Rattling Front Wheel - Any Ideas?

Curious Yellow

Got a lovely new Hope Pro 2 Evo wheel on Stan's Crest rims and took it for a couple of rides and am noticing an annoying noise. Sounds a bit like a rattle and metallic. Fairly sure it's something to do with the new wheel. It's the only thing that's changed on the bike and I can confidently say the noise was not there before. It's noticeable when I lift up the front wheel and drop it.

Things it's not:
- Cables hitting the frame.
- Loose caliper.
- Misaligned front wheel/brake combo.

Things it may be that I couldn't check:
- Loose adapter caps. The front wheel is using a 15mm adapter end cap as supplied with Hope wheels. Doubtful, because the internet would have thrown it up if it was a common problem.
- Contact between the brake and shifter. Doubtful. I've moved them further apart now. They were pretty much touching before.
- Spokes hitting each other. They're not straight pull. They're the other simpler maintain spoke lacing method (radial?).

Wonder if one of these could be it, or it's something inside the wheel. I'm not running tubeless yet, but swapping tubeless tyres on tubeless rims is a ball-ache.

Grateful for your wisdom as always guys!

YeehaaMcgee

Brake disc rubbing on brake pads?
Is the 15mm axle thing done up properly?

Curious Yellow

Thanks for the response.

No, it's not the brake disc. I checked the alignment and the front wheel is noise free when revolving.

15mm axle is done up all the way through the thread and the cam action thingo is compressed to as tight as it can go.

nicklouse

Take the brake off and ride.

Or spin the wheel with out the caliper on.

Does it go?

MTBUK

does it only happen on this wheel?? ..... perhaps the smalley ring in the suspension is coming loose.....

Curious Yellow

Will swap wheels and check today. Definitely didn't notice it with my previous front wheel.

Will also try nicklouse's suggestion of spinning the wheel off the bike and seeing if it persists. However, it's noticeable only when the terrain gets rougher. It's plainly audible when I lift the bike by the handlebar and release it to let it fall on the ground.

benpinnick

Possibly a dropped nipple. Pick the wheel up and shake it. There may be a nipple inside somewhere.

YeehaaMcgee

eeeew.

Curious Yellow

benpinnick wrote:

Possibly a dropped nipple. Pick the wheel up and shake it. There may be a nipple inside somewhere.

Would I be able to notice a missing nipple by inspecting the spokes at the rim, or is there a second part inside the rim that holds the spoke and nipples together?

Unless you mean a spare nipple got lost in the rim tape when the wheel was being built?

nicklouse

Curious Yellow wrote:

Unless you mean a spare nipple got lost in the rim tape when the wheel was being built?

70\ʹspenguin

I have had problems with two sets of Crest rims now - there is a common fault with Stans rims rattling. You could have the little piece of welding slag rattling around near where the rim join is. Stans recommend gluing it back into place. They will not replace under warranty apparently.....

On the first set it rattled regardless of whether the tyre was on. On the second set it only rattled when the tyre was fully inflated.

Remove your rim tape and look in the nipple holes at the join to see if a little piece of metal is floating around. Superglue seems to work for a while

YeehaaMcgee

can't you remove the rattly metal?

70\ʹspenguin

Sadly not. Its too large.

From the Stans site Troubleshooting guide

Rattle noise in rim.
You may have a loose weld sleeve. This is used in the weld process as a heat sink. It is crimped into place with a dimple in the material being visible at the weld junction. Occasionally the crimp does not hold and the plate comes loose. It is not a structural element of the rim so the best solution is to remove the rim tape and apply a little non-water based glue between the weld plate and the rim. Tubular cement or super glue will do the job. All rim makers use a weld plate and run into this situation on occasion. Please call NoTubes if you need yellow tape to reapply to the rim.

Curious Yellow

Good to know. Cheers 70\'sPenguin.

Mechanic seems to think cause was a worn brake pad and too much space between the rotor and the pads. Replaced the pads and it seems to be better. Will come back if there are any problems. Cheers guys.

ElliesDad

Bit late looking by the date of the original post, but have you still got the wheel reflectors on the wheel? I had an annoying rattle and it turned out to be the reflector was loose rattling against the spokes!

Curious Yellow

Nope. No wheel reflectors. They're aftermarket wheels.