[Hawkeye68]

Hello,

I'm a new owner of a gen 1 Mosh/Cty. Assembly was easy and I really like it so far. I do have a couple of questions maybe someone here can help me out with.

The first question is about the freehub noise (the clicking sound the rear wheel makes when in motion but not pedaling). It's louder and "buzzier" (at high speeds) than what I was used to. I assume this is normal? This is the first single gear bike I've had since I was a young kid.

The second question is about the disc brakes...they are quite prone to squelch and squeal. Again, I assume this is normal and they will "break in" with use. I've never had a bike with disc brakes and certainly never anything with a build quality like the Serial 1.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ecyclist]

Yes the clicking is normal. It’s actually loud by design in these bikes. The freehub is just like a ratcheting wrench in a sense, just with more pawls, stronger springs, more deeper splines.
As for the disc brakes. Serial 1 has a video on how to properly bed the disc brakes. It’s like a 15-20 minute process of controlled braking to heat up the pads/rotors and bed pad material into the rotors.

 

[Hawkeye68]

Appreciate the quick reply. I just watched the video for "bedding in" the brakes and will do it tomorrow.

 

[Doc True]

FYI: Even if you bed the brakes in properly, if you ride in the rain, they'll start squeaking again

 

[AvidCommuter]

Hi Hawkeye,
I know about the freewheel sound coming from the rear when the bike is in motion and it is not being pedaled, but I don't know about the clicking sound from the rear while pedaling that gets louder at higher speeds. When it comes to the brakes, Serial One installed brake calipers with four pistons. I recall reading some of the literature saying that they are considered heavy duty brakes. As Ecyclist mentions, upon intially riding the bike the brakes require bedding, but even after they are bedded it is a good idea to not clamp down on the brake handles without evenly distribuing the braking power at the rear and the front. What I have experienced when not using the brakes evenly is that I will get a sound from the rear or the front end of the bike rotor where the most brake force was exterted To get rid of that sound, just ride the brake handle while applying a gentle amout of brake force and after a few iterations of this process the scraping sound subsides. Just for the sake of comparison, these rotors unlike the rotors on a motor vehicle, are extremely thin. The rotors on a car or truck are about an inch to half an inch thick. Auto and truck rotors also utilzie a great deal more surface area to bring a vehicle to a stop. This contrast in rotor thickness and surface area in comparison to a Serial One biccycle explains why it is best when possible to utilize even front to back braking pressure at all times.

 

[Hawkeye68]

Thank you for the reply. I bedded the brakes per the Serial 1 video and that helped a lot. Now after about 1,000 miles on the bike they are fairly quiet. They are very powerful brakes but I adjusted quickly. I rode my old bike recently and couldn't believe how mushy the brakes felt on it. Spoiled now by a higher-end bike!