this past weekend I rode my new renn disc in a simulated TT. during a 10 mile warm-up, it was quiet except for the “normal” disc noise. at about 3 to 4 miles into the “test” ride, at about 25+mph, it started making what sounded like a rubbing noise. this continued for the rest of the 20 miles. I had the brakes open as far as they will go to eliminate any chance of rubbing and there was plenty of clearance. the only difference between the warm-up and the test TT was the length of time the wheel was “under load and at speed.” during the warm-up I did some short (0.25 - 0.5 mile) sections at 25+ and it was fine then. this was the second time I experienced this phenomenon, and only the second time I’ve put any distance on the wheel at speed, so its 2 out of 2. any ideas, anyone? frank?
Yep, same thing happened to me. According to Frank, some of the early 5-7-5 hubs were not properly oiled and that is what’s making the squawking noise (in my case it was very loud). You can break the hub down and oil the 3 pawls or you can do what I did and return the disc and let Frank do it (I’m not very handy when it comes to mechanical issues). I just mailed mine on Wednesday of last week and already got it back from Frank so I’m interested in giving the disc a good workout to see if it’s fixed.
Dave from VA
Here’s a post from Frank R. from an earlier thread:
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we are having a few of these. the problem is lack of lube on the three pawls. we will post a fix on our web site shortly. it’s a simple fix if you’d like to tackle it yourself. remove the cassette/cogs, then the drive side spacer (uses a 2mm allen wrench). the cassette carrier will now slide right out. place a drop of light oil (tri-flow works) on each of the three pawls where they meet the steel pawl carrier. reassemble. when you slide the cassette carrier back on it’s easier if you turn it while sliding it into the ratchet ring. if you are not comfortable doing the fix we can have it picked up and turned around very quickly. very sorry. we now break every hub down before the wheels goes out and they are all checked for lube.
frank, 901 725 2211
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Two lub applications seemed to work for me. Just did a half IM this past weekend and disc was quiet.
Mine squeaked like mad after the first 40 or 50 miles of riding, and was a serious nuisance during the Gulf Coast 1/2. I just did the oil thing last week, and rode it last night for the second time. 25 miles of intervals and 30mph hill climb sprints and everything seemed to be just fine. It quieted down the freewheeling a LOT, where before the pawls were insanely loud. It’s an easy fix, and only takes a few minutes if you are mechanically inclined (like me).
thanks for the help, everyone. I’ll give the oil a try.
I think I have this problem too - I got my renn back in Feb and noticed it was a very noisy hub. I am going to try taking it apart some time soon, however I was wondering if by tri flow they mean the stuff called ‘Tri-Flow™ Superior Lubricant’ that comes in a spray can or if they mean something else. On hand I have prolink, engine oil, WD40 and various brands of grease, however I’ve read that grease in bearings has been proven to be slower than oil by something like 100m over a 40k time trial. I’ll probably go buy some tri flow how ever I’ve seen various versions of it and am wondering which product is recommended.
WD40!!! ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!
keep that stuff away from your bike. use tri-flow or pro link to oil the pawls. wd40 displaces waster, grease, and just about anyhting good for your bike. once the lube is displaced, there is nothing other than bare metal to rub against each other.
wd40 should be banned from all bike stores. i can’t tell you how many people have come into the shop telling me “yeah i put wd40 on it and after a week it sounded worse…”
tommy
as tommy said, wd40 is more of a solvent than a lubricant.
tom is right. do NOT use WD40. it will work for about a week and then it will start to squeak again. wd= water displace not just a lubricant. frank
so would prolink be just as good as tri flow or should I go get some tri flow? I am a big fan of prolink but it seems very thin/ light - is tri flow also a chain lubricant? any thoughts on grease?
don’t know prolink but anything you would use on a chain will work. grease can be used but you will have to take the spring and the pawls off of the pawl carrier to make sure you get good coverage (not worth the extra work).
frank
tri flow is a little heavier than pro link…i would tend to go with tri flow first especially for this application. either one will work though. grease = slow, and not work the effort.
tommy
will aerosol tri-flow work as well as liquid-in-a-bottle tri-flow?
yes…but you will get better results from the drip style tri flow…it goes only where you put it
.
Re: “yes…but you will get better results from the drip style tri flow…it goes only where you put it”
… until you spin the wheel and the centrifugal forces send it pretty much in all the same places the spray would have gone 
In trying to follow the directions in this thread I have come across a big problem - the bolts holding the spacer in place wont budge - I tried everything I would usually do with a stuck bolt and ended up sort of stripping one of them in the process. They look like they will never come out. Any ideas? I would send it back to have it done but I dont want to pay shipping/ wait for it to come back etc etc…
As long as the noise can’t do any harm it I think I will just race with it and have it fixed after the season is over. (Its not like this can lock up or something if its not taken care of?)
In trying to follow the directions in this thread I have come across a big problem - the bolts holding the spacer in place wont budge -
As long as the noise can’t do any harm it I think I will just race with it and have it fixed after the season is over. (Its not like this can lock up or something if its not taken care of?)
It sounds like you are trying to remove the three bolts that hold the hub to the carbon disc. DO NOT remove these bolts. They are probably installed with a threadlocker and are not removeable anyway. The only screw you are removing is a tiny 2mm set screw that holds the cassette carrier in place. It is a small screw that is outside of the cassette carrier. It isn’t on that tight (only about 5 ftlb to remove) and just holds the small aluminum bearing seal/spacer. If you look at the upper left hub on this pic:
http://rennmultisport.com/photos/DSCN8707.JPG
You can see the tiny black screw on the cassette side. This is the ONLY screw you should consider removing.
Here’s the problem with non-lubed pawls…the squeak is a metal-metal contact, which implies wear. It may be so insignificant it will never cause a problem, but if enough metal dust is rubbed off it might not “spring” back out and engage the pawls. This could cause a serious loss of control and a crash in the worst case. I’d recommend fixing it.