tornado60

I got a clicking when pedaling that I can not diagnose. Seems to do it only when pedaling. Not in my two largest gears in the back. Also is not very noticeable if at all when pedaling the bike in the work stand. Only when riding. I have looked over the frame and seems solid. I have also swapped the seat and post with one from another bike. Because I wanted that seat and the post just happened to fit. Sound happened prior to that and after. Pedals feel smooth when turning. Derailleur alignment seems good. So I'm kind of stumped. I'd think bottom bracket but I would think I'd hear that in the work stand too.


Here is a link to a video where I tried to catch the sound.

https://flic.kr/p/2oD79TN

mpetry912 

that sounds more like clunking. is there a chainring bolt that has backed out and hitting the chainstay ?

first place I'd look

/markp

tornado60

I will check for that. It is a bit of a clunk. Started as more of a click but is a bit louder now.

mpetry912 

if you don't find anything, the next thing to check is the bottom bracket bearings.

/markp

maddog34

Hard to tell from the short vid, but it looks like it is NOT crank-related at all... the rhythm is definitely Not in time with your pedal strokes in the vid.

Do you have a Plastic Spoke Guard, AKA: Dork Disc, on the rear wheel, by chance? they sound EXACTLY like that as they begin to come loose and move around with Every wheel rotation.... the speed of the clunk will increase/decrease with the bike's rolling speed, and may cease when you don't pedal or haul azz............shouk/chunk. shouk/chunk.. Shouk/Chunk take a look, grab it and see if it moves.....they sometimes find a happy place and quit making noise for a while.... wrapping a willow twig between the big sprocket and the Dork disc can also silence them temporarily....i've seen tape and wire used too.... the idea is to keep it from sliding around, and force it LIGHTLY against the SPOKES.

if it's brittle enough(they turn yellow-ish). you can break it out... if not, you will need to go by a bike Co-op shop and sweet talk the mechanic into getting it off the bike for you....cash or food is always welcome... some also accept beers.

soyabean

Loose spokes will do exactly this.

You're hearing the spokes smack each other where they intersect.

Re-tensioning spokes means re-truing a wheel.

plumberroy

Crank arm to bottom bracket needs tightened. I had it happen on a Bikesdirect single speed fat bike and an electra loft. The fat bike I had to wrap the square connection with Teflon tape

KerryIrons

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.).

sweeks

Now that's the most exhaustive list I've seen!

rc5781

This is exactly what happened to me. The last mountain bike I bought from Bikesdirect started clicking. I noticed that if I grabbed both pedals and moved them side to side there was movement. This is when I realized the bottom bracket wasn't on tight enough. Didn't have the right tools so had to take it to the shop. Bikedirect is my current go to for buying bike, but you do have to check their installation.

tFUnK

One guess for pedals. Switch out the pedals and see if the noise persists.

tornado60

Sorry I haven't replied. I didn't get to work on the bike before I had out of state family visit like I wanted. Hopefully I can check all your wonderful suggestions this weekend and report back.

Iride01 

Might be the front dr slightly out of adjustment and the chain grabbing briefly on the pin to help it shift to the larger cog. If that crankset doesn't have a pin then maybe just grabbing a tooth of the big ring.

If that's a bike you bought from a LBS, did you take it back to them as they may have suggested when you went out the door with the bike? Usually new bikes need some attention 100 to 300 miles after purchase. Even if it's been a year I'd still go back and see if that free offer to look at everything and adjust still stands.

CrimsonEclipse

Pedals (may need replacing)
Bottom bracket (may need replacing)
Chainring to crank arm (tighten, make sure the bolts are the correct length)

cny-bikeman

A better video could possibly help - perhaps have someone trot alongside you or pan as you ride slowly by. That would help clearly see the relationship between the noise and crank or wheel rotation.
The other thing here is that we need more info, so that people are not reduced to mostly guessing. Below are some questions that should help in narrowing down possible causes and areas to focus on - they are helpful in many clicking situations:
1. Do you know if it occurs in time with pedal or wheel rotation, or neither?
2. Does the timing change at all in different gears?
3. Does it require higher pedal pressure to create it?
4. Does it change if you change position to put more pressure on front vs. rear wheels, or if you pedal out of the saddle?
5. Did it occur after any change in equipment, maintenance procedure, an accident, or extreme weather?

It's very difficult to tell, but after multiple views of the 2nd video, it appears to me that the noise occurs twice with each rotation of the front wheel (I believe I could make out the label coming around). IF that is true, then we can eliminate everything but the wheels, and spokes are then a strong possibility. Although that would normally happen in every gear, and whether pedaling or not. there may be something out of the usual going on in this case. The higher gears usually mean more pressure on the rear cogs, which is transferred to the spokes. That might stress them enough to keep them from rubbing against each other the same way in the higher gears. That's admittedly a lot of guessing as well, but that's all I can come up with. To check spokes for a clicking problem, go to each X where they cross and press the pair toward each other by grabbing them toward the rim and squeezing. If there's a problem you will feel a click as they flex, which is from a groove or being worn from them flexing against each other (due to low spoke tension).

I'm very doubtful about the spoke issue, so please get back to us with the answers to the diagnostic questions above. Thank you.

cny-bikeman

It would be a lot of unnecessary work to check every suggestion made above, and may complicate things further. If you answer the questions I posted and perhaps upload a better video it would make the task much easier.

tornado60

1. Seems to occur every 1/2to 1 rotation. Doesn't happen when coasting.
2. Not in different gears, but the faster I pedal the faster it comes.
3. No it does not necessarily require higher pressure to create it. Maybe slightly elevated tension on the chain will bring it on. I have noticed it sometimes lets up on downhills. Sometimes. Also does not want to do it in repair stand.
4. I don't change position much. I have noticed giving the back abit of a shake sometimes helps temporarily.
5. Always done it. Bikes new but unfortunately not from my LBS. They would still let me bring it in.

cny-bikeman

The fact that occurs once or twice perd revolution pretty much narrows it down to the pedals, cranks, or bottom bracket. After listening with the audio turned up on the video it sounds like too low a pitch and too loud to be the crank/spindle interface or the pedal/crank interface. I think the bottom bracket itself is the most likely culprit. Again it's hard without having hands on the bike but let's try this test: Stand over the bike and put the crank arms horizontal. Put on both brakes and step on to the forward pedal with all of your weight. Rotate the cranks 180° and stomp down on the other pedal with the brakes on. If you feel or hear a clunk when you do that then the bottom bracket is definitely the problem. Both crank arms will need to be removed and the bottom bracket checked for tightness and torque on both sides.

tiger1964 

That's a handy list to hang onto; that said, it was something I did not want to read... I've been installing sealed-bearing bottom brackets, sealed bearing hubs and pedals, and converted to waxing chains -- so not much call for grease on bikes, and I like not having it around to attack dirt.

But, on a ride yesterday on a bike recently completed, a little creak at once per crank revolution. So, for starters, pulled the cranks and a thin coating on BB spindle tapers, and mounting bolts & washers and the chainring bolts and their mounting surfaces on the rings and arms. Now for a test ride, I hope it was worth it!

If that does not work, I'll work through various parts of the list -- pedal threads and both faces of the pedal washers comes to mind.

tornado60

took it to my shop and they made some adjustments mostly to my shifting. Sound seems much improved.

zandoval 

You don't list what kind of bike or your location in your profile. I don't really know what kind of bike you are ridding.

Check your spoke tensions on the rear wheel. Just look for a loose spoke.

I chased a Cluck on my bike for over a year. Literally checking Stem to Stern and never found the cause until I changed out my rear wheel do to a flat. Suddenly the Cluck was gone! It turned out to be the 3rd Cog on my freewheel. So you may ask what caused the cluck in the 3rd cog of my freewheel? DUH! I just replaced it and the bike remains fixed. It was a Shimano MF TZ30 6 speed. Note also that this has happened two times where I just replaced the freewheel and the cluck disappeared.

I no longer cry when I have to replace my chains or freewheels. Now days it seems to be an item more subject to wear and tear. Also... I am a friction shifter guy and do quite a bit of mashing in my 3rd cog. That may have allot to do with it...

zandoval 

Bravo! It must be nice to have a shop; and one that can actually fix things. We have no shops in my AO.

Over in Austin they would be more interested in selling ya a new bike... Ha

tornado60

It is. I hope they stick around for a while.