rollingbeach

I recently purchased a Cruiser Lux 1 (step through). After a month, the bike started making crunching (metal) sounds whenever I peddle. At first, I thought it was sand. But after I throughly inspected the bike and cleaned/lubricated the chain, nothing changed. I took it to the dealer and they re-lubed, inspected and tightened everything. Unfortunately, the noise remains. They asked if I would take the bike back, ride it for a while to see if anything changed. Nothing's changed. Here are the details:
(1) The bike only makes the noise when I apply pressure while peddling. If I ghost pedal (no pressure but move the pedals slower than the bike) no noise.
(2) While riding, if I turn aggressively, it will make the noise, but only in cadence with the aggressive turns.
(3) If I grab the frame while standing next to it and shake it quickly towards and away from me (while keeping both wheels on the ground) it sounds like something metallic is loose. It is not the sound of the chain hitting the chain guard.
(4) I can get the bike to sometimes make the metallic noise while sitting on it (not rolling forward) and quickly moving the handlebars from right to left.
(5) If I jump on the bike and peddle down once really fast and hard then coast without peddling, there's a loud single metal snap from the hub (or hub area). It only snaps once. I can recreate the noise if I go through the same steps.
(6) If I get up to a cruising speed then coast and hold the pedals still, as the bike slows down the hub (or other metal part) begins to ping.

Bike Details: In addition to being a Cruise Lux 1, this bike is built and sold to companies that rent bikes. So this electra comes with heavy duty tires and a rust-proof chain. It also has fenders. Other than that, it's a stock bike. I am going to take it back to the dealer and ask them to figure out what it is. Any help from forum members would be greatly appreciated.

tds101 

Have the bike shop check out the bottom bracket,...

rollingbeach

Forgot to include that this is an Electra bicycle.
As a new forum member I cannot post a link to Vimeo. If you contact me through the site, I will gladly provide the link as the video clip clearly captures the noise.

rollingbeach

When I turned the bike over to the shop, I told them my guess was that the frame cracked and/or had a faulty weld.
The bike shop stripped the bike all of the way down to the frame. With the frame in the bike stand, it still made the same noise when they torqued the frame. They are going to reach out to the Electra factory for assistance. The shop cannot positively identify the source of the noise. They did not find a crack in the frame or along any of the welds. However, they believe there's a bad weld.

GeezyRider 

That's a bummer as frames are apparently in very short supply right now.

rollingbeach

I heard back from the bike shop. Electra could not identify the problem (the frame is still at the bike shop). Electra will ship a new frame to the bike dealer but the estimate could be 2 months. The bike shop reassembled the bike and returned it to me. They will call once the frame arrives.

Sb23539

Love this model

Sb23539

Whats your favorite color?

Sb23539

Thats great that they are replacing it. Stinks that it is taking so long to get resupplied with items during the pandemic

Sb23539

Everything for outdoor rec is in short supply/. Impossible to get good tents and camping gear too