The Tell-Tale Bike

Click...

Click...

Click...

That incessant clicking, getting louder with each turn of the pedals. Pounding in my head like a hammer!

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

Make it stop! Make it stop!

Ok, this may be a bit overdramatic, and no, I didn't bury my bike under the floorboards. But the fact is, unidentifiable clicks are one of the more annoying problems you can have with your bike.

Most of the time it is harmless, but there is always a chance it could be a bigger problem that could cause greater damage to the bike. I chose this subject for this post because I am going through this right now. On my commute I am hearing a slight click with each rotation of the pedals with no idea where it is coming from. It could be anything.

I recently replaced the chain, the chainring and the cassette, not to mention that I removed and reinstalled the crankarms and pedals. Since it wasn't doing it before, chances are it is one of these items. I am going to have to get it up on the rack and through the process of elimination figure out what it is.

Sometimes I tend to use the Dr. House method of coming up with a diagnosis, throwing everything against the wall and hoping something sticks. If I don't watch myself I can end up totally rebuilding my bike trying to solve this puzzle. If it were to still click after that, maybe I will have to bury it under the floorboards.

Drivetrain, my old nemisis, we meet again!

Clicks, squeaks, rattles and clunks, oh my!

Clicks, squeaks, rattles and clunks can be the very difficult to track down. It is not easy to tell exactly where the noise is coming from. And once you do isolate an area that is coming from, there are still usually several things in that particular area that can be causing the sound.

I have heard stories of people disassembling their bike piece by piece, and once it is in a million pieces they put it back together only to have the sound return. After further investigation they discover it was something as simple as a shoelace tip clicking against the crank arm. At least I am sure that is not the problem here, as I don't wear shoes with laces on my bike, but there are still other things like that such as the end of a cable clicking against something.

Click...

Click...

Click...

I started this post last night, but on my ride in this morning, there it was again, taunting me, as if were no longer click, click, click, but was now becoming...

Ha...

Ha...

Ha...

I bet you can't find me!!!

I was planning on installing a new rear deralleur on my bike anyway, so will have to delve deeper into this problem once I remove the chain. It is most likely coming from the drivetrain area, though clicks can originate in many places, such as headset, hubs, spokes, it could even be something embedded in the tire that hits the ground once per revolution. It can be caused by a crack in the frame (I have my fingers crossed that it is not something as serious as this).

People may say, "This is the reason I take my bike to the shop." Unidentified sounds are not just the bane of the home mechanic, it is also quite common in bike shops, and in bike shops you may end up paying by the hour as they try to pinpoint the culprit. I still say it is easier to do your own work on your bike.

On my next day off I am going to (hopefully) get to the bottom of this. I will keep you posted.