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Intermittent Buzzing Sound From Front End

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Intermittent Buzzing Sound From Front End

Old 11-01-19, 07:50 PM
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bpcyclist
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Intermittent Buzzing Sound From Front End

Greetings, cycling geniuses. I am currently riding a one year-old BMC SLR02. The only previous issue I have had was some buzzing form the front of the bike, which turned out to be a loose valve nut, if that's what you call it. It was quiet for several months, then louder buzzing/rattling appeared from the front end, or so it seemed. It basically sounds like a giant Jew's Harp being played. It is only heard when riding over rough pavement and is silent when on smooth pavement. It is heard both when pedaling and when coasting. It is intermittent. Interestingly to me, I never hear it in the first few minutes of a ride ever. It's only after I've been going for a bit that is appears. Once it gets going, it stays going until the ride is over or I am just on smooth pavement. I have also never heard it when in the lowest (easiest) gears. It seems the bike has to be moving at a certain pace for this sound to really show up. I have reproduced it a couple of times by picking up the front wheel and dropping it. But most of the time, when doing this maneuver, you will not be able to produce the sound. Oh, and applying the front brake and rocking the front wheel does not produce this sound either.

I have checked every bolt in the cockpit, the brakes, the wheel, and the hub. Everything is snug. I closely inspected the forks, steerer tube, front end of the down tube, and no cracks are visible. Have checked the cables where I can see them (bike has internal routing). Have made sure the valve nut is tight and that the valve does not appear to have any play in its positioning at the aperture. All spokes seem to have reasonable tension and the nipples seem to be in the right place and not loose. I have picked up the front wheel and shaken the heck out of it and I hear no loose debris moving around in the wheel. The QR is snug, though I undid it and re-did it and the sound persisted. And last, I can't recreate this sound by manipulating the shifters/brake levers.

So, given all that, I am wondering what next steps might seem reasonable. I am no bike mechanic. I can do the very basics, but I certainly have never taken apart a hub before. What suggestions might you have for me? It is really annoying to be trying to enjoy a nice ride on this terrific bike, but constantly be distracted by this buzzing. I don't like to wear earphones when riding. But this morning, the noise was so annoying I just had to put them in so I could escape it. Any help is greatly appreciated. Oh, and lastly, these wheels are Aksiums. I have never personally heard a Mavic Death Squeal, but from reading about it, this does not seem to be remotely similar sounding. Thanks in advance.
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Old 11-01-19, 07:57 PM
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Brake cable end hitting the tire?

Cheers
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Old 11-01-19, 07:59 PM
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Maybe a cable vibrating.
Tie a bungie cord lightly around various places on the bike to act as a sound damper. Maybe that'll work.
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Old 11-01-19, 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Miele Man
Brake cable end hitting the tire?

Cheers
Right. It seems to be about 4 cm away from the outer margin of the tire and it is quite short.
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Old 11-01-19, 08:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Bill Kapaun
Maybe a cable vibrating.
Tie a bungie cord lightly around various places on the bike to act as a sound damper. Maybe that'll work.
I'll give it a shot. Thanks.
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Old 11-01-19, 08:35 PM
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Is this a disc braked bike. I'd suspect a rotor vibrating??? (having never ridden a DBB)
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Old 11-01-19, 08:39 PM
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Does the sound go away or change when braking or shifting? I'm thinking maybe an internal cable rattling. If it only happens at higher speeds, the cable going to rear derailleur would be more slack in these gears, maybe being more prone to rattling on rough terrain. See if you can shift and add cable tension and listen for a change maybe.
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Old 11-01-19, 09:12 PM
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Originally Posted by SalsaShark
Does the sound go away or change when braking or shifting? I'm thinking maybe an internal cable rattling. If it only happens at higher speeds, the cable going to rear derailleur would be more slack in these gears, maybe being more prone to rattling on rough terrain. See if you can shift and add cable tension and listen for a change maybe.
It does not change when braking. The only thing I have noticed with respect to shifting is what I mentioned about it not being present ever in the easy gears. It is more prominent when going faster, but the bike itself is shaking more over lousy pavement when riding faster over those surfaces, too. Hadn't thought of an internal cable. I will check on that on my morning ride and report back. Thanks!
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Old 11-01-19, 09:19 PM
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Originally Posted by SalsaShark
Does the sound go away or change when braking or shifting? I'm thinking maybe an internal cable rattling. If it only happens at higher speeds, the cable going to rear derailleur would be more slack in these gears, maybe being more prone to rattling on rough terrain. See if you can shift and add cable tension and listen for a change maybe.
Good thought.
Being "retro", that never occurred to me.
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Old 11-01-19, 09:23 PM
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Go around the entire thing and thump or knock on it in various places with your knuckles. See if you can reproduce the buzz that way while the bike is standing still. It's a long shot, but has worked for me on bikes as well as musical instruments.
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Old 11-01-19, 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Gresp15C
Go around the entire thing and thump or knock on it in various places with your knuckles. See if you can reproduce the buzz that way while the bike is standing still. It's a long shot, but has worked for me on bikes as well as musical instruments.
Thank you. It's now on the list.
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Old 11-01-19, 10:03 PM
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I've fixed many an intermittent buzz on a bicycle because I saw a cable end, derailleur or brake, hitting a tire. The fast the person rode the stronger and louder the buzz. That's why I suggested checking your cable ends. Derailleurs especially can do this with their cables as the derailleur moves closer to the inside the cable contacts the tire but not so strongly or at all as the derailleur moves away from the inside towards the outside of the bike.

