What's wrong with my bike?

scott319

Hi! Just to say, I don't really have much of an idea with fixing a bike, it doesn't really go beyond a puncture repair! One thing is that I love cycling, and I'm an experienced cyclist. I can go for miles, I can easily cycle along roads, abide laws etc... not like the odd few who go through red lights.

A few weeks back, my bike started making a clicking noise when I pedal. It stops when I stop pedalling. It's become really loud, quite annoying, and a bit embarrassing. If I leave my bike for about 2 weeks without riding it, it'll stop making the noise when I go out on it, but it'll come back if I go on it again the next day. It seems the more I use the bike, the more the noise gets louder.

I recorded it today. The video features me pedalling with the clicking/clanking sound, and then me going along freely without pedalling. What do you think it is? Is it something that can be simply fixed? Or would it require going to a shop?

Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o6r_ji1Yvk

roger_merriman

does it do it in all gears? possibly its the chain rubbing the front derailleur?

if either have a bike stand or stand it upside down should beable to locate where the noise is from.

if its silent freewheeling it suggests something in the drivechain, so derailleurs/chain need a good look at.

dj58

So the noise stops when you stop pedalling, sounds like it could be the BB. What bike what transmission components. Shift into your lowest gear and unhook the chain from the inner chain ring and spin the cranks. Do they spin smoothly is there any side to side play in them? That noise could be the chain making contact with the FD guide plate.

peddlingmadness

If its just happening when peddaling, then probably bottom bracket needs a service, ie strip down and greece up. not a big job, if unsure take it along to your LBS and expect to pay around £15 maybe up to £30 if the bearings need replacing

First.Aspect

I'm going guess that its an indexing issue. Take Roger's advice and try going through the gears and see if its in all of them.

You really need to get onto the council about that road. Some stretches had tarmac on them.

navrig2

Easier to describe than diagnose. Here is what I have had to do to track a similar issue down:

viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=13031199

mfin

Just put it in the hands of anyone who knows bikes, a mate let alone a shop, if you can record the sound so obviously like that the problem will be obvious too.

handful

I had a similar noise recently, sounded like it was coming from the front brake area and only happened on roughish terrain (aka the roads around here), turns out it was just a bottle cage mount that had come a bit loose. It was only a mate riding alongside that spotted where it was coming from, was driving me nuts.

Cycling Caesar

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19637142#p19637142]peddlingmadness[/url] wrote:

If its just happening when peddaling, then probably bottom bracket needs a service, ie strip down and greece up. not a big job, if unsure take it along to your LBS and expect to pay around £15 maybe up to £30 if the bearings need replacing

Given you can get a DA 9000 BB for £20 why would you bother getting one serviced?

fnb1

can you share what kind of bike or a picture (sounds like a carbon frame form the resonance that can be heard, sometime hard to track down the source of the noise as it travels/gets amplified by the carbon tubes
possible issue, 1 or more chain ring bolts loose? bottom bracket, worn or loose? Have you had the rear wheel out, is the Quick release done up properly, i.e. not too loose or indeed too tight? Rear mech fixing bolt not fully seated on mech hanger? or possible rear cassette freehub has 'play' in it, i.e. worn . Seatpost maybe creaking? Cleats on pedals may be creaking? Worst case maybe a crack in your frame, have you dropped the bike or had any falls etc? if cannot track it donw yourself then LBS or handy bike whisperer if you have one local to you