Bike paranoia

Paulie W
Paulie W Posts: 1,492
edited August 2009 in Commuting chat
A few days ago I was cycling along and heard this clicking sound as I turned the pedals which stopped when I freewheeled but speeded up as I did. It stopped after a while but then started again later in the ride. Same on the ride home. Gave the bike a good look over when I got home but couldnt see anything obviously wrong. Next day the same thing happened but further exploration still revealed nothing. That night I had a dream that my cranks were loose and woke up in a bit of a cold sweat. I debated whether I should stop riding the bike until I'd figured out what the noise was because in the dream I'd managed to damage the frame by ignoring the problem. Time pressures meant that I ended up taking the bike anyway but now there seemed to be other crunching noises to add to the clicking! My precious bike, I convinced myself, was on the verge of falling apart.

Anyway, this morning as I ventured to work waiting for my pride and joy to disnitegrate or go bang I noticed that the ends of the laces (they have a technical name dont they) of the new shoes I started wearing a few days ago were catching on the crank as I turned the pedals: click, click, click....

That still doesnt explain the crunching noise though!!!!

Comments

  • R_T_A
    R_T_A Posts: 488
    :lol::lol:

    I'm glad it's not just me that obsesses over noises. I've just had the chain and bottom bracket replaced and it feels like a new bike under me.

    Not sure if you've seen this, but Sheldon Brown has a useful link (again!):
    http://sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html
    Giant Escape R1
    FCN 8
    "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
    - Terry Pratchett.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    + 1 :lol:
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • Oddjob62
    Oddjob62 Posts: 1,056
    R_T_A wrote:
    I'm glad it's not just me that obsesses over noises. I've just had the chain and bottom bracket replaced and it feels like a new bike under me.

    You should try it on a fixed gear... anything but total silence has me giving the bike a once over :p
    As yet unnamed (Dolan Seta)
    Joelle (Focus Expert SRAM)
  • MrChuck
    MrChuck Posts: 1,663
    R_T_A wrote:
    :lol::lol:

    I'm glad it's not just me that obsesses over noises.

    Me too- but I don't think I've ever dreamed about it! That's dedication.
  • Paulie W
    Paulie W Posts: 1,492
    MrChuck wrote:
    R_T_A wrote:
    :lol::lol:

    I'm glad it's not just me that obsesses over noises.

    Me too- but I don't think I've ever dreamed about it! That's dedication.

    It is very sad indeed: I actually went and gave the cranks a quick check the moment I woke up!!
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    I've had the very same click-click-click; drove me nuts one night, and just like you I realised it was the laces. Although on my right foot I no longer have the problem as the bloody lace got caught 'tween chain and tooth and was cut in two. :shock:

    The problem I have is that as I ride on 4 miles of mud each way I inevitably get noises rising from the wheels as bits of crap (literally sometimes) get caught in various bits.

    I'm getting the hose out again tonight. :roll:
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • R_T_A
    R_T_A Posts: 488
    Oddjob62 wrote:
    R_T_A wrote:
    I'm glad it's not just me that obsesses over noises. I've just had the chain and bottom bracket replaced and it feels like a new bike under me.

    You should try it on a fixed gear... anything but total silence has me giving the bike a once over :p

    The obsessing is hereditary. My Dad had an old Ford Cortina way back that he spent months trying to find a noise that only happened at 40mph+. It turned out it was a screwdriver he left on the bumper :lol::lol:
    Giant Escape R1
    FCN 8
    "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
    - Terry Pratchett.
  • janm399
    janm399 Posts: 132
    Creaks, ticks and other weird sounds drive me crazy, too!

    Just yesterday I managed to chase down a weird ticking noise: first I thought it was the pedals or cleats. After cleaning pedals and replacing cleats, the noise was still there. Then I moved to cranks and BB. I cleaned up the BB and checked that the pedals were safely screwed in the cranks. Still tick, tick, tick. Just as I was starting to suspect the frame, I noticed that rear brake cable was sticky with some grime that must have stayed on it when I washed the bike. It was sticking to the frame and when it got unstuck, it produced nice ticking sound!

