putahslim

One good thing about the colder weather is that I don't hear an annoying click once per revolution of the crank anymore.

I've been through several sets of pedals over this (Shimano A530 or Nashbar equivalent); it seems that when they are new, they are silent, but eventually develop this click behavior, and it only seems to happen when the temperature is above 65 degrees F or so.

I won't rule out the bottom bracket (Shimano 105), because it's so hard to narrow the sound down, but it happens when I load the drive-side pedal. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing clicking only when warm? I'm a little north of 200 lbs, if that's a factor. I've repacked the pedals with grease several times (they are not very easy to dismantle further than that), to no avail.

Sy Reene

At temperatures above 65 degrees, I put ice cubes in my water bottle... just sayin'...

putahslim

Yeah, I do too, sometimes. But I'm not sure what that has to do with my question. It ain't ice cubes clicking. :-)

Sy Reene

Just checking.. I went thru this a couple years ago.. "what the heck is that clicking noise"... it actually took me about 20 minutes to localize to my water bottle. oh well. The other one was the the tube valve knocking against the edge of the rim hole that it sticks out of.

Maelochs

No clue but i sympathize. I have a beautiful Chinese CF endurance framed bike with custom wheels and 105 group. I have changed the chain , pedals, rear derailleurs, moved and removed and repositioned the front derailleur, swapped the wheels, taken the cranks off, taken the BB bearings and shell out (separately0 but i cannot stop the click. I might have to buy a gun just so I can shoot the bike.

if I do that ... i will post whether ro not the clicking stopped.

bpcyclist

Ha!!

bpcyclist

Wait! A woman who shot her iphone is being prosecuted. Just sayin'.

bpcyclist

Seriously, clicking can be one of the more challenging things to sort out, in my experience. Such a pain. Frequently, again, just my personal history, but often, the place I think the clicking is coming from turns out not to be even remotely the correct place. It can be super hard to tell. Here are a few random thoughts on clicking sources in my own history of bicycles: 1) Be sure your foot or leg is not contacting the FD cable. Maybe it got bent and you did not notice. Done this. Check it out; 2) Check chainring bolts and chainrings--be sure everything is snug and copacetic-- a loose bolt can definitely click; 3) Check shoes, their fasteners, cleats, and cleat bolts-- believe it or not, these have been known to cause clicking; 4) Go over the headset--this is a quite common cause of clicking. Even with your specifics, it is still a possibility in my opinion. Dismiss it at your own peril. Maybe when you load the drive side, you apply the same type of force to the bars almost every time and are not aware of this--check it out: 5) STI shifters--definite potential clicking source; 6) Cable housings all around; 7) Put cranks in 3 o'clock (R) and 9 o'clock (L) positions. Apply significant force to pedals directly toward the midline of the bike--could reveal a BB click; 8) Thoroughly check out seat/tube/rear light and housing, front lights and housing, helmet light and housing, any cameras; 9) I am assuming frame is CF--take the non-cutting end of a dinner knife and gently but not too gently, tap the entirety of the frame; 10) Be sure it is not a zipper or clothing fastener--sounds crazy, but guy on here recently found that as cause; 11) RD cable, rear drivetrain;12) Last and funniest one. Few months ago, after fixing my bottle cage rattling problem (bolts had loosened over time), I started hearing a new, fairly quiet clicking sound. Looked everywhere. Know what it was? The inner headband of my poc helmet, moving ever-so-slightly with each pedal stroke--from time to time. It did not sound like it was coming from my helmet/head region--it sounded like it was coming from the front wheel area. Hilarious.

That's all I know. I am sure smarter people have more. As for the temperature thing, perhaps a resident metallurgist or carbon fiberologist could weigh in, but it seems poosible that temp-induced shifts in bike component flex/expansion-contraction or sizing or friction or whatever could be I suppose playing some kind of role. But that really doesn't really matter in my view. You have a clicking issue and you need to isolate it the same way anyone else would Just my take and YMMV, of course.

putahslim

Thanks for all those great ideas, but I have had a lot of opportunity to isolate it to the pedals/crank (perhaps chainring). My frame is aluminum, btw.

putahslim

The 'but' should read 'and', because then it doesn't sound like I'm dismissing this excellent, detailed advice. I tried the 9/3 o'clock pressure on the cranks and didn't feel or hear anything, so I'm still leaning towards pedals as the culprit. I just wonder why this keeps happening to me on different (alum) bikes, with different pedals (of the same basic design).

