Bike noise, creak, click, creaks, clicks, clicking, pinging sound - help

c) buy new bike

I'd love to, but I've got quite attached to this one and also can't afford another.

sounds weird but maybe check your rim tape-if it's the cheap nylon strap stuff it could squeak/be making a loose spoke hole eyelet squeak? Whatever it is sounds fairly macro-I had silly lightweight q/r skewers that clicked and did my head in for ages.

In other news, my other Ultra Torque crankset has started clicking too. I'm wondering if it's the temperature increase/and or me riding a lot in the rain of late.

Unimpress. i am. much.

What do you torque the joining bolt up to?

The other half of the axle.

Brilliant design, very high spec engineering if all the tolerances between BB shell width etc are correct, but essentially it's a fixed length axle and relies on a wavy washer to soak up any lateral movement.

If this lateral movement is too much I think this is where the click is created as the axle slides from side to side and deforms the washer. Tempted to get my BB tool in there and move the non drive side cup out a couple of turns to take up the slack and see if it makes any difference-it's never going to manage to totally unscrew itself anyway.

Could you use a slim washer between the BB shell and cup? Was the BB faced after the recent paintjob?

Ha! Sorry, I meant "how much torque do you use on the joining bolt"? Some of mine say "42Nm" others "42Nm - 60Nm".

My suspicion is that they added the upper limit in response to problems like yours. If you haven't already, try increasing the torque