Boards collective knowledge/experience required

ratracer

Hi folks,
I've got a very annoying little 'clicking' noise on my bike and I'm hoping some of ye knowledgeable folk can help me sort it out.
The problem: when I'm on the road pedalling, there is a single clicking sound every time the left crank is at the bottom of the stroke. I thought it was just something rubbing but there are no scratches or marks anywhere on the bike. The noise only occurs when I'm pedalling, not when freewheeling. It also doesn't seem to happen on the turbo trainer. I've changed the wheels and pedals so it's not these. I took off and regreased the crank arm, it's not that. Its not the seatpost or saddle. Could it be a problem with the bottom bracket? (Shimano)
Any help greatly appreciated, it really is so annoying to cycle with this.

Indricotherium

ratracer wrote: »

Hi folks,
I've got a very annoying little 'clicking' noise on my bike and I'm hoping some of ye knowledgeable folk can help me sort it out.
The problem: when I'm on the road pedalling, there is a single clicking sound every time the left crank is at the bottom of the stroke. I thought it was just something rubbing but there are no scratches or marks anywhere on the bike. The noise only occurs when I'm pedalling, not when freewheeling. It also doesn't seem to happen on the turbo trainer. I've changed the wheels and pedals so it's not these. I took off and regreased the crank arm, it's not that. Its not the seatpost or saddle. Could it be a problem with the bottom bracket? (Shimano)
Any help greatly appreciated, it really is so annoying to cycle with this.

Bearing worn in the bottom bracket or pedal I'd say.

Throw a bit of three in one on the pedal bearing and see of the noise goes away for a while

07Lapierre

My monies on the pedals..Make sure they are tight...very tight.

Seaswimmer

bit of a long shot but..........

when your left crank is at the bottom then your right crank is at the top..

Happened to me and it turned out to be my shoe/foot hitting off the front derailleur cable where it was sticking out a bit and each time it clicked against the frame and bounced back for my shoe to hit it again..

Oryx

I have this on my bike, which I got serviced yesterday, and I havent ridden it since to see if it is gone. Was told if it isnt a pedal or crank nuts loose, then its a bearing in the bottom bracket as mentioned above. I was told it can be left for a while as an annoyance, its not a critical fix.

ratracer

I've tried greasing/ oiling the pedal, didn't work. So I changed the pedals with another set. Clicking still there. I might try a third set off my mtb just to check. My initial thoughts were the pedals, but I've almost discounted it now.
It's also not the cable, I've eliminated that earlier on.
Thanks for the help so far tho

The fact that it only occurs when pedalling has me thinking that it may be a bb problem because I've changed pedals/ crank, but I can't understand why it doesn't happen on the turbo trainer

calistro

Had the same issue a while back, as previous posters have said it turned out to be a bearing in the bottom bracket....replaced FOC by bike shop as bike was fairly new (shimano BB also).

NeedMoreGears

I had a noise exactly like this today. It was caused by the cable on the front derailleur sticking out at right angles from the locknut. I bent it back out the way and no more clicking noise. It was just long enough to catch the right pedal when it was at the stop of the stroke - you never know, you might have the same issue.

If any one has any advice re chain noise when pedalling despite no apparant rubs and the chain being lubricated, I'd be grateful.

Dexif

Take off both wheels, take chain off chainring, hold the bike by the seat tube with one hand and spin crank with other hand and see if it spins smoothly or u can feel a dodgy bearing in the bb.

Also if pedals are clipless then may be worn cleats.

feck sake lads

:rolleyes::rolleyes:bottom bracket

ratracer

Dexif wrote: »

Take off both wheels, take chain off chainring, hold the bike by the seat tube with one hand and spin crank with other hand and see if it spins smoothly or u can feel a dodgy bearing in the bb


I'll try that when I get home in the morning. Cheers


Also if pedals are clipless then may be worn cleats.

It's not the cleats, I've a new set on one pair of shoes, makes no difference

ratracer

NeedMoreGears wrote: »

I had a noise exactly like this today. It was caused by the cable on the front derailleur sticking out at right angles from the locknut. I bent it back out the way and no more clicking noise. It was just long enough to catch the right pedal when it was at the stop of the stroke - you never know, you might have the same issue.

If any one has any advice re chain noise when pedalling despite no apparant rubs and the chain being lubricated, I'd be grateful.

Nope, not the cable. Thanks tho.

dx22

Does it happen with other bike shoes? i fixed a clicking sound today which turned out to be a loose plastic fixing plate in one of my shoes under the cleats, could only be seen by removing the cleats first

ratracer

dx22 wrote: »

Does it happen with other bike shoes? i fixed a clicking sound today which turned out to be a loose plastic fixing plate in one of my shoes under the cleats, could only be seen by removing the cleats first

Still happens with different shoes. Have a pair with new cleats and a pair with worn-ish cleats, makes no difference.

dvntie

Try tightening your bottle cages
Sometimes road vibrations can shift the bottles around
Go out with no weight in you cage to see if the click is still there

Wicklowrider

If you have a turbo trainer set the bike up on it. Get someone to listen while you pedal. If they get down near the crank they should be able to tell exactly where its coming from. Holding a cardboard tube like the one in kitchen roll to their ear will help. If all else fails it will make a funny youtube video
Seriously, this is a great way to isolate hard to identify noise.

bbolger

Useful link in general:
Me bike is clickin via Barry in World Wide Cycles.

Indricotherium

Wicklowrider wrote: »

If you have a turbo trainer set the bike up on it. Get someone to listen while you pedal. If they get down near the crank they should be able to tell exactly where its coming from. Holding a cardboard tube like the one in kitchen roll to their ear will help. If all else fails it will make a funny youtube video
Seriously, this is a great way to isolate hard to identify noise.

There might be gravel inside the tubes. Take both tubes out, completely deflate them and then check every inch of them for interial gravel.

nomdeboardie

Does it happen on both/all chainwheels? If on large chainwheel only, could it be that the front derailleur cage is contacting the chain on one side or the other? (If so, can try to centre via the outer set-stop screw.)

doozerie

Some vague possibilities that spring to mind, in addition to some of those already mentioned:

* Maybe one of the chainring bolts is slightly loose and enough pressure is exerted to cause a noise from it only when the left crank is down.

* Maybe the headset or stem is slightly loose and it's the pressure you are putting on the bars, when the left crank is down, that is causing a creak.

On a turbo the pressures exerted on a frame and parts differ, I think, since the bike can't rock, so maybe you are not exerting the same amount of pressure on the turbo when the left crank is down compared to on the road. Certainly in my case my bike makes no noises on the turbo even when I'm giving it welly, but on the road a fraction of the same effort when out of the saddle makes it creak like an arthritic rhino.

ratracer

That's an interesting point about the headset. I had ruled it out because of it only happening when pedalling, but another mate mentioned the same to me earlier too. I'm gonna check it out tomorrow. Thanks

ratracer

Indricotherium wrote: »

Wicklowrider wrote: »

If you have a turbo trainer set the bike up on it. Get someone to listen while you pedal. If they get down near the crank they should be able to tell exactly where its coming from. Holding a cardboard tube like the one in kitchen roll to their ear will help. If all else fails it will make a funny youtube video
Seriously, this is a great way to isolate hard to identify noise.

There might be gravel inside the tubes. Take both tubes out, completely deflate them and then check every inch of them for interial gravel.

Don't think its the tubes, I've already tried a different wheelset.

OEMBS

Had this before, if you have tried the BB, cranks and pedals etc.
Stand facing the side of the bike, left hand on the bars right hand on the seat.
Put your foot against the crank/BB and gently put pressure on it to 'flex' the frame. What happened before was a small creek in the BB welds internally that may have split with road vibrations only noticable under load on one side on the road.
Not very common but worth a shot. Hopefully its NOT that as apart from re-welding it all the glue in a horses knee wont fix it.:pac::pac::pac:

ThisRegard

Saddle? I had a similar creaking/clicking issue, only when pedalling and it seemed to happen on the down stroke on one side only.

Turned out it was my saddle, the reason why it appeared to be restricted to one side was because I was favouring one leg when I got tired and my body weight shifted to one side as a result. Could explain why it didn't happen on the turbo, you're probably not rocking as much as you do on the road.

Ole Rodrigo

Ball bearing has slipped from bottom bracket retainer. Makes a clicking sound thats hard to pinpoint whilst cycling.

MediaMan

NeedMoreGears wrote: »

If any one has any advice re chain noise when pedalling despite no apparant rubs and the chain being lubricated, I'd be grateful.

Loose sprockets on cassette?

ratracer

Many thanks for all the help and suggestions folks. I've tried as many of the options given here. I ran out of tools now, so the bike is gone to the lbs to have the bottom bracket and headset checked. Hopefully it'll be sorted before tour de burden on sat.