mrmb

Just put a bike together and about 30miles into it, it started to tick.

The bike...Surly Steamroller frame, Sugino Messanger crankset, UN55 bb

If I pedal with my left foot only, I can not make it tick no matter what.

If I pedal with my right foot only it ticks.

Under light pedaling it goes tick......tick......tick

Under medium/heavy pedaling it goes tick-tick......tick-tick.......tick-tick

Under heavy pedaling it goes tick-tick-tick.........tick-tick-tick......tick-tick-tick.

The bike does not need to be in motion to tick. With the bike stopped and me standing at the non-drive side of the bike I can lean over, rest my chest on the saddle, grab the drive side pedal and push on pull on it and make it tick.

Not sure what else to add.

Any ideas?

Thanks

mrmb

Oh and this is set up as a fixed gear bike.

If I am going forward and wish to slow down and start pushing back it will induce the tick just the same as pushing forward to accelerate.

dwmckee

I would start by pulling the cranks off, cleaning the shafts and holes and reassembling according to MFR spec, including torque settings. A bit of grit in there can cause this. I would also remove, clean and reassemble the chain ring using a torque wrench again on every bolt.

tyrion

I'm not much of a mechanic, but definitely look at the pedals before messing with the crank. I've had "ticks" that were caused by a loose pedal (I couldn't see or feel it was loose until a wrench was on it, then it was clear it wasn't tight enough). Removed the pedal, cleaned the threads, greased it, put it back on as tight as I could - no more tick.

mrmb

I think I may have over-tightened the crank on the drive side.

Would that cause this?

If so, would parts need to be replaced or just remove and reinstall?

melloveloyellow

Remove the pedal, grease the threads, and reinstall first.

MR BIG STUFF

dsbrantjr

Remove the pedal, clean andgrease both pedal and crank threads and reinstall

mrmb

Didn't fix it.

2nd step would be??

gsa103

Install a different pedal.

dsbrantjr

Try to find a known-quiet pair of pedals, preferably platform type to eliminate cleat and shoe noises, and install them . Do the easy things first before taking digging deeper.

Raiden

Try your pedal pulling stress test, except don't touch the seatpost or saddle.

Try your stress test, but don't touch the pedal, manhandle the crank instead.

(Trying to narrow down the ticking by unincluding things that often tick. Keep in mind that the wheels/hubs are still in the equation here).

Did you clean the threads inside your bottom bracket shell and your bottom bracket, and grease or antiseize the threads before assembly? If you didn't, take it apart and do it. You have the tools, it takes 15 or 20 minutes.

Check your chainring bolts.

Is your chain tension super tight? Try loosening it just a tiny bit.

aERonAUtical96

Wanted to say thank you to the group. I developed a tick-tick earlier this week and couldn't figure it out. Based on this thread, went out tonight, removed pedals, cleaned them, relubed, reinstalled and... bam... no noise.

mrmb

Stress test induces the tick with pedals removed.

I greased and cleaned everything.

I was about 1mm off on my chainline so I tried to push the crank on further to get perfect chainline thinking it wouldent matter as far as the crank-bb are concerned. I am thinking my problem might be there as I likely overtightened it. It is starting to make a "creaking" in addition to a "tick". Thoughts?

Raiden

Dunno, it's pretty hard to overtighten a square taper crank without power tools or doing silly thiings for leverage- installing and removing it a million times or installing it loose and allowing the play between the steel spindle and the loose aluminum crank to chew up the crank are typically what causes damaged cranks. My suggestion is still complete disassembly and reassembly.

Moe Zhoost

Check to make sure the end of your shoelace is not hitting the crank. Probably not the issue, but it caught me once. It is self-resolving when the chain lops the end off.

My thought is that it is your chain ring bolts because of the sequence of clicks you describe (and the creaking supports it too). Check to see if they are loose. If so tighten them. If not loose, put a drop of oil on each. If the noise changes then you can narrow in on the issue, taking the chain ring off, checking the orientation and seating of the bolts. Did you convert a double crank to a single and use the wrong bolts? If the tick persists after lubing the bolts, it's something else.

KLiNCK

Good thing it's not carbon ...

Miele Man

How did you tighten the crank? Did you use an extension on the wrench or socket? If so, you might have cracked the square eye of the crankarm.

Check for cracks. Then loosen the chainring bolts, lube the threads and retighten. Make sure those bolts are tight.

Good luck and cheers.

Squeezebox

Just for the heck of it check the chain for a tight link.

mrmb

I took off the pedal, crank arm and chainring. Cleaned with diesel and lubed everything with grease.

Put it all back together and the problem seems to have gone away for now.

Thanks for the tips!

mrmb

To tighten the crank arm bolt I used a 12inch long breaker bar, 3/8 drive. I pulled on it very hard though.

Miele Man

Check the eye of the crank where it fits over the botom bracket spindle. You might have cracked it. You can make up a thin dye, pour it over that section of the crank, let it set for a bit, wipe off the excess and look to see if there are any hairline cracks.

Cheers

mrmb

If the noise comes back this is the first thing I will do.

RubeRad

See also this thread of mine, I haven't solved my issue yet. I'm starting to worry about a cracked crank.

corrado33

I doubt you overtightened it. Different cranks/BBs have different torque specifications, but the latest I've used was 40-45 Nm, which was a lot with a 12 inch torque bar. So much so that it HURT to hold on to the crank (since it's shorter than 12 inches.)

I very much doubt you overtightened it. I very much doubt you COULD over tighten it unless you're a big burly man (or a wonderfully voluptuous woman?). (It's hard to tighten the bolt/nut with the crank arms rotating freely. If they're tied down or held by another person, it gets significantly easier.)