Weird ticking noise from the BB (I think)

waddlie

A few weeks ago on a damp, gravelly ride a ticking noise started coming from the Bottom Bracket area of my bike, or possibly th cranks. About 3 irregular ticks per revolution, and only when I'm actually transmitting power through the bike (if that makes sense.) It stopped a couple of days later but now it's doing it again and I have no idea why. It's difficult to track down because you can't hear it unless you're riding along.

The bike is a 3-month old Rockhopper Expert.

Any ideas what this is and how it can be fixed? Had some iffy experiences with two local LBS's recently so don't want to take it in just yet if I can fix it myself..

mikeyg01

Funny that, my Rockhopper pro (bought 2 weeks ago) is making the same noise.

So any ideas greatfully received - if it's simple I'd rather fix it myself.

Thanks,

Mike

David-Witts

First, Try swapping the pedals with a known good set from another bike ( or maybe LBS has an old spare set to loan ) and checking if the noise still persists. Davy

Daz555

Remove the pedals and put some lube on the threads. You should also lube the pedals themselves.

In my experience pedals/threads are the most common cause of clicks and creaks in that area of the bike.

nicklouse

read the info in the FAQs as it could well be something totally different.

mick851

my bike was making a ticking noise last week :? . turned out i had a lose pedal, i stripped the pedal down,cleaned, regreased put the thing back together......no more ticking

maximus69

ha, my hopper was doing the same thing.

cleaned, greased and tightened up pedals. no joy. :?

had bb stripped and re greased, no joy. :?

checked every screw and bolt on bike, all tight. :?

in the end bought xt crank. just because i was convinced that was the problem. it was goin cheap in lbs and free fitting anyway. problem solved, no.

much head scratching later i slummped over saddle and guess what? :evil:

i would check your saddle too!!

live and learn :roll:

ride_whenever

saddle rails and seatpost are a good and easy one.

check the wheels are done up pretty tight as you can sometimes get clicking from them.

Check shoelace/front mech cable for catching on the crank

etc.





Have fun

brownix

take off your cranks but not the bb and grease the spindle and the crank threads that connect on to the spindle (dunno what they're called)

then put them on and tighten the crankbolts

hopefully problem solved

mikeyg01

Not sure about Waddlie, but from me - thanks for the replies. The pedals look the easiest place to start.

Mike

mick851

mikeyg01, the pedals was the last thing i checked :roll:

blu3cat

check your freehub,

Had the same sort of experience on the last 2 bikes I bought, turns out I got a knackered freehub on both times and got warranty replacements. Fixed the clicking right away.

Symptoms: I could feel a tiny "bump" in the crank when I heard the click, sounded like it was coming from my bottom bracket. When "freewheeling" the cranks backwards, the free wheel would lock and give erratic movement extending and dropping back into place even though the gears were perfectly aligned.

Good luck finding it.