    Well, at least I have checked out the pedals, cranks, BB and the frame. The good news is that everything is OK, the bad news is that I won't need a new frame (I happen to have seen a really nice frame on Saturday). Oh well ;)
    Computer geek, Manchester Wheelers' member since 2006
  • Roastie
    Roastie Posts: 1,968
    R_T_A wrote:
    I'm glad it's not just me that obsesses over noises...
    At my last race there was this dude riding something very flash (Cyfac or Isaac or something very nice) with the creakiest BB ever - louder than the most neglected BSO. Drove me mad every time I was near him in the group. How anyone can ride a bike in that state I do not understand.
    David
    Engineered Bicycles
  • R_T_A
    R_T_A Posts: 488
    Roastie wrote:
    R_T_A wrote:
    I'm glad it's not just me that obsesses over noises...
    At my last race there was this dude riding something very flash (Cyfac or Isaac or something very nice) with the creakiest BB ever - louder than the most neglected BSO. Drove me mad every time I was near him in the group. How anyone can ride a bike in that state I do not understand.

    I knew what the problem was, and it wasn't going to explode under me, and I lasted maybe 2 miles before I knew it had to be replaced.

    During that time I managed to lay down some awesome to scalp my arch nemesis, and it ruined the moment for me.

    I felt dirty. Not CX dirty, but dirty none-the-less :twisted:
    Giant Escape R1
    FCN 8
    "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
    - Terry Pratchett.
  • sarajoy
    sarajoy Posts: 1,675
    I'm getting paranoid about p*nctures at the moment! There are some rough patches of dodgy tarmac on the way to work which feel pretty similar to riding on a flat tyre/rim when going over them, argh!
    4537512329_a78cc710e6_o.gif4537512331_ec1ef42fea_o.gif
  • c12345
    c12345 Posts: 99
    My bike protests all the time. I just put it down to carbon, but it is really bad. the problem is, I get funny feelings, sort of puncture like looseness, or side slipping wheels, or loose pedals occassionally. I check it out and nothing is ever wrong that I can find?

    this morning though, I changed to a rubino pro slick on the back from an old worn out rubino tech. I swear its sliding all over the shop, found myself tensing on corners. really paranoid. I hope I'm imagining it.
  • fossyant
    fossyant Posts: 2,549
    Paulie W wrote:
    That still doesnt explain the crunching noise though!!!!

    That will be your knees then ! :D
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,637
    I get creaks when I really go for it, I think from the cranks, might be carbon frame. Not sure. Never found anything wrong though. Been pretty much the same since I got the bike nearly a year ago and not getting worse, so I'm gradually getting less paranoid.
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • MrChuck
    MrChuck Posts: 1,663
    c12345 wrote:
    My bike protests all the time. I just put it down to carbon, but it is really bad. the problem is, I get funny feelings, sort of puncture like looseness, or side slipping wheels, or loose pedals occassionally. I check it out and nothing is ever wrong that I can find?

    this morning though, I changed to a rubino pro slick on the back from an old worn out rubino tech. I swear its sliding all over the shop, found myself tensing on corners. really paranoid. I hope I'm imagining it.

    I know what you mean- pretty infrequent and only seems to happen on my commuter, but sometimes it just feels like something's really wrong. It's as if the back wheel's come loose, tire's going down, something like that. Sometimes I stop and there's never actually anything amiss... glad it's not just me though!
  • fossyant
    fossyant Posts: 2,549
    TBH I hunt down creaks. None of my bikes creak - if I get one then it's in bits, re-greased/tightened and put together....paranoid, nah, just can't stand creaks.
  • c12345
    c12345 Posts: 99
    MrChuck wrote:
    sometimes it just feels like something's really wrong. It's as if the back wheel's come loose, tire's going down, something like that. Sometimes I stop and there's never actually anything amiss... glad it's not just me though!

    ...apart from the one time that it did break:
    21cf285.jpg

    just cause you're paranoid, doesn't mean its not broken.
  • Paulie W
    Paulie W Posts: 1,492
    c12345 wrote:
    My bike protests all the time. I just put it down to carbon, but it is really bad. the problem is, I get funny feelings, sort of puncture like looseness, or side slipping wheels, or loose pedals occassionally. I check it out and nothing is ever wrong that I can find?

    this morning though, I changed to a rubino pro slick on the back from an old worn out rubino tech. I swear its sliding all over the shop, found myself tensing on corners. really paranoid. I hope I'm imagining it.

    Now that is top class paranoia.

    Carbon is an endless source of worry for the true paranoid biker - not to worry you though but after years of creaking and finding no problems I did finally discover a crack in my now defunct carbon frame MTB.

    Non-existent punctures are also one of my favourite things to spend time worrying about!

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