Potential ways to silence a (new) Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub 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.
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.