A customer dropped off two rear wheels from Lightweight (a German high-end wheel brand) with us.

↑This one is probably the Standard model,


↑and this one is the Meilenstein.
The customer isn't just lying around—he's actually working.

The reason he brought them to the shop wasn't about rim trueing or hub centering—
it was because "the star ratchet feels a bit off somehow."
I don't think customers bring wheels in unless they're pretty confident something's wrong,
but the bottom line is they had non-original grease applied to them.
Not all non-original grease is bad,
but looking at the type, viscosity, and amount—none of it showed any real finesse—
and sure enough, the ratchet engagement felt strange.
Ah, that makes sense why they'd bring it here.


↑Standard

↑Meilenstein


After cleaning them, I applied the proper OEM grease.
What I can tell is that the ratchet engagement feels much better now,
and the customer says "the sound changed too."
Though he did mention the two wheels sound slightly different from each other.
I applied the grease generously and wiped away the excess, so
there shouldn't be much difference.


The Standard has a tubular rim with a tire mounted,
while the Meilenstein has a clincher rim with no tire,
so it doesn't seem like it's just a difference in sound reflection.


Looking at the teeth on the star ratchet,

the Meilenstein has material relief cuts,

while the Standard doesn't.
That's probably the reason for the difference in sound.
Though honestly, opportunities to compare them side-by-side like this are pretty rare.