I have this problem with a NOISE...

[JackRabbitSlims]

emanating from my Bicycle when I ride it - it's driving me nuts!

Ok, a few details:

Ti Frame, 3yrs old, Campy Record 10 speed groupset.
The noise is like a creak / high pitch ping / tick sort of, and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the BB area, drive side crank. Noticeable on the down stroke between 6 and 7 o'clock, especially with plenty of load on or climbing out of the saddle.

I am reasonably proficient with some aspects of bicycle mechanics and have the tools to work on my machines.

What I've done over the last 2 weeks to try and sus this out:

* Remove both pedals, remove both cranks, remove bearing cups - clean entire area with Acetone, dry, re-grease with Phil grease, reassemble. Noise still there.
* Remove parts as above, remove both bearings from cranks, inspect, clean, re-apply grease, reassemble. Noise still there.
*As above but remove Bearings from a Chorus Compact Crank Set that has only seen minimal mileage and swap out with my Record Crank Set, reassemble...yip, Noise still there.
*I've tried another rear wheel, swapped out the cassette - no change!
*Thought it could be the chainring bolts, but they are on so tight that I have left them alone.

OK - couple of thoughts - My torque wrench will not go beyond 30Nm - the connecting bolt to lock in both crank arms requires 40Nm - is it possible that I have over tightened this and am squeezing the bearings together??

I know that quite often "Noise" heard on the bike actually turns out to come from somewhere completely different from what you think.....any suggestions for a solution to this? I'd love to solve the problem myself rather than trudge into the LBS

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions offered.

 

[brianf7]

Sounds like your bike has had a 50,000 km service on the cranks anyway.
Before you go in and wreck anything else in search for noise check the skewers especialy old dura ace the ends with the lever wear and cause creeking

otherwise check chain ring bolts and rear mech also sprockets are tight wheel bearings etc.

 

[Cycloid]

I'd also have a good look at your pedal. I've had a similar noise once before and stripped everything down only to find the pedal bearing was slightly loose and a bit of dirt had got into the area. Everytime the pedal rotated to a fixed point, it made a slight click, especially under load as you have described.
Hope this helps.

 

[Seagoon]

I would check the derailleur hanger is tight and free from dirt where it screws to the frame.
(of course ignore this if you don't have one)

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Cheers.

Thanks for the replies.

@Brianf7 - Skewers are Campy as are the wheels, but will take a look at those also, plus the other areas you have mentioned. No issue with "wrecking anything else" as I haven't actually wrecked anything.....

@Cycloid - Yes, others have mentioned the pedal and cleats as well, I will give that area a good going over today - Thanks.

@Seagoon - Frame is a custom Ti and the Deraileur hanger is a welded part of the frame - thanks though

 

[TheDude]

Service the pedals - I chased what I thought was a BB noise, but needed to rebuild the pedal bearings to fix the actual problem.

 

[tubularglue]

drop the fork, take out bearings and associated thin washers, internal headsets especially.

grease the crap out of the cups, sleaves, everything.

had this problem with a bianchi axis cross frame, with a thin washer between bearing and where it rested against the frame, which acted as the cup. Over time the grease got squeezed out and dried out after repeated rain rides. Alum. creaks like crazy.

caused a ticking i could not find. then voila


dropping the headset/fork takes 10 minutes beg. to end. lots of grease.

just a thought

 

[Black Dog]

If you are running campy ultra torque then you may be experiencing the famous creak/click. Most of the time this can be resolved by adding an additional wavy washer on the non-drive side. I had the same issue and the wavy washer fix resolved the problem.

Here is a link that will explain a lot.

http://roguemechanic.typepad.com/roguemechanic/2008/09/campagnolo-ul-1.html

PM me if you have more questions.

 

[luckylegs]

Never owned a Ti frame, but buddies of mine who rode Ti always had creaking problems in the BB area. Perhaps friction between softer BB aluminum cups and Ti shell? I thought special grease was available for this issue.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

I had a good look at the pedals today and they are fine.

Have completely stripped the whole Drive Train again today - re greased, especially the hirth connect and connecting bolt.

Removed Rear Mech - disassembled, clean, re-greased, reassembled.

Will be out for a training ride first thing tomorrow morn and will reassess.

If still an issue I will attack the headset, fork and bearings in that area.

@Black Dog - thanks for the great link - I may try another wavy washer on the non-drive side...frame is custom, so there is potential there for a small discrepancy in BB shell size?? - although, for the past 3 years, the bike has run like a dream.

 

[dsut4392]

I had a good look at the pedals today and they are fine.

I've had a similar noise occur from worn cleats - took the whole drivetrain apart three times before I realised what the problem was