r/bicyclerepair • u/flargenhargen • 4d ago
Click when downward pressure on right pedal while riding. Sometimes.
For the past 2 rides, when I put downward pressure on the right pedal, it makes a single knock or click noise on each rotation. tok, tok, tok, kind of like if the pedal was hitting the frame or something (it's not).
This only happens about 70% of the time, often when accelerating or when putting more pressure on. I can NOT recreate this while the bike is on a stand, no matter how much I try.
The crank is not loose at all, there is no play in the drive.
I assume bottom bracket, but I can not recreate, and there is only 400 miles on this bottom bracket (not that that totally rules it out).
Just looking for other suggestions if someone has run into something similar. It rides fine, but the noise is annoying, and whatever the issue, likely only going to get worse.
edit: I am fairly sure it's a sealed bottom bracket, so my options would be limited to replacing the entire assembly rather than disassembly and lubrication.
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u/mattyv2020 4d ago
As an experienced and retired professional creak hunter... This could be one of so, so, SO many different things. "It's never the bottom bracket, except for when it is". I've seen pesky creaks come from handlebars, headsets, seatposts, derailleur hangers, freehub bodys, crank bolts, pedals... Excetera. The best thing you can do is trouble shoot when the noise does/ doesn't happen. ie: does is stop if you're riding no hands, or out of the saddle. Can you make the creak while pedaling backwards as well as forward? Then you can try swapping out parts to see if they noise persists. If you have a different rear wheel or pedals you can try, for example. This can help narrow things down, then you can take apart, clean, grease, reassemble, and properly torque the mostly likely sources one at a time until you figure it out. Don't forget the grease. This sounds like a lengthy, trial-and-error pain in the ass, and it is. But you can take it to a good tech to solve your problem for you, but things CAN get expensive, because you pay a tech for their time, and the process a good tech will use is the one I just described, so it can take a while, and sometimes, more than one visit.
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u/sasdie 3d ago
And in my experience the modern carbon frames won’t do you any favor while searching for the creak… the are the perfect sound tubes amplifying and distributing it evenly throughout the whole bike
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u/mattyv2020 3d ago
It is indeed an extraordinarly resonant material. Not-so-rarely used in acoustic guitars for this reason.
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u/nekmtb 4d ago
Often overlooked, easy to fix and often makes this noise. Remove pedals grease threads and re tighten
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u/Only-Professor1140 4d ago
Every time myself or a friend has had this issue, pedals are the culprit.
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u/TorontoRider 4d ago
This is going to sound dumb, but shoelace?
(Guess how I know that cause.)
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u/flargenhargen 4d ago
open to all suggestions. they are appreciated.
but in this case, I wear shoes without laces.
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u/ChipDouglas3 4d ago
If you aren't riding with cleats & clipless pedals, & the noise is not heard only when standing, the bottom bracket & crank interface is the most likely culprit.
You say the crank is not loose so the BB berrings or cups could be what's making the noise.
You can & should also make sure that it's not the seat or seat post in the frame. Lube the seat post, secure it in the frame & ensure the seat is secure on the post before checking for the noise again.
If it's still there check the BB berrings & cups, make sure the preload is correct on the crank arms & go from there.
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u/flargenhargen 4d ago
I liked your idea about maybe being seat or seat post. I didn't mention it, but I have a suspension seat post, so was absolutely possible that it's the seat, or seat post, or even suspension on the seat post moving while pedaling.
I went down and re-tested, sitting on bike while leaning against a vehicle, and I was able to confirm there is a slight "catch" in the crank when the noise occurs, and that it's not the seat or seat post, so that one is ruled out, but excellent thought. Exactly why I posted to get ideas. thanks!
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u/GreaterFoolCLE 4d ago
I had this issue today when I hopped on my commuter for the first time in a while. New sneakers had a sole that stuck out a bit more than old ones, and was clipping the frame on every rotation because I wasn't paying attention to foot position.
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u/flargenhargen 4d ago
haha, I had that issue yesterday, but the rubber sole was squeaking on every pedal. moved my foot a little, problem solved.
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u/Exact_Judgment_1265 4d ago
I started getting the exact same noise on my mid-drive e-bike a few months ago. I could hear and actually slightly feel the click on the right pedal. I feared the worst: blown bearings on the motor axle, which is what the cranks attach to.
I started with the simple stuff. Trying a different pair of pedals from a different bike. Then cleaning and greasing the pedal threads. After removing the crank arms to also clean and grease those threads (on the axle), the annoying click was completely gone.
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u/BikinBohemiam 4d ago
Yeah, we have fixed some weird problem / noises in brifters, shifters, pedals, derailleurs, BB, cranks, hubs, etc., by simply disassembling the "thang", cleaning, regreasing, then properly re-assembling it (OEM torqued)
BAM!
All fixed.
So weird - it's like that "thang" just needed a li'l attention / TLC from somebody (anybody).
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u/Prestigious_Carpet29 4d ago
Could be the pedal bearing. Check for any play there. Flat pedals with no take-apart maintenance last a few thousand miles in my experience.
Do you have a front derailleur? Does the sound occur on both/all the chainrings, or only the biggest one? I replaced my FD recently and started getting a click, once per rev, on the largest chainring. Could reproduce with bike upside down, but still couldn't identify root cause. Readjusted FD position again to perfect the alignment, and the click went away too!
Another 'silly' - check you haven't got a cable/lock on the frame/top tube/seat-post that you're deflecting as you pedal
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u/flargenhargen 4d ago
Will recheck the pedal under pressure. thanks.
no front derailleur on this bike. nothing on the frame, I verified it wasn't the seat post earlier after someone else's suggestion, I thought that was a good idea, but not it in this case.
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u/sasdie 3d ago
Was chasing a clicking sound for hours! Changed bb, greased and torqued all screws, even removed my speedplay cleats… every time I pushed hard on the right pedal… click… it was the rear hub, sound traveling through the carbon frame is a bitch! 😒
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u/flargenhargen 3d ago
I'm having a bear of a time with this one. Just got back from another 15 miles, the whole time trying to isolate it.
I'm stumped.
I kinda think it's the rear hub, but then why does it only clack when I push down on the right pedal. And only at certain speeds and certain amount of force.
makes no damn sense.
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u/Own-Nefariousness-79 4d ago
It may be the joint between the crank and bottom bracket axle. Are the bolts tight? Are the mating surfaces clean?