Insomnium_75

Hello,


I'm looking for some advice as to where to go next with a mystery bike noise, the source of which I've been trying to track down for several months now.


I have a Boardman CX Team which I use daily for commuting, and a few months ago the bike developed what can be best described as an intermittent "ticking" and "slight creak" sound when pedalling.

Over time the sound has worsened in both frequency and volume.


I have managed to record the sound whilst out riding a few weeks ago with my phone - please find attached (please excuse the wind noise).

In addition to this I will try to describe how the sound manifests itself:


- The sound seems to come from the non drive side in the bottom bracket when pedalling under moderate to heavy load on each down stroke of the pedals.

- The sound is worse whilst in the saddle, but does also occur to a lesser degree whilst out of the saddle.

- If I deliberately put my weight on the the non drive side of the bike whilst pedalling, the noise increases and occurs with every pedal stroke. Reversing this and placing my weight on the crank side makes the noise pretty much disappear.


Things I have tried to try and identify/rectify the issue.


- Chainring bolts - removed, cleaned, greased and re-tightened with loctite.

- Pedals - removed, cleaned, re-greased threads.

- Pedals - cleaned and lubricated where cleats interface.

- Shoes - retightenend and lubricated cleats.

- Seatpost - removed and reapplied a thin layer of grease.

- Crankset - removed, cleaned and re-greased.

- Bottom Bracket - SRAM PF BB30 - I haven't got the tools to remove or reinstall a PF BB so I cleaned the BB whilst in situ as best I could with the crankset removed, and re-greased.


After re-greasing the BB and crankset I thought the issue was fixed, however the noise came back gradually over the course of 20 or 30 miles or so.


At this point I took the bike into my LBS and explained the issue, and what I'd done so far to try and remedy the situation.

We agreed the next course of action would be to remove and replace the BB (which was 7 months old at this point). After various discussions we decided to replace the BB with a different model.

The SRAM PF BB30 seems to be synonymous with problems of this type, if other riders comments online are anything to go by.


My LBS mechanic advised that a PF BB30 from Wheels Manufacturing would be his preferred choice, as it was threaded in the middle and allowed for bearing cup servicing.

He also advised that this model of PF BB has been installed on a fair few number of bikes he's worked on with PF BB issues, and none of them have come back in with any issues afterwards.


The new BB was installed yesterday, and I took the bike out this morning for a test ride.


The bike was completely silent for 3 miles, then the familiar ticking noise started to manifest itself again. Albeit slightly quieter than before, but there none the less.


To be fair to my LBS, they said if there are issues at all then bring the bike back in - but at this point I don't know what they would check that I haven't checked already.

In addition to this, logistically it's a pain in the a**e to keep taking the bike back in. I'd much rather try and exhaust all other areas (if there are any) if possible first.


So, before I get the seats down in the car, load the bike and trot off to my LBS again - can anyone suggest any other things I may have not considered as a potential cause for this issue please?


Many Thanks

masi61

Insomnium_75

Hello,

the pedals are Shimano M520 SPD

I haven't looked at the bearings on these pedals - not sure if they are serviceable?

Thanks

Matt

masi61

Insomnium_75

I think I may have an old set of SPD pedals that were used on one of my other bikes knocking about. I'll have look when I get home.

With regards to my quick releases - I'm assuming you're referring to the QR on the front wheel?
If so - no, I haven't checked this as a potential cause. Other than checking the axle is sat correctly in the dropouts, and the wheel QR lever is secure - not sure what else to check in this area?

Thanks

aggiegrads

blamester

Try a different oedal see what happens.

Insomnium_75

OK, I'm at work now but I've just been out and cleaned my front axle and dropouts thoroughly with PTFE spray. In lieu of having any grease at work, I'll see if there is any improvement on the ride home.
I'll clean both axles and put some grease on them over the weekend.

Thanks

dsbrantjr

Try a set of platform pedals if available to rule out shoe/cleat noise.

dwing

Ive been tolerating a intermittant click during right pedal down stroke for awhile and finally decided to troubleshoot. Sounded like a cable was bumping against the frame, but, i swapped right pedal and the clicking noise is gone. Crazy because it didnt really seem like it was pedal related.

Insomnium_75

Hello,

A quick update - I've cleaned and greased both QR skewers over the weekend, and ridden 40 odd miles so far this week.
So far so good - I've not had so much as a "click" out of the frame yet, so at the moment I'm really chuffed - albeit slightly bemused that something completely unrelated appears to be the cause.

In addition to the skewers, there was the suggestion that pedals are often a culprit of noises like the ones experienced, so I purchased a Shimano TL-PD40 tool to service my spare M520 pedals.

What looked a fairly straightforward procedure (plenty of YouTube tutorials to this end), turned into non-starter, in that I couldn't undo the pedals with the tool - even with a heavy duty adjustable spanner.
I tried spraying the pedals with WD40 and leaving overnight, still no joy.

I don't have a workshop with a vice, so my options are pretty limited.

Anyone got any ideas as to how to loosen these pedals?

Cheers

Matt

Phil_gretz

^this is my vote. Is it an external cam lever? Replace with quality Shimano or equivalent internal cam skewer.

masi61