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Hi all,
My Evil Offering v1 has developed an annoying click (or tick) noise on most every pedal cycle. Driving me nuts and spoiling my enjoyment of my bike which is otherwise great!
It happens reliably with NDS crank at about 1-12 o'clock under some (does not need to be max) power.
Stood up or sat down.
Suspension locked or set to soft.
I switched out the BB, pedals and cranks. I also recently replaced the shock and cleaned every relevant bolt at the time. None of these have helped.
It's very clearly a tick or click (sometimes 2 very close together), not a creak.
Where do I look next? I need to fix this.
Thank you.
I guess all we can do is list things that we've found in the past.
Headset
CSU
Axle
Derailleur hanger
Cable housing
Bottom bracket shell threads/facing
You've said seated or standing but could it still be the dropper post cable in the frame?
You've said pedals, cranks, bottom bracket, could it be cleats?
Ta will go through the list. Can't be cleats as I ride flats. Yeah I did wonder about cables.Â
In the old days that would inevitably be the tail of the cable on the front derailleur catching on a crank. (Been there, pulled hair out.. been relieved and hacked off when I found it.Â
Is there anything that sticking out anywhere that could catch the crank arm? Something on your shoe, pads..?
In the old days that would inevitably be the tail of the cable on the front derailleur catching on a crank. (Been there, pulled hair out.. been relieved and hacked off when I found it.Â
Is there anything that sticking out anywhere that could catch the crank arm? Something on your shoe, pads..?
ta I remember those days too!
Good call as is very specific to crank position, but nothing I can see.
I checked DS (6-7 o'clock too).
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Mine was the rear axle not quite tight enough (after I'd bought a new Hope BB!)
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Or, sometimes, it's the end of my lace tapping on my shoe.
I remember being driven mad by a mystery ticking noise, every revolution. Couldnt replicate it off the bike. Tried everything I could think of. Turns out it was the little plastic end on my lace that was flicking the crank each pedal stroke.
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How I laughed
Chain-ring bolts are another classic. I bet you're going to tell me that you don't have chain-ring bolts.
I had a square taper chainset which constantly clicked. I tried all the normal things. When I changed the bottom bracket I found a small crack in the non drive side crank.
Chain-ring bolts are another classic. I bet you're going to tell me that you don't have chain-ring bolts.
I have chain ring bolts, I gave them a wiggle but will take it off and double check with a hex.
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That's a good call.. That or a bent tooth on the chain ring. I've had that too where it wouldn't sit over the tooth properly until it was part-way through the revolution where things lined up better / tension won out and it popped onto the tooth properly.
Just been through similar, can't tell you exactly what it was but it's stopped for now. Steps taken below...
Removed and stripped and thoroughly cleaned everything with a thread in contact with the chainset, pedal,s chain ring bolts, crank bolts, bottom bracket was replaced with shell threads strip cleaned. I'm assuming some grit got into a thread somewhere.
I spent months slowly chasing a click on my bike that has the same symptoms as yours. Ended up being the washers between the pedals and cranks and went away after a liberal application of grease to all the contact surfaces rather than just having it on the threads of the pedal axle.Â
Mine was the end of my shoe lace hitting the crank.
my annoying click was down to the master link on the chain.
Did you already check the chain / try with an alternative one OP?
Another possibility could be a damaged link, I had that recently and didn't realise until the chain snapped.
I actually have another similar issue myself at the mo, bit more of a "clonk" than a "tick" - gonna try the BB tonight as I can feel a bit of play in it, but might try a different quick link first after reading that comment.
my annoying click was down to the master link on the chain.
Did you already check the chain / try with an alternative one OP?
Another possibility could be a damaged link, I had that recently and didn't realise until the chain snapped.
I actually have another similar issue myself at the mo, bit more of a "clonk" than a "tick" - gonna try the BB tonight as I can feel a bit of play in it, but might try a different quick link first after reading that comment.
yeah the chain has been replaced post click debut, regardless I will check, multiple bugs are plausible (decades of coding experience has taught me not to take the first answer).
it's not laces as I have A/Bd up and down the road wearing my (shshssh) Â Crocs.
it's ridiculous how a little niggle like this can eat away at the joy of riding and make a great bike feel like a pile of junk. #determinedfacegottafixthis
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right, ta, I'll grab pedals and cranks from another bike and try that again, 10 minute job so no biggie.
it is interesting that it's a single identifiable and repeatable point in the crank cycle and happens with suspension on firm on a road surface so there is almost zero suspension movement.
I remember being driven mad by a mystery ticking noise, every revolution. Couldnt replicate it off the bike. Tried everything I could think of. Turns out it was the little plastic end on my lace that was flicking the crank each pedal stroke.
Â
How I laughed
I had exactly this. Drove me nuts for weeks looking for it. Only happened on one side (drive side, IIRC).
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Fact of the day: it's called an aglet. 🤓
I'd second chainring bolts. One may not be tight enough. Chainrings are not perfectly round and seated on the spider. Tighten in a circle every other bolt (if odd number of course). Ive also had the end of laces one too. But generally it's been chainrings.
Same point on every crank revolution? It could be your knee. Maybe have someone ride alongside you holding their ear to your leg?
Same point on every crank revolution? It could be your knee. Maybe have someone ride alongside you holding their ear to your leg?
😀
ironic comment as you can't possibly know this but my left knee is held together with enough plates and screws to make an X-ray look like the Eiffel Tower.
however the click doesn't happen on other bikes, including my singlespeed, it's bike specific.
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Check the seatpost and seatpost clamp. Even when stood up, I had a clicking sound, and spent ages checking all pivot bolts etc only to find (by chance, after that didn't resolve it) that loosening the seatpost, moving it and putting on some grease solved the click - doh!
Normally always seatpost/ clamp or rear axle needs tightening for me! Many annoying clicks / noises over the years but they are my go to now. Good luck 👍🏻
Did you have any luck with this OP?
I change quick links with no success, then went to swap the BB and discovered both cups had somehow worked a little loose.
Tightened them up and mystery noise now gone, touch wood.
That's a new one on me. It's possible I didn't fully tighten them when I built the bike, but I had done many miles of silent riding before the noise began.
What's even more annoying is having a silent bike cleaning the drivetrain then ending up with an annoying click ! That'll teach me 🙄
Have you checked the frame bearings? Particularly the one at the rear axel. I guess that one gets put under pressure due to chain tension. Another one not mentioned yet I think would be mech hanger bolt and jockey wheel bearings.
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Another thing to check first - can you make it click at all without the chain on?
On one occasion the cable clip nearest the derailleur on my seat stay became dislodged, leading to a click as my boot clipped the cable - could it be something like this?