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I have a new Sturmey Archer 3-speed S-RK3. It's a standard 3-speed hub with a 9-spline driver and disc brake mount.

I use the bike with a belt drive and one of the benefits of the belt is the extreme silence.

Out of the box, these hubs tick in at least 2 out of three gears while pedaling along; that's how they are supposed to be.

I'm interested to know if anyone has successfully muffled the ticking by using a thicker oil lubricant for the hub internals. I have previously achieved this on normal freehub/pawl mechanisms by using a thick oil like Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer.

I am not concerned with voiding the warranty.

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  • Nevermind warranty, but I would not do this to freehubs because it'll likely slow the engagement. (And even with all that oil, missed engagement points always speed up wear.) That's probably not so worrisome for a geared hub. Not sure about pedalling efficiency, probably also fine.
    – leftaroundabout
    May 27, 2021 at 21:20

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I have successfully silenced many freewheels using chainsaw bar oil, which is very similar to Lucas Oil Stabilizer. If you can disassemble the hub, grease is even better.

You may have problems with engagement but I never did, even after doing it for years. But I never tried a S-A hub.

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I wouldn't guess ticking would be well silenced with thicker oil. I would look for the source of the ticking by stripping and cleaning it.

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