UberIM

I brought it into the LBS and an experienced mechanic looked at it. He said the BB was fine (I thought that it might be wearing out and this was the first sign before it got loose?). He said no. The chain was cleaned and placed back on the chain ring and rear sprocket and the the tire pulled back to tension it.......The mechanic noticed that my front chain ring was not perfectly round and the chain at one point gets tighter and rises in that arc of the pedal stroke........but he didn't think of that........

I feel a little Shakespearean: out damn spot.......I could replace the chain and chain ring and sprocket in the rear and even the BB and still have the problem. When the mechanic test rode the bike he couldn't appreciate the clicking..........

Any thoughts for this obsessive nut case high maintenance commuter (other than you are glad you don't work in my LBS ? :-) )

Thanks

tjspiel

Pedals?

If you flip the bike upside down and spin the cranks do you hear the same noise?

UberIM

It is not a noise but a feeling when turning the cranks.........more annoying than anything.

sseaman

Can your pedals be serviced?

undisputed83

I had a similar problem yesterday with my head set... and I thought it was my front tire the whole time.

groovestew

This probably isn't helpful, but I was experiencing something like you're describing after replacing a cassette. I attributed it to using an old, possibly stretched chain with a new cassette, and that it wasn't a problem with the old cassette because it was wearing with the chain. Dunno. I'm now getting my entire drive train serviced (new BB, chain, cassette, and derailleur, keeping the current chainrings, though) and am hoping that grinding feeling goes away.

MB4

Check to see if the chain is stretched. I had a similar feeling, and measured the chain, and it was way overdue for replacement. A new chain might solve the problem. Second choice is bottom bracket - take the chain off and see if the crank spins freely (looks like your mechanic might have checked that already).

jeffpoulin

Yeah, a new chain with an old cassette or a new cassette with an old chain can produce an annoying grinding sound. So can grit between the links of the chain. How well was the chain cleaned and relubed?

aggiegrads

I vote for pedals. Every time I've had clicking, it turned out to be pedals.

UberIM

I love this forum.
Helpful advice and suggestions.
Helps me to discuss it more intelligently with my LBS mechanics who are lovely people. sometimes it is hard to diagnose the problem and fix it.
The overall problem is that it seems to be clearly in the domain of the drivetrain and even with a single speed it could be a number of elements of the drive train.
Thanks!!!!

UberIM

Brought the bike in and thought long and hard as I did my commute and thought that you were probably correct-pedal bike cleat interface.........got another SPD pedal and new cleats and the problem seems 90% better. May still be another problem in the drive train but thus far things are better. Will do a 40 miler tomorrow a.m. and if still more clicking the LBS will take down the entire drive train and may replace the chain ring/rear cog and chain. last would be the BB-I think there may be a problem with that still but am willing to give it a whirl to see........
thanks again

jsmonet

if replacing the pedals fixed it, it was the bearing inside the pedal, not the pedal/cleat interface.

clicks can mean a lot of things, but the most common wear items end up being the most common culprits (logic is awesome). pedals and chains wear out faster than, say, bottom brackets and chainrings. pedals also tend to back themselves out now and then, so a little twist on the pedal to tighten it/make sure it's tight is a simple, but good habit to make.

take your old pedals and hold the threaded side in your hand. now spin the pedal side of it and listen for any grinding or rough noises. Any grinding or scraping noises beyond simple metal-grease-metal sounds will indicate the pedal was in need of service/the culprit