bike making noises against gradient ?

aindriu80

hi,

My bike is making some terribles sounds when I get off the saddle and tackle a hill or any kind of sprint. There are no strange sounds when I am on the saddle or against no gradient but going up a hill it makes a terrible clacking noise.

I shift weight from one leg to the other and when I have one leg fully straight and my weight and power down on it there is quite a clack out of it. I examined the bike and can't see anything wrong with it. I would get plenty of looks when coming along the road.

Any ideas ? I only had my bike examined recently and it is fine otherwise.

on_the_nickel

Easiest thing to check and rule out - check the QR on your front wheel isn't too tight. Lubricate slightly if needs be.

If that's doesn't solve it, someone with more knowledge with me will help you!

07Lapierre

Headset bearings?, slightly loose pedals/cleats?

shaka

Bottom bracket ?

bcmf

07Lapierre wrote: »

Headset bearings?, slightly loose pedals/cleats?

Loose pedals!?! Surely not.


Anyway my suggestions
Give your pedals,chainring bolts and stem bolts a little tighten.
Do that then report back.

nordicb

To add to the check list: wheel spokes

rollingscone

Lubing pedal threads might also help (won't hurt)

07Lapierre

bcmf wrote: »

Loose pedals!?! Surely not.


Anyway my suggestions
Give your pedals,chainring bolts and stem bolts a little tighten.
Do that then report back.

Pedals have to be tight, VERY tight. I don't mean so loose that they can fall off.

superlav

Bottom Bracket bearings?

I had a nasty mystery noise recently and it turned out my BB30 bearings were knackered.

aindriu80

I was just out on the bike there and done 30km on it. I can't make head nor tail of it. The pedals are murder tight. The cleats are very tight. I checked everything from wheels to chain to derailer and everything looks fine. I can't identify where the noise comes from. I did not start in with the oil spray though.

When I am on the flat and going pretty fast in a high gear (smallest) and hit and incline I usually match up the spins and keep the speed going up the hill as far as possible then start changing gear. This produces the clanging noise the most and only ends when I let go of the momentum I built up.

Looking down from the saddle everything is in its right place and I can't see anything that might cause the loud clanging.

jinkypolly

aindriu80 wrote: »

I was just out on the bike there and done 30km on it. I can't make head nor tail of it. The pedals are murder tight. The cleats are very tight. I checked everything from wheels to chain to derailer and everything looks fine. I can't identify where the noise comes from. I did not start in with the oil spray though.

When I am on the flat and going pretty fast in a high gear (smallest) and hit and incline I usually match up the spins and keep the speed going up the hill as far as possible then start changing gear. This produces the clanging noise the most and only ends when I let go of the momentum I built up.

Looking down from the saddle everything is in its right place and I can't see anything that might cause the loud clanging.

I had a similar problem and in my case I unscrewed the bottom bracket, cleaned and re-greased the threads and that solved it.

XtotheZ

Does the crank have any play in it when you wobble it from side to side?

aindriu80

jinkypolly wrote: »

I had a similar problem and in my case I unscrewed the bottom bracket, cleaned and re-greased the threads and that solved it.

I guess I will have to go to the LBS and ask him to do it for me but I'm still not 100% sure that its the bottom bracket. Its seems logical though as its when I have pressure on the pedals.

kumate_champ07

chainring bolts?

chickenfarmer

I had something thing similar earlier in the year. Brought it in to LBS for a service and the only thing he could find was that he got another quarter turn on the bottom bracket when he tried to tighten it. It solved it for me anyways.

FISMA

aindriu80,
Keep it simple at first.

I would clean the seat post, the seast, where the stem contacts the handlebars and head tube.

Don't use lube unless you are supposed to. Some places are meant to be dry.

Next, clean the pedals.

Have you a friend that can cycle alongside and see where the noise is?

Try and see if you can get the noise while on a trainer. That should help determine from where the noise is coming.

You would be surprised what a good cleaning can do. I regularly have to clean my front derailleur from all of the Gatorade that finds its way there.

aindriu80

I do regular cleaning with the bike and don't think there is anything else I can do with it unless I start taking it apart which I don't want to do. Also I don't know what part is causing the noise in the first place. The LBS will want to know some kind of clue.

bcmf

About 4 weeks ago I had a creak at the same spot on every revolution.Drove me nuts.
Took off the pedals and threw fresh grease on the threads.Took off the crankset {Campag UT) and out a dab of grease all around the inside of the bb cups. Took of the chainring bolts and dabbed a bit of grease on the threads. Re-installed every thing and presto the creak was gone.
As the creak was in the same place on everyturn of the crankarm I figured one of those had to be the cause.
Does it also happen ONLY when you are outta the saddle?
Something I noticed when I was changing my forks while back was that there was a creak coming from my cables. Very strange but it solved why I was getting a tiny creak when climbing outta the saddle.

Brian?

07Lapierre wrote: »

Pedals have to be tight, VERY tight. I don't mean so loose that they can fall off.

The way pedals are threaded they should tighten over time.

aindriu80

Brian? wrote: »

The way pedals are threaded they should tighten over time.

Yes, I had to go to a car repair shop and get an iron bar to fit over the wrench to remove pedals I had before.

I think it must be the bottom bracket.

aindriu80

hi,

I left my bike to the LBS back in June and he put lube on the bottom bracket or thereabouts and the noise largely stopped. Just recently I replaced the chain and cassette and the noise has started up again. I'm going to have to bring it to the LBS again but I still don't know what would be causing the noise.

When I get out of the saddle and start sprinting or hill climb the clicking starts up. It takes a complete rotation on the pedals to make the noise and it goes from pedal to pedal. Is it Ball Bearings or some plastic under stress somewhere ?

Type 17

Brian? wrote: »

The way pedals are threaded they should tighten over time.

Actually, the opposite is true, otherwise you'd never get them off at all. Pedals not kept tight enough will unscrew during a ride and usually destroy the threads in the crank arm - ask any LBS mechanic, they get this about once or twice a week, on average.

aindriu80 wrote: »

hi,

I left my bike to the LBS back in June and he put lube on the bottom bracket or thereabouts and the noise largely stopped. Just recently I replaced the chain and cassette and the noise has started up again. I'm going to have to bring it to the LBS again but I still don't know what would be causing the noise.

When I get out of the saddle and start sprinting or hill climb the clicking starts up. It takes a complete rotation on the pedals to make the noise and it goes from pedal to pedal. Is it Ball Bearings or some plastic under stress somewhere ?

The BB threads are similarly-threaded to the pedals, for the same reason, and may have loosened, despite being done recently - check for tightness and possibly lube them again. You should also check the crank arms' tightness to the BB spindle.
Also, check the chainring bolts for tightness, and take them out (one at a time, to avoid extra hassle) and lube their threads and the facings where the chainrings meet the crank spider, etc.

Lumen

Type 17 wrote: »

Actually, the opposite is true, otherwise you'd never get them off at all. Pedals not kept tight enough will unscrew during a ride and usually destroy the threads in the crank arm - ask any LBS mechanic, they get this about once or twice a week, on average.

As long as the bearings are well lubricated, "loose" pedals will stay on just fine. I tend to keep mine loose (I swap from road to MTB pedals fairly frequently) and I've only had them unscrew when the bearings seize up.