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Crunching feeling in left pedal on downstroke

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Crunching feeling in left pedal on downstroke

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Old 05-15-17, 03:07 PM
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SlvrDragon50
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Crunching feeling in left pedal on downstroke

I'm not really sure where to put this, but my bike develops this crunching feeling in my left pedal on downstrokes. It happens in the same spot (~7-5 o' clock) at all gears and seems to only happen when I am loading the pedal.

I suspect it is the bearing, but I don't have the tools to get to it right now.

The bike is a Motobecane Super Strada with FSA Gossamer gearing + Mega Exo BB. I suspect someone roughed up my pedal when they locked their bike up next to mine since I biked ~1.5 miles to the gym with zero issue, and I noticed the crunching noise within 0.1 miles of leaving the gym to go back home. It's a pretty loud sound. I don't feel any increased effort in pedaling, but it makes a little too much noise for comfort.
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Old 05-15-17, 03:09 PM
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PepeM
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Is there a question in there?
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Old 05-15-17, 04:39 PM
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Doge
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Could be cups/whatever BB type metal to frame play.
That is also temperature sensitive as they expand at different rates.

I don't know your BB type without looking it up. Sometime Plumbers Teflon tape around threads or before you press in helps.
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Old 05-15-17, 05:28 PM
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Scooty Puff Jr
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Sounds like a BB, but do the pedals spin smoothly? My clipless pedals started making a creaking noise and the binding needed a little WD40.
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Old 05-15-17, 07:57 PM
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exmechanic89
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Worn out chains can sometimes make a repetitive heavy click, too. I had a side plate come partially loose recently which caused a (crunchy) click every revolution. It took me a while to track it down.
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Old 05-16-17, 06:41 AM
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Phil_gretz
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Process of elimination suggests...

...that you swap out the pedals first. Do you have another set of trusted pedals that you can install? Particularly on the left side. That would at least eliminate the left pedal bearings. Drivetrain noises can be a challenge to isolate.
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Old 05-16-17, 06:50 AM
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Juan Foote
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I second chain noise. See if your chainring is hitting front der cage, etc. Could be cross chaining....
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Old 05-17-17, 12:07 PM
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SlvrDragon50
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You might be right Juan Foote...

Though today I biked to the gym again and zero noise and completely smooth. I don't think I have enough miles on this chain, but i know these 11 speed chains wear a bit faster. I don't really keep track of miles, but I don't think I have more than maybe 20 miles per week being generous so a total of 640 miles.
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