video link. May revisit if the problem comes back.

7

Is it warmer now than when the problem developed?

8

All free hubs need regular maintenance. Once per 4-5 months I open my Mavics up and give a thorough clean and re-lube, checking the bearings at the same time. Ignoring them will only lead to bigger problems at some stage.

9

There is a bushing in that freehub that will eventually wear out. Good news is that even in Mavic isn’t making them anymore, there are some aftermarket replacements available, just search for “Mavic Ksyrium freehub bushing”.

Having said that, it’s more likely that you just need to degrease your pawls and re-lubricate with oil, not grease. If you grease the pawls, what you’re describing is the result, especially when/if the wheel sits for a bit.