I'll pay attention to things like the headset, too, when it gets warm enough to bring the click back! But it really feels like a pedal thing...

duffer1960

I had an annoying click that I thought was in the pedals, crank, or bottom bracket area. Replaced the bottom bracket to no avail & couldn't find anything wrong with the rest. Finally after a long while with the sound not getting better or worse, the 6 sp. freewheel started slipping internally. Replaced & the click went away. Have you checked /replaced the freewheel / freehub?

putahslim

Was your click timed to when you loaded one of the cranks, i.e. at the beginning of a power stroke? If so, that's a possibility I'll have to check out, though it's not a particularly old freehub.

duffer1960

Yes. That made it really hard to figure out.

BlazingPedals

Worn cleats?

putahslim

No, because it happens when using the platform side of the pedals (A520 and Nashbar equiv.) with street shoes. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

MNebiker

I had a similar click that seemed to come from the left pedal, but always at the same point in the crank rotation. Noise would happen only under load, but would go away when just riding easy. I couldn't duplicate the noise on a stand, the pedals rotated smooth, bb was smooth, no harshness or gritty feel. On an off chance I grabbed a pedal wrench to make sure the pedal was tight. Even though it seemed very tight, when I leaned on the wrench I was able to snug it up a bit - but less than 1/8 of a turn. The click was gone. I'm not sure how that should have cured it, but it has never come back in over a year.

Mad Honk 

I am going to wager on a loose pedal cage. If it is a high end pedal with replaceable cages it could be a loose attaching screw. If a low end pedal, then the cage can be loose at the riveted point between the pedal body and cage. Best way to localize the noise is to put a few drops of oil on the junctures tween the body and cage of the pedal. Also be sure to check the ankle joint to be sure it isn't creating the noise. Smiles, MH

putahslim

I think I mistakenly labeled the (Shimano) pedal type as "A520" in one of my posts, but it's the A530 (a clipless/platform hybrid).

I have also had two sets of the Nashbar equivalent of this pedal. All three pedal sets eventually developed the click.

I have greased and checked the tightness of the spindle/body connection many, many times. Further disassembly is not at all easy. I do think you're right that the problem is somewhere in this area -- I'll try your oil drop idea as soon as warm weather makes the click come back. In this winter cold, everything is perfectly quiet!

ChrisAlbertson

I just finished a one hour session on my indoor stationary machine and I'm taking a rest now. While I was riding I had a right side one per rev click on the pedal. It was annoying. I've got old Look Delta peddles on the stationary bike. So I got off after and hour and figured out it was the right arm had some "play" with the spindle. The amount of arm to spindle play was tiny. This bike is a relic from the 1980's and has steel crank arms. I fixed the click with a plastic mallet and a wrench.

I bet that in your case something is simply loose. Take the crank arms off, clean and grease the parts and use correct torque to reinstall. Only takes a few minute. The arms have to be on good or they "click"

Cyclist753

..

dieselgoat

I'm a sucker for these threads. I've got no less than 12 bikes, and I ride all of them-just not at the same time. Anyway, with that many bikes, that's a lot of possibilities for some creaks, squeaks, clicks, and ticks, and believe me, I had every issue imaginable. I don't know the solution to the OP's problem, but whatever it is, it is probably something you didn't expect.
Noises have a way of sounding like they are coming from a certain place and they wind up coming from another. I always stand up when I hear a noise- to see if it's coming from the seat/seatpost. Then I move on from there. A friend once suggested I stop and check my quick releases. I thought to myself, "he must have lost his mind." To appease him, I did just that and the creaking stopped. Turns out, I was the fool. Good luck in tracking it down.

BlazingPedals

I'm probably the only person with this issue, but in the past I've had clicking caused by the FD being adjusted too far out and contacting the crank arm.

VladAlex

I've had this issue once, it was some dirt on the pedal that made this horrible noise, a quick inspection of the cleat (I ride with look system) some carefully cleaning pedals, re greasing the pedal and silence

bpcyclist

Good one--I have never heard that one before.

putahslim

I appreciate all the ideas and suggestions; thanks everybody for taking the time to reply.

I was hoping that the 'thermal' nature of the problem would resonate with somebody, but I guess not.

Even though I've done so several times (once the weather warms up and the click returns), I think I will dismantle and reassemble the bottom bracket, cranks, and pedals. Perhaps the bottom bracket and/or cranks are just not quite tight enough, and that's enough to make a difference when some metal warms up at a different rate than its neighbor. I wonder if this is a problem peculiar to aluminum frames.

Thanks again.