robertj298 

My sons Specialized Sirrus hybrid makes a clicking sound which appears to come from the
crank area it makes the sound at the same spot in the rotation of pedaling and it only does
it when there is pressure on the pedals. I can't duplicate it on the bike stand. Does it sound like
something that is in the bottom bracket?

MarcusT

Same happened to me and after hours of trying to figure out what it was, it turned out to be my shoelace tip that was hitting the pedal/crank arm on each turn.

Bill Kapaun

Yes, but also make sure you don't have a loose arm or pedal.
Or FDER cable end ticking the arm as it goes by.

daoswald

This happened to me once. I was so annoyed by it that I disassembled the bottom bracket to inspect. There was nothing wrong with it. So then my imagination told me it was coming from one of a handful of other places on the bike, none of which turned out to be the culprit.

In the end it wasn't until I upgraded pedals that I realized it was the pedal's bearings / spindle causing the clicking.

Check your pedals. If you are able to swap them with pedals from another bike, you can quickly verify that it's the pedals.

JoeTBM 

My suggestion as well, easiest to eliminate as well.

Bikewolf

As a precaution, also check your chain (wear and tear, or damage).

Moe Zhoost

I was vexed by such a click for over 6 months, checking everything over (and over in some cases). The cause made itself apparent when the drive side crank arm broke while riding. It had developed a small (almost invisible) stress crack that finally let go. The clicking that I heard was this crack opening and closing slightly as I pedaled. This is unlikely to be the cause of your clicking; however I think it's a good idea to rule it out. Cracks like this will be visible using a strong light and good magnifier.

dsbrantjr

If/when you check your pedals be certain that both the pedal and crank threads and mating surfaces are clean.

tomtomtom123

It might also be a bump on a chainring tooth. I once found a tooth that was damaged at the tip and bent it back with pliers. But it didn't make audible sound.

My chainring is not exactly parallel to the crank so if I'm on the centerline of the chain, it will rock left to right on the chain as I go each full resolution of the crank. It doesn't make a click sound, but more of a swish. When the chain is on an angle the sound goes away since it's rubbing only one side of the chainring.

Point

Similar noise here some years ago. My problem was the crankset spindle was separating from the spider with movement between the two parts. Poor manufacturing on the pressed in connection of the hollow spindle. It eventually would have completely come apart.

Paul Barnard

I would guess it is where your seat post connects with the seat rails. Take it apart, wipe a very light layer of a light lube on the contact points and reassemble.

Secondary to that the stem/bars contact.

If you have a quick connect chainlink, inspect that.

The top two have accounted for the majority of my click/creak issues.

dwsmartins

I’ve got exactly the same situation here, but found the reason: the non drive side pedal.

But it wasn’t so easy: the drive side arm on my venerable Shimano FC-M131 crank cracked around the pedal thread after 10000km or more of reliable service, but it was my fault (hit a concrete slab laying near the curb, the pedal also broke). Took the opportunity to make a complete replacement of the drivetrain: new crankset, chain, cassete (these from SunRace) and derailleurs (from Shimano). And so a dilemma begins...

Unrelated to the original problem, I’ve managed to crack my old frame and took the opportunity to change the bottom bracket (Shimano UN-BB26, same as previous). But I’ve found SunRace hasn’t an effective quality control: the crankset’s square hole was off center by a tiny amount, enough to cause some rubbing on the front derailleur (thought it was due to the old bottom bracket, but the new one was installed and the problem persisted).

Coincidently to the bottom bracket replacement, I’d noticed an annoying clicking sound every turn on the pedals. Thought it was a faulty bottom bracket (the seller borrowed me another one to check, nope); thought about more troubles on the crankset, but never could positively identify it; thought it was due to an 8s chain and cassete being mated to a 9s crankset, but can’t prove it...

As you, I couldn’t reproduce the issue out of the pedals. To my despair, my wife took the bike for a ride and found no clicking at all! Thought about a problem with the new frame (I’m quite heavy at 120kg, so I thought that was the problem), but couldn’t find any crack on it.

Out of the blue, the clicks started to get more frequent. I went commando and started to test random things, exchanging parts with my wife’s bike. When I exchanged the pedals, the problem was gone, but that wasn’t the end.

Took the pedals where I bought then, the seller is one of my trusted mechanics, (the same who sold me the bottom bracket) and he replaced them at no cost. After only about 2km down, there was the annoying clicking again! Came back there and begun to test one pedal after another, just to find the complete batch clicked out of the package or after a couple of kilometers!

Curiously, they only clicked with me, my mechanic is almost featherweight at just 60kg (little more than half my weight). He agreed to disassemble then and make a complete overhaul and repacking of grease on both pedals. Hadn’t ride as much as before, due to coronavirus and rain season, but whenever I’d ride, there’s no more clicks.

Just for laughs, I was about to christen the bike TicTac, but not anymore...🤣🤣🤣🤣

robertj298 

I wouldn't think it would be the seat rails. It only clicks when the crank is in one position

phughes

I have also had the shoelace making noise.

I had a noise last year. I thought it was a pedal. Swapped them for others I had. Nope. I checked the cassette, thought it was loose, and retorqued it. Nope. It was minor. I recently tightened the chainwheel bolts, so far no noise... We'll see.

Another guy on the forum had a noise, and after checking everything, he figured it out, after riding a different bike I believe. It was his knee.

Paul Barnard

It has happened to me several times. It clicks in that position, because that is the very point where the pressure on the saddle is consistent with each stroke. The fact that it doesn't happen on the stand with no weight on the saddle makes it more likely to be a saddle issue. It's a 5 minute rule-out if nothing else. What do you stand to lose?

robertj298 

I think you are correct. There is a slight up and down front to back play on the seat. I took it all apart
cleaned and lightly lubed it but no matter how tight I tighten it to the rails I still have the same play in it.
I'll have to work on it more tomorrow.

curbtender

If you have another bike, switch the pedals to eliminate that.

JohnDThompson 

Which corresponds to your leg being in one particular position, and the load on the saddle corresponds to your leg position.

It's quick and easy to eliminate this, in any case. Others have suggested light lube on the saddle rails. I've found a spray penetrating oil works well and doesn't require disassembly to apply. Squirt a little on the tension bolt (if present) while you're at it.

Tandem Tom

We just did a short 4 day ride on the GAP. Towards the end I started noticing,felt more than heard, a click while pedaling.
Turns out my pedal needed some attention. I just did a rebuild on them yesterday!

andrewclaus

When this happens to me, my first test is to pedal while standing. It's amazing how a saddle noise telegraphs into the BB.

Was that pun intended?

Paul Barnard

No, but good point. unweighting the bars can also provide info.

squirtdad

check the chain rings for tightness I had this happen once and it was a loose chain ring

bldegle2

Check your rear skewer, I chased an annoyance similar to this for MONTHS. Put in new skewer, noise gone. Just another place to look. Adding a little grease on each skewer end where it clamps frame can also make a difference.

pdlamb

Also make sure your crank fixing bolt is torqued properly.

Swamprunner

My noise was, one of my crank bolts was broken. Problem is, now it's stuck and I cant get the bolt out that holds the crank.