masi61

It will happen continuously while the rear wheel is rolling whether I am pedaling or not. I have never re-packed the bearings on the FH-7800 Dura Ace hub but the wheel spins freely with no play detected. I did have the 28 hold hub re-laced by by LBS mechanic going from DT Swiss Revolution (thin butted) to the standard DT Swiss butted spokes. The old spokes would ping at the crossings. My new wheel runs true. It is laced 3 cross. It is possible that what I am hearing is the lower frequency ping of the thicker spokes needing to be stress relieved.

I just wondering if it is possible that thickened grease could intermittently make the rear wheel bearings bunch up then make a rhythmic clunking sound while under load or is it more likely that the re-build wheel even though it is running true will need to be taken back in to have the spokes stress relieved and tightened. My LBS wheel builder is conservative and he always wants you to bring his hand build wheels back after several hundred miles to be tensioned and trued.

What is odd is that the wheel will go silent for a few miles then the clunking will resume for several miles and this happens while seated pedaling, while standing pedaling and while coasting too. This is just odd. It is bugging me because I really prefer a quiet bike.

Rolla

Not likely. Plus, you said the noise occurs whether you are pedaling or not.

Iride01 

If it happens while you pedal, it's very unlikely to be anything inside the freehub. You might have an axle issue. Might be something bumping that you just aren't seeing.

I might say it's just the rear DR no longer adjusted correctly and it's attempting to shift, but you say it happens when you aren't pedaling too. Maybe multiple problems with similar sounds.

One day it will show you exactly what the issue is. Probably won't cost you any more to fix it then.

KerryIrons

It is fairly common to have clicking noises, but ticks and clicks are very hard to eliminate sometimes. What seems like it is tied to the pedals may be coming from the seat post, etc. Sometimes things like temperature and humidity can affect noises as well. Also, things like the front derailleur cage just hitting the crank, loose bottle cage bolts, or the front derailleur cable sticking out and hitting your shoe can seem like they are clicks but really aren't. Another thing to consider is that the frame and components are flexing from pedaling forces, and so you can get a click or creak sound where you think it couldn’t be – for example the seat post & clamp can make noise even when you are standing and pedaling due the frame flexing. Here’s a link if you don’t like reading the rest of this post: Bicycle Touring Tips, Lessons Learned, and Tricks of the Trade



Clicks tied to your pedaling can come from

- BB (grease all threads in contact with the frame and BB, all metal to metal contact surfaces, and torque to the recommended settings, which can be quite high), the faces of tapered BB axles if they have a little corrosion

- bolt holding the BB cable guide onto the frame (grease threads and make sure the bolt is not touching the BB shell inside the frame)

- BB cable guide (grease threads and tighten)

- crank bolts (grease threads and washers)

- chain ring bolts (take them all out and grease the threads, the faces where they contact the CRs, and the CRs where they contact the crank spider arms)

- a dirty chain, inadequately lubed chain, stiff link in a chain or a burr on one of the "break off" special links used to assemble the chain

- front derailleur clamp (clean and put a light film of grease on the inside of the clamp where it touches the seat tube)

- front derailleur cage hitting crank arm

- the pedals (grease the threads and the shoulders of the axle where it butts against the crank arm, get some wax, silicone etc. on the cleats, check for play in the bearings, squirt some lube into the guts of the pedal machinery if possible)

- shoes/cleats - loose cleat nut rattling around in the shoe sole, shoe/cleat interface, cleat bolts, cleats touching pedals (wax lube, silicone, or furniture polish)

- seat post and saddle (grease the post, seat post clamp, seat post bolts, saddle rails, and add some oil to where the rails go into the saddle body)

- bars and stem (grease the stem where it clamps to steerer or goes into the steerer if quill type, top cap, stem bolts at both ends, h'bar bolt if quill stem, and h'bar where it goes through the stem)

- grease/tighten QRs and where the hub axle contacts the frame

- tighten cassette lock ring, grease cassette hub body and cassette spacers

- grease steerer tube spacers (if threadless)

- replaceable derailleur hangers (remove, clean, grease all parts and threads, reassemble)

- any other bolt (bottle cages, derailleur clamps, derailleur bolts, shift cable casing stops, etc.)

- cables hitting the frame (cable donuts), or shifting in their end ferrules (lube contact points).



Wheels can make noises when pedaling or coasting (check for spoke tension, particularly on the rear non drive side, put a drop of lube where each pair of spokes cross and where each spoke enters the rim and the hub flange, check for loose metal bits or spoke nipples in the body of the rim and cracks in the rim at spoke holes.).



Clicks that happen when you coast can come from:

- computer wheel magnet hitting the pickup (computer pickup reed switch noise cannot be fixed)

- nuts on threaded Presta valve stems (throw the nut away)

- valve stems hitting/moving against the rim

- wheel reflectors wobbling.

- pinned rim joint flexing

- bits of loose metal inside the rim left over from manufacturing



Needless to say, you want to try these things in what seems like the most likely place the noise is coming from, but there are plenty of stories about "I was sure the noise was in the handlebars but it went away when I tightened up the spokes in the rear wheel," so keep trying different things until you have success.

masi61

I tend to agree but that only leaves the wheel re-build itself as the culprit for the noise. I plan to take the wheel in for a re-tension/stress relief on Thursday then re- test ride the bike again. I may also just go ahead and re-pack the wheel bearings with fresh grease and also check the freehub pawls and apply a light coat of grease to them and then test ride.

masi61

,

mysteries like this do motivate me to continue to look for the source. When I find it, I will without a doubt update the forum readers here...

Rolla

Well, as the old mechanic's adage says, "look at the last thing you did to it." If the rebuild was at all recent, I'd start there.

masi61

Thanks for the detailed response. I have bold faced and italicized the segment about wheels since my spider-sense is pointing the blame in this direction.

70sSanO

Bits inside the rim did catch my eye.

Mavic 217’s had a weld slag/slug that would come loose and clunk, but usually at lower revolutions. Very “soothing” on slow climbs, like the drip-drip-drip of a faucet.

The welding is probably not an issue with your rims, but if something made its way inside the rim it might give a constant clunk per revolution.

John

Barry2 

Wedge a piece of paper between the spoke crossings and retest.

Barry

masi61

Update: Problem solved - the axle system had worked itself loose. My LBS mechanic had it tightened back up in less than 5 minutes. Kind of embarrassing since I thought I detected no play in the bearings. Once the wheel was removed from the bike the drive side spacer was visibly wobbling. I know how to service old school cup and cone hub bearings but other than watching my mechanic and reading a few articles about it and watching a few YouTube videos I still had not tackled the FH-7800 hub adjustment. I have a used Dura Ace FH-7850 that I had built into a wheel with some Velocity Quill rims and those bearings feel kind of dry. If I could ever get some real free time, I will repack the bearings on this wheel and follow the directions I found on-line.

masi61

I had the spokes making those noises at the crossings on the initial build and after my LBS wheelbuilder tried multiple x's to tension and stress relieve the 3x DT Revolution spokes, they just kept it up. So over the winter her rebuilt the wheel, this time with the DT Swiss standard stainless butted spokes. This seemed to cure that issue for me. Turns out the clunky sound was the axle system working itself loose.