Take a STRONG light and carefully check the frame and forks for hairline cracks.

Cheers
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Old 11-01-19, 10:13 PM
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Perhaps an INTERNAL cable hitting the inside of the frame?

Cheers
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Old 11-02-19, 09:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Bill Kapaun
Is this a disc braked bike. I'd suspect a rotor vibrating??? (having never ridden a DBB)
Thanks for the input. It's a rim brake bike.
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Old 11-02-19, 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Miele Man
I've fixed many an intermittent buzz on a bicycle because I saw a cable end, derailleur or brake, hitting a tire. The fast the person rode the stronger and louder the buzz. That's why I suggested checking your cable ends. Derailleurs especially can do this with their cables as the derailleur moves closer to the inside the cable contacts the tire but not so strongly or at all as the derailleur moves away from the inside towards the outside of the bike.

Take a STRONG light and carefully check the frame and forks for hairline cracks.

Cheers
Greetings, strongly agree, on a friends bike the buzzing turned out to be carbon fiber delaminating, of course he lives in Florida, and stores his bike in a hot shed. Heat, and UV are not friendly to carbon fiber bikes!
Regards
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Old 11-02-19, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by skoda2
Greetings, strongly agree, on a friends bike the buzzing turned out to be carbon fiber delaminating, of course he lives in Florida, and stores his bike in a hot shed. Heat, and UV are not friendly to carbon fiber bikes!
Regards
Thank you. This is an inside bike, other than when being ridden. I have taken the front wheel off and closely examined the entire frame and see nothing suggesting any kind of defect or crack. What does delamination look like on a frame that's been painted and has decals?
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Old 11-02-19, 10:56 AM
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You would be able to easily see any delamination, as the clear coat, and paint would be blistered, and/or cracked.
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Old 11-04-19, 08:09 PM
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Well, here's where I am. I have verified that none of the external portions of any cable is causing this sound. All the front spokes/nipples appear fine. There's nothing bouncing around within the wheel. QR seems normal. It's not not the vale nut and I don't think it's the vale either, as it is snugly pushed against the aperture all the way around. I'll still go to the hardware store tomorrow and get some electrical tape and try that trick.

I've carefully tapped the entire frame. It all sounds the same. Took a 1000-lumen light and studied every millimeter of it. Nada. The crankshaft bolts are solid as a rock. Both derailleurs and the hangar are fine. I cannot reproduce the sound by playing with the saddle or seatpost or rear light setup. Went over the headset again. It seems solid.

What I seem to be left with is the good idea one of you had about an internal cable rattling. And the hubs. So, that's my next project.

I do still find it interesting that it seems to only be really prominent when in the higher (harder) gears. I'm not smart enough to know what that means. Is there something wrong with my chain? This def does not sound like chain rub/FD stuff to me. As I say, it actually sounds like a giant Jew's Harp, something between rattling and buzzing.

