<sipp> ...I'm not disputing this will happen if some peanut
never engages their hubs, only questioning the idea the hubs should never be disengaged or that there is no benefit in disengaging hubs. <
I'm suggesting people remove their freewheel hubs and fit the original flanges - as from personal experience from the early 1970's using both freewheel hubs and not using the hubs - I believe the disadvantages far outweigh any benefits of almost indistinguishable fuel savings>
This is physics 101. More moving parts no matter how well lubed will have a higher rolling resistance than less moving parts. And I thought there was a wealth of evidence that they improved economy. I just Googled this out of curiosity and got no hits suggesting otherwise. <
Even Wikipedia with millions of potential contributors has found no evidence and in the same paragraph mentions the disadvantages - Locking hubs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia >
I said
part-time 4WDs. As far as I am aware the standard fitment of free-wheeling hubs to Japanese 4WDs accounts for the majority. Incidentally, what part-time 4WDs have been marketed without free-wheeling hubs since, say 1980? This is a genuine question as I can't think of any.