ceelint

Setup:
DuraAce single sided fixed hub
Soma 18t cog
Sugino 75 cranks w/ AARN 49t ring
Izumi Jet Black chain.
Upon taking off and slowing down I get a nasty crunching feeling in the pedals. Chain line is off by a couple MM. Always been a lil noisy but crunchiness wasn't always there. Tried changing the chainring to a Campy 49t 3/32 ring and it's still doing it. Running SCC Slick chain lube .

veganbikes

Pictures maybe? Could your chainlink be too tight? Maybe things need a good cleaning or maybe you have the wrong chain on it 1/8 vs 3/32 or vice verse.

ceelint

It's clean, just gave it a good cleaning thinking sand might've made its way onto the drivetrain. Chain has good slack, no tight binding spots. It's a 1/8 Izumi track chain, 1/8 Soma cog and 1/8 AArn ring. Just recently put the 3/32 Campy ring thinking it might help.. same thing happens

veganbikes

Maybe a picture from the side would be handy.

ceelint

I assume to see chain tension? It's got about 1" of ↑↓ play. Measured the chain line to be sure.. rear is at 42mm, front appears to be 45mm roughly.

veganbikes

Yes to see chain tension but it looks pretty good. When you are spinning the cranks do you have any really tight spots as that can cause some noise. If that is the case loosen just a touch more. I really doubt 3mm is going to cause any issue with noise. I have never once measured chainline on any of my bikes and really don't intend to unless doing some odd conversion.

ceelint

Feels more like metal rubbing metal than a crunching I guess... Was way more noticeable with the 3/32 Campy ring.. tossed the aarn back on and it's not as bad. Might just try a new chain since I've heard the Izumi chains are notorious for their noise.

bonsai171

What kind of lube are you using, wet or dry?
I have found dry lube to be a little noisier than wet.

Dave

ceelint

SCC Slick.. all conditions treatment
https://www.scctech.bike/

Ymerej

I was waxing my fixed chain 1/8 but damm thing only lasted 45-50 miles until it started squeaking and making all kinds of noise. I would ultra sonic clean it, then hot wax it. I think wax is better for geared chains more wiggle room for wax or lube to work in. Wax chain was all kinds of noisy when it intermeshed with the cog. So I tried tri flow kinda ok I guess, Cleaned it and now using Phil tenacious oil, only bummer is it flings everywhere for a few rides which I hate, I like clean bikes which is why I started waxing. So far all is good and quiet just messy.

sixty2strat

op have you made any changes since the noise started? Its not really clear how long you have been getting the noise. Is it noisy even free wheeling it on a stand? Or only noisy when you apply force to the cranks? are all your parts new? used? some used? more info!

REDMASTA

what have you changed recently. could be the cog or the chain.

KeepPedaling

Mine started doing this and also got harder to pedal. It was the bottom bracket bearings. Check those and the wheel bearings. Take the chain off and spin the crank and listen/feel for the roughness. Same for the back wheel. Other than that your chain looks a little dry and could be some grit in it. If the previous 2 things don't work degrease the chain and reapply some other type of grease to it.

veganbikes

I use the Izumi super toughness and don't experience a ton of noise on a EAI Gold Medal cog and Sugino Zen chainring. It sounds like you have a pretty decent set up but maybe the cog is not as round as it could be?

ceelint

When spinning it on a stand I only get what I describe as rollercoaster racheting.. I can only hear it if I put my ear to the seat or other parts of the bike, I'm only getting the "feeling" when I have my weight on it tensioning the chain. Drivetrain is clean and recently lubed up.. and nothing has been changed. New chain is in the mail.

ceelint

Thinking about it, I do remember hitting a patch of sand on a ride shortly before this started up. I've throughly cleaned everything since.. probably 2-3 times trying to get rid of it. Hopefully new chain fixes it

veganbikes

My Langster got briefly crunchy after I did a touch of maintenance and lubed it tonight. I spun the cranks a bit and it went away. Nothing was particularly dirty as the bike is a pure road bike and rarely sees bad conditions since I have enough other bikes that have fenders and such. I don't know why it got crunchy but it is gone.

KeepPedaling

How are you cleaning your chain?

ceelint

KeepPedaling

Is there dirt inside there? Maybe next time try to just let it soak in plastic water bottle with degreaser?

TejanoTrackie 

I soak mine in a bucket filled with mineral spirits, swirl it around and use a nylon bristle brush, then spray it off on my driveway with a garden hose nozzle, then sun dry. I then immediately reinstall it on my bike and lubricate it to avoid corrosion. I don’t think those Park cleaners work very well.

Also, I use master link chains on my SSFG bikes to facilitate removal and reinstallation.

ceelint

Finally got the new chain in the mail and put it on... Fixed my problem... Noticed when sizing the new chain next to the old one it had about half link of stretch over the entire chain length. Not sure if that'd cause the issue I was having or not though.

TejanoTrackie 

That’s a lot of stretch, and would definitely cause the problems you’ve described.

ceelint

It really didn't have a whole lot of mileage on it either. I was surprised to see that much stretch on it.

ceelint

Update... Still making these horrible noises, enough that my wife could hear them as I rode by... Swapped on my old crankset that gives me a 100% straight chain line and it's gone.. that 3mm off definitely made a difference.. I'll just save the 75's for another build that will allow them... Stupid Wabi Classic, not sure how they work on the Special but not the Classic.