Will post more after the next set of tests. Thanks to all very much for your time and feedback. Really appreciate it.
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Old 11-05-19, 02:58 PM
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I get a sound that matches your description from my Shimano shift levers. It buzzes and vibrates but if I press my thumb onto the mechanism the sound stops.
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Old 11-05-19, 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Wilfred Laurier
I get a sound that matches your description from my Shimano shift levers. It buzzes and vibrates but if I press my thumb onto the mechanism the sound stops.
Aha! Thank you. I will explore that this afternoon. Where exactly do you think the problem is on the shifters and where are you pressing precisely?
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Old 11-08-19, 06:31 AM
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UPDATE: I have looked into everything mentioned by all the brilliant people who offered suggestions. And here is what happened. Nothing seemed to pan out. I was so disappointed, but still determined. The more I looked into people dealing with various noises on different road bikes, the more clear it became how hard it can be to isolate the problem. It was driving me insane, but I continued to ride through it.

Yesterday, on a part of a route I commonly use, there is a two-block length of pavement that is just thrashed. Totally cracked and broken and lumpy-bumpy. It's a joke. I usually slow down a bit, but the bike still jiggles and bounces and vibrates wildly. The buzzing/rattling went crazy. I went crazy. Turned my head to the side and tried again to figure out just where it was coming from. For the first time, it seemed like maybe it was emanating from someplace right beneath me and not on the front end. I thought about it and then, reached down and grabbed my downtube water bottle and cage and held them motionless and firmly. Presto!! Rattle gone.
I got home and it certainly seems like the cage was well bolted-in. The bolts were definitely snug, but, I must say, not as snug as I would have made them on aluminum or steel. So, maybe I was a bit wimpy in the cage installation. In any case, I removed the cage and went for a long ride over smallish potholes and lots of crappy, bumpy, pavement surface and the bike was silent. The question then is, can I even have a bottle cage on the downtube? I sure would like to. There was no direction on the cages (carbon fiber) as to how many Newtons to tighten them to, so I just did them 'til they were snug but not so much that they might damage the downtube. The bolts appear to be in excellent condition and the bike was brand-new when the cages were installed. Does anyone have a suggestion about what I ought to do when I try to reinstall the cage? Are there any tricks that might somewhow reduce the chance of this rattling recurring. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread--I really appreciate it.
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Old 11-08-19, 07:27 AM
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Maybe if you put a rubber O-ring between the cage and the frame where each bolt is would help? I'm thinking that perhaps the O-rings would work like dampeners.

Cheers
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Old 11-08-19, 08:56 AM
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I’d make a gasket out of an old innertube to go between the cage and the frame.
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Old 11-08-19, 09:11 AM
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Sorry to laugh.. I had the same, but my carbon bottle cage just needed filing down where the bottle grips 3mm gap to 5mm,sorted, i dont usually have a drink when riding to work so nothing to stop it tapping.
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Old 11-08-19, 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by bpcyclist
UPDATE: I have looked into everything mentioned by all the brilliant people who offered suggestions. And here is what happened. Nothing seemed to pan out. I was so disappointed, but still determined. The more I looked into people dealing with various noises on different road bikes, the more clear it became how hard it can be to isolate the problem. It was driving me insane, but I continued to ride through it.

Yesterday, on a part of a route I commonly use, there is a two-block length of pavement that is just thrashed. Totally cracked and broken and lumpy-bumpy. It's a joke. I usually slow down a bit, but the bike still jiggles and bounces and vibrates wildly. The buzzing/rattling went crazy. I went crazy. Turned my head to the side and tried again to figure out just where it was coming from. For the first time, it seemed like maybe it was emanating from someplace right beneath me and not on the front end. I thought about it and then, reached down and grabbed my downtube water bottle and cage and held them motionless and firmly. Presto!! Rattle gone.
I got home and it certainly seems like the cage was well bolted-in. The bolts were definitely snug, but, I must say, not as snug as I would have made them on aluminum or steel. So, maybe I was a bit wimpy in the cage installation. In any case, I removed the cage and went for a long ride over smallish potholes and lots of crappy, bumpy, pavement surface and the bike was silent. The question then is, can I even have a bottle cage on the downtube? I sure would like to. There was no direction on the cages (carbon fiber) as to how many Newtons to tighten them to, so I just did them 'til they were snug but not so much that they might damage the downtube. The bolts appear to be in excellent condition and the bike was brand-new when the cages were installed. Does anyone have a suggestion about what I ought to do when I try to reinstall the cage? Are there any tricks that might somewhow reduce the chance of this rattling recurring. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread--I really appreciate it.
Shocker. In the end, first-hand experience triumphs over anonymous remote guesswork yet again! [shakes head]
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