Shimano RS80 Rattle

bianchi_dave

Hi All
Hoping some of the wheel experts can maybe help with this one -
I've spent the last few months trying to trace a mysterious light rattle on my Scott Solace. Been through all the usual suspects such as internal cabling, tyre valves, seat post, seat, headset, pedals, chainset, BB, quick release skewers, spokes, brakes (you name it!).
The bike is only 4 months old but I've been running my three and a half year old RS80 C24 wheels on it. A few weeks back I removed the cup and cone bearings to clean and regrease. All went back together with no issues, suitably tightened so they run smooth with no play. For good measure I also fitted a new freehub, to ensure that was not the source of rattle.
I've tried an old Kysrium rear wheel on my Scott and it appears (on a quick ride around the street) there is no rattle. Likewise, when I tried the RS80 rear wheel on my Bianchi, I could hear a very slight rattle, albeit not as loud as on the Scott (probably down to loud acoustics of the full carbon frame).
Can anyone suggest what the rattle might be? - there is no play in the axle, its a new freehub, and the correct 1mm spacer is fitted behind the 10 speed cassette (lock ring is suitable tight). There is some very slight play when you try and wobble the cassette, but this appears to be in the freehub itself, which a couple of lbs's have told me is fine.
Sorry to ramble on, but as some of you will know, strange noises on an otherwise quiet bike are infuriating!
Cheers
Dave

bianchi_dave

Maybe should have added - since regreasing the bearings, grease seems to be oozing out of the seal. After reading a few guides which said you can never use too much grease on hubs, I'm thinking maybe I did, and its causing a problem?

Bobbinogs

Could be something as simple as the valve rattling, have you tried a small piece of insulation tape wrapped around the valve base? Failing that, it could something caught in the rim itself? If so, you should be able to shake it out... unlike the Excellights I have which have a small piece of loose rim bonding stuck in them which rattles like mad below ~10mph, so no real problem

On the grease front, I wouldn't worry too much. Excess grease isn't a big deal in my book and it will ooze out, just wipe it off.

bianchi_dave

Thanks Bobbinogs
Had the valves taped up for a while - one of the many things I've done so already ruled out. Thanks for the reassurance re the grease. I really can't understand what could be wrong with the wheel, but was convinced it was that until.....I took the bike out today with a ksyrium rear wheel and rattle was louder than ever! Seems to be getting worse but at one point today the rattle definitely came from the headset/fork area when I went over a bump. Although no play in headset at all, I'm thinking its possible the steerer bung has come loose inside the fork, or a piece of it has broken off and ended up rattling around inside the steerer tube - really is the last thing I can think of so off to strip down front of bike!
Cheers

ElectronShepherd

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19684948#p19684948]Bianchi Dave[/url] wrote:

Been through all the usual suspects such as internal cabling, tyre valves, seat post, seat, headset, pedals, chainset, BB, quick release skewers, spokes, brakes (you name it!).
Dave

How about the bottle cage mounts, or even the bottle cages themselves?

desweller

Brake levers? Have you been riding in any crappy weather recently?

pirnie

I once had an unidentified rattle from a wheel, which turned out to be that road salt had recrystallised inside the wheel rim! Might not be salt in your case, but it could be some unidentified road dirt? Take the tyre and tube off, point the valve hole down and give it a good shake over some paper, see if anything comes out.

Giraffoto

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19686490#p19686490]pirnie[/url] wrote:

... road salt had recrystallised inside the wheel rim! ...

That would be very corrosive! I'm not sure I'd trust a rim after that - you couldn't inspect inside the hollow areas to see how far the corrosion had gone.

bianchi_dave

Hi folks
Thanks for all the suggestions. Bike is still quite new but wheels are strictly summer only, so salt crystals unlikely. Stripped down headset and took forks completely off bike last night. Nothing untoward found and reassembled (with no play at all). Attention has now turned to the direct mount rear brake (under the chainstay). I fitted a new Ultegra one to replace the crappy Tektro one that came with the bike and I'm not entirely sure I fitted it correctly as there is a definite vibration/rattle when I 'dunt' it. Printed off relevant section of the Shimano Dealer Manual, so that's the next job. Never had a full carbon frame before and its a nightmare trying to work out where sounds actually come from!
Cheers

bianchi_dave

Just a quick update which may help others with mysterious rattles -
Re-fitted my direct mount rear (chainstay) brake but that wasn't the problem! I then removed my chainset (Ultegra 6800), on which I replaced the chainring bolts with raceface ones a few weeks ago (all were tight). However, there was a definite 'ding' from the chainset when off of the bike so I took it apart and put a very small amount of grease on the flat areas where the two chainrings join. Then tightened the bolts, but instead of doing one at a time (working around the chainset) as I had done before, I tightened them in cross order (like you'd do with a car wheel). Re greased and re fitted chainset and hey presto - rattle gone! - confirmed on a ride today, lovely quiet drivetrain. Now just to sort the annoying internal rear brake cable!
Hope this helps someone....