Clicking From Crank Area

[Eric Karnes]

I could use the collective wisdom of the group...

I have clicking sound that is driving me to distraction. It occurs on my SimpleOne when I pedal. Sounds like one click per pedal rotation and it's especially bad when I'm cranking down hard...as when I'm powering up a hill. I'm pretty sure it's coming from the crank area. Two issues add to the mystery:

1. Everything is new. Brand new Shimano UN55 bottom bracket and new Sugino XD2 crankset/chainrings. While it was my first bottom bracket install, I think everything went smoothly. Drive side threaded in almost all the way by hand without a problem. Non-drive side was a bit tougher, and I needed a wrench, but I attributed it to the anti-seize tape that they cover the threads with on that side. Cranked everything down by hand with a big o' wrench ala the Riv video and torqued the crank bolts to the proper specs. 

2. This has happened twice before. My previous commuter, an old Trek converted to single speed had the same problem. Brand new Shimano UN55 installed by my LBS. Started clicking after 10 miles or so and never stopped. And the previous BB/crank on the SimpleOne had the same noise, albeit louder.

Any suggestions? Has anyone run into a similar problem before? I'm fairly new to fixed/ss. Am I missing something?

Thanks!

Eric

[Eric Norris]

The last time I had this problem, it turned out to be worn pedal bearings. I rebuilt the pedals with new bearings, and the noise stopped.

Eric N

www.CampyOnly.com

CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com

Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy

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[William R.]

Hi Eric. As we all know the source of these clicks can be elusive to say the least! One thing that I have learned to check first is the spokes of the rear wheel. You said everything is new. Does that include the wheels? Even if they are not new, and regardless if they were hand built or machine (though I find it more common in machine built wheels) - try a drop of oil on every point where the spokes touch other metal: hub, crossings and nipples. I'm surprised at how often this silences my bike! I'm sure there will be other good ideas of things to check to come from other members. That's where I've learned to check first from others more technically versed here.

Bill in Westchester, NY

[Lungimsam]

A loose pedal/crank arm interface can cause a click every rotation. Grease pedal threads and reinstall pedals being sure to tighten down that pedal/crank interface.

[Patrick Moore]

IME, clicking sounds that can appear to come from the bb area can be caused by:

Pedals

Seatpost

Saddle

Stem

BB cups

Shoe lace aglets

Pannier cords

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[Edwin W]

My clicks like that have all been pedal bearing related... but you want to rule out shoelaces and pannier cords first!

[Patrick Moore]

Shoelaces in particular. Not too long ago I began to hear a clicking with each crank revolution, and I thought, "Oh, no, something is finally going wrong with the Phil bb (getting on for 11K miles, and with ti spindle and aluminum cups). Nope: sloppy shoelace tying with long laces. 

Longer ago, after much grief and anguish, I finally traced a troublesome clicking to the stem clamp. My '03 Riv still clicks occasionally, alternated with squeaks -- it's the saddle in the rails, I'm pretty sure, but as it comes and goes, it doesn't last long enough for me to fret about it enough to fix it.

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[Chris Lampe 2]

I had this issue and like you, it about drove me nuts!!   I think I disassembled and checked the crankset and bottom bracket a half dozen times.  Finally, in desperation, I took off the right pedal, greased it and put it back on and it was fixed.  If someone had offered me a million dollars to correctly identify where the sound was coming from, I would have insisted it came from the bottom bracket.  

On Monday, October 17, 2016 at 6:57:30 AM UTC-5, Eric Karnes wrote:

[Ryan Fleming]

What pedals are you using...could be a matter of repacking them if you use MKS pedals

On Monday, October 17, 2016 at 6:57:30 AM UTC-5, Eric Karnes wrote:

[drew]

when i had this problem, it was a couple chainring bolts that were not quite tight enough. 

[Lungimsam]

FD cable end getting hit by crank arm at every revolution?

[Jeff Lesperance]

I've dealt with this twice recently and the first had a standard, expected source, the second was quite confounding - both had similar characteristics as you described.

1. First, easy fix, turned out to be pedal bearings that I simply repacked - no new bearings, just removed, cleaned and regreased.

2. Second one had me removing and reinstalling:

 - cranks

 - pedals

 - chainring

 - bottom bracket

 - saddle

all to no avail - finally, standing next to the bike I pushed/pulled/shook/rocked and poked everything I could, and I seemed to be able to reproduced a click by rocking the saddle back and forth with quite a bit of pressure, though I reproduced the problem with multiple saddles.... so I pulled the seatpost and re/over-lubed it and reinstalled it and the clicking went away.

On Mon, Oct 17, 2016 at 12:08 PM, Lungimsam <john1...@gmail.com> wrote:

FD cable end getting hit by crank arm at every revolution?

[Bill Lindsay]

There are about a dozen things that can make noise when you pedal.  In my opinion, the best approach is to change one thing at a time to narrow down the list.  Also, on the front end, I have three questions.  Two are objective and one is more of a personality-test question

1.  Is it a 'click' or a 'tick' or a 'pop' or a 'clunk' or a 'thunk'.  

2.  Does it happen when the driveside crank is at 12 oclock?  3 o'clock?  9 o'clock?  Somewhere else?  Random?

3.  Does it drive you to distraction because it makes sound?  Or does it drive you to distraction because you don't know why it makes sound?  Or does it drive you to distraction because you believe the sound indicates something is wrong?  

The best general approach is to change one thing at a time.  Starting from Patrick Moore's list, if it is coming from the seat and/or seatpost, then you for sure would be incapable of making it click while standing.  Does it click while pedalling out of the saddle?  If yes, it's not the seat or seatpost.  If no, you have a great area to look.  Moving to Eric Norris' suggestion, just swap the pedals.  Did it change?   If yes, it's the pedals.  If no, scratch the pedals off the list.  

etc etc

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[masmojo]

I am currently wrestling with a similar problem on my Atlantis and I agree it's a matter of working through possible culprits one at a time.
I changed several things, not specifically because of the clicking, but because the problem remained I was able to rule out cassette, saddle & seatpost. I was sure it was related to the chain ring bolts, but have eliminated that possibility! Pedals? It's a long shot, but worth a try! Spoke tension seems good, but again I'll keep an eye on it. Primary suspects now due to attrition are the bottom bracket or the VO hub/freehub.

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

I had a simalar click recently from my rear wheel. I tried acof the above suggestions to no avail. It eventually went away when I replaced my chain and freewheel, despite that neither could logically have been the culprit since it clicked whether I was pedalling or not. Good luck.

[Eric Karnes]

Thanks for all of your responses! Lot's of stuff to try. To answer Bill's questions:

1. If I had to categorize it, I would definitely describe it as more of a click.

2. Good question. I will have to ride it tonight to determine. But definitely not random.

3. Very good question. Most bike-related noises don't bother me that much as long as everything rides smooth-ish. I think this one does because (a) it's happened all the single speed setups I've owned; and (2) I'm worried I may have done damage while installing the bottom bracket (or that the threads were already damaged in some way).

Most everything related to the drivetrain is new...crank, chainrings, chainring bolts, bottom bracket, rear wheel, freewheel, and chain. But before pulling the crank/bottom bracket, I'll check (and if necessary re-grease) everything. The thing that baffles me is that there isn't a single shared part on this bike and the Trek that had the same sound. Well, except the rider.

I'll keep you updated on my sleuthing...

Eric

[Lungimsam]

Go ahead and snug up all the bolts on the frame including any bottle cages. Loose bolts anywhere on the bike can cause a clicking noise. It is very hard to find where the sound is coming from.

[Ryan Fleming]

I wonder if it's  slop in your SS freewheel. When I had my PX-10 switched to SS I found the shimano SS freewheel was kinda sloppy and noisy with the clicking you described; tightening didn't seem to work. I got a WI ENO and voila...silent and silky smooth. Maybe that solution is a little expensive and drastic, though, but that's what finally worked for me

On Monday, October 17, 2016 at 6:57:30 AM UTC-5, Eric Karnes wrote:

[iamkeith]

One more random possibility to add to the list, which has plagued me in the past.  Fits with the "one click per revolution" description:

If I understand correctly, you are using two chainrings.  Are there any rivets or screws on your largest ring?   If it has a pin on the outside, intended to keep chains that drop to the outside from wedging into the space behind the crank arm, it might be riveted or screwed in place.   Or perhaps there are some ramps riveted on to aid shifts, if it's not a single-speed specific ring?   

If your chainline isn't good, or if you're using a wider chain (like an 8-speed chain on rings with 9-speed spacing between them), the reduced clearance could cause the chain to strike one of those rivets or pieces on the adjacent chainring.   Easy way to test is if it happens when chain on the smaller/middle chainring only.   Obviously you don't need those things on a Simple One, so you could remove them.  Or you could use a narrower chain, or refine the chainline... 

[Ed Felker]

I've been working through the same noise on my SimpleOne. Happens when I stand up and crank hard up a slope.

All drivetrain components & rear wheel inspected and replaced or overhauled. Thinking it might be related to the kickstand, or fender installation, seems like the noise is caused by frame flex at bottom bracket area causing something to bind up.

Ed Feller
Washington DC

[Bill in Roswell GA]

I had a mystery click like that one time. Turned out to be the saddle clamp. It was one of those with two bolts, left and right. One bolt wasn't torqued quite right. Now I use a torque wrench on saddle bolts, too. 

Cheers,

Bill in Roswell, GA

[Surlyprof]

Last time I had this problem I thought the bottom bracket was going.  Talked to Riv and they suggested taking off the crank arms, cleaning them out and then applying grease (like Phil Wood grease) to the hole or taper before reinstalling.  Worked like a charm.  They also suggested that just cranking it down could cause damage if the crank is already out of alignment.  

John

On Monday, October 17, 2016 at 4:57:30 AM UTC-7, Eric Karnes wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

One even more arcane possibility, very unlikely but just in case, one which I experienced just the other day: loose cleat or other metal bits on your shoes. I installed an adaptor plate on my road Sidis, leaving the original SPD attachments loose. On one shoe -- left, IIRC -- this sometimes moves and clicks once per crank revolution, particularly when I am standing and pulling back strongly on the pedal. I knew from the start what it was, so the noise did not trouble me.

[masmojo]

OK, I just had a brain flash of what your problem could be! Since it's a single speed I assume you running a single speed chain!? Many SS chains use a master link, sometimes the master link can stick out slightly on one side, then if you also have a chain ring bash guard sometimes the master link can hit on the bash guard and make an annoying clicking sound. If that is the problem, simply remove the master link and put it in with the clip on the inside.

[Fred Craven]

This is a vital and important question. 

Its timeliness is timeless. 

Shoelaces got me on several occasions. 

Then, the need for a new chain, 

Then I had an issue with a freewheel (thus hiding the tick). 

I will now check the pedals and follow the above instructions.

Thank you all for your input!

Fred

(who is currently not riding because opera season is taking all his extra time)

[Surlyprof]

+1 on checking the chain. Last time an annoying click turned out to be a link in my chain, it took out my rear derailleur when it popped. Hard way to find out. Check those links!

John