Struggling to hunt down mystery click

englander

Hello all,

I've been trying to diagnose a click for a month or two now and it's really flummoxing me. It's a definite "click" which occurs only on the right pedal stroke - left is completely fine. It occurs only when pedalling, in all gear combinations and is worse when out of the saddle. It sounds like it is coming from the pedal/bottom bracket area. There's ~ 2 clicking sounds per pedal revolution, with more when out of the saddle.

Things that haven't worked:
-Replaced pedals (happened to have SPDs on order when the clicking first started. Assumed it was pedals but click persisted)
-Replaced bottom bracket (inspected it for wear; it was worn. "Bingo", I thought, replacing it will solve my problem. Nope.)
-Checked front derailer cable isn't getting in the way
-Reindexed/re-limited front and rear derailers
-Lubed everything within a three feet radius
-Checked it wasn't coming from my knees

Are chainrings a suspect? I've tried tightening them to no avail...

Anyone got any thoughts on what next to try? I'm running short on things to tighten/lube...

bowden769

damn i read the title wrong i thought it said chick not click!!!

topdude

What about your shoes, not clear from your post if youv'e tried different ones ?
The other thing to do FIRST for any clicking / creaking is remove, clean, regrease seatpost / saddle rails. I know it sounds unlikely but the frame flexes as you ride (more so when out of the saddle) and the seatpost moves slightly inside the seat tube.

declan1

Have you checked your cleats?

englander

Went from flats to SPDs, so the shoes were new with the pedals. Even since then the cleats etc have been fettled with lots, with no change in clickyness.

Haven't investigated the seatpost/saddle area. I'll give that a go. EDIT: but it still clicks when out the saddle so that would rule that out? It could probably do with a clean/regrease so I'll do it anyway though.

estampida

seat post or saddle, strip clean and reassemble

as its drive side, your not catching the front mech cable and crimp. or brake cable if it terminates on that side of the frame, or a bit on your shoe?

chainrings and bolts, check them too......

doug5_10

Worn chain or cassette causing skipping? Since it seems to be linked to drive-side power input

forward_loop

borrow a mates wheels for a quick ride - might narrow it down a bit more - friends front wheel spokes cause a regular click.

TheBigBean

Grease the seat post (as had been said), the front drop out, rear drop out, check the chain ring bolts are tight, borrow friend's wheels or grease the point where the spokes cross, grease / clean the bits where the cables run, clean everything else and try to see if you can replicate the noise by turning / twisting and pulling the handlebars. I've probably missed some other bits that need grease. Then check your frame for cracks and have a good cry if the result is the same as mine...

Just bear in the mind that the sound could be coming from anywhere (it travels along the frame) and when you pedal whether in or out of the saddle the frame moves and hence anything could be the cause. You may be able to reproduce the sound if you press the pedal inwards with your foot (towards the BB) with the bike at a slight angle and the pedal at the bottom. Reproducing off the bike being only marginally better than on the bike.

Welsh boy

Take your chainrings off, clean all the areas which mate together and reassemble. 10 minute job, high chance of fixing the problem. Failing that, a hairline crack in the frame?

farrina

If you have (or a friend has) a turbo trainer or the likes try static ride whilst said friend closely listens to see if he (or she!) can ID source.

Check chainring bolts (I had a nightmare with a Shimano DA chain set that turned out to need rings greasing onto spider)

Tongue in cheek - have you checked out your knees (get friend to ride bike to eliminate)



Good luck

Alan

freddiegrubb

I had a mystery" clickish" sound it was like having a piece of chewing gum on the tyre, still there when not pedalling & it was as regular as a metronome. Checked out various items & as a last resort checked the torque on the cassette lockring & got another half a turn on it (40nm.) it was correctly done originally so can only assume the cassette has moved inboard slightly (new wheels). Only a thought & now no noise.

bernithebiker

I had this, was 100% convinced it was from the BB/pedal area.

Turns out it was the headset with a dry lower bearing - every time I pedalled hard, especially out of the saddle it clicked.

Big carbon tubes can transfer sound very easily, hence the confusion.

Regrease bearing, problem gone.

dennisn

One thing you could try, while out riding, is to squirt the area, with water, where you think this noise is coming from. Water will usually cure a squeak or click for a moment or so thereby giving you a hint as to the area of the problem(i.e. seatpost and seat interface, pedal and cleat interface, bar and stem interface) things like that. By doing one area at a time it may show you the site of the problem.

birel101

bernithebiker wrote:

I had this, was 100% convinced it was from the BB/pedal area.

Turns out it was the headset with a dry lower bearing - every time I pedalled hard, especially out of the saddle it clicked.

Big carbon tubes can transfer sound very easily, hence the confusion.

Regrease bearing, problem gone.

Was it a click sounding like the crank hitting the end of a gear cable ect? I have this sound and have changed wheels, cassette, chain, tightened everything around the crank, used trainers instead of my shoes and still can't find where this click is coming from.....

ricky1980

my money is on seatpost and saddle connection plate issue...

dennisn

ricky1980 wrote:

my money is on seatpost and saddle connection plate issue...

Always a good place to start!!!!

TanukiRider

I had this, drove me nuts for weeks, then I found ojut what it was while out on a ride........ my front mech cable was bent outwards, and the crank arm was making contact on every pedal revolution..... click, click, click.......

Now noise free!!

The Mechanic

I had a click that drove me daft for weeks. I spent ages checking everything. In the end, it was the buckle on my helmet strap hitting the pull thingy on my jersey zip. I discovered it one hot day when I half unzipped my jersey and noticed than the click had gone.

aroyalnit

I figured out a click like this on a bike the other day - it turned out to be the small metal pin that is attached to the outside of the big chainring making contact with the crank arm at a particular point during crank revolution under load.

A little bit of grease on the end of the pin solved it!

hairy_boy

Could be the rear wheel - I had a click which was on the downward right hand pedal stroke, turned out it was loose spoke tension in the rear wheel. A new wheelset sorted it for me (could've had the rear spokes tightened I guess but fancied new wheels anyway).

Good luck, noises can be very annoying.

englander

Well I finally got a chance to fully grease and refit the chainrings and saddle etc to no avail. I've played around with the spokes and stuff a lot in the rear wheel recently because I broke a spoke the other day and that didn't have any effect.

The hunt continues...

I've been looking up Youtube tutorials on servicing wheel hubs. Beyond that I'm really running out of things to replace/regrease/generally service! It would be nice to have a whole bunch of spares that I could rebuild the bike with (wheels, crank sets and so on) bit by bit until the problem is solved. Bizarrely it doesn't bother me as much as I would expect. It's sort of a part of the bike's character now.

hairy_boy

Not sure how you broke the spoke but if it just 'went' then it suggests you could have issues with spoke tension. Can you try a different back wheel fitted to your bike ? (borrow one off a mate or get the LBS to try one)

englander

Rebuilt and regreased saddle/seatpost etc - click still there. I will try a different rear wheel in the coming days.

philvantwo

Have you tightened your front skewer up a bit too tight?

Mindermast

So, it is not the pedals, nothing apparently in the way of any moving parts, bottom bracket is fine too now.
Does it make a difference, which chainring you are on?
Can you get the clicking when you take off the chain?
Any clicking, when you pick up the bike and shake it?
It might help to find out exactly, at what position the crank is when it clicks.
Does it click, when you pedal backwards, even when the bike is standing still?

Thanks to your trouble, I might have found the origin of clicking noises on my new bike: The nuts, that are supposed to hold the valves in place, were lose, probably, because I increased the tyre pressure.

englander

And the answer is....

The pedals! *Sigh*.

Yes I had replaced the pedals, but undoing them, re-greasing them this afternoon has solved the mystery.

The moral of the story is: even when you replace a component with a new one, make sure it is adequately greased! Still, now my bike is running beautifully smooth since I've greased and fettled everything else!

hairy_boy

Always nice to resolve a click, now you can enjoy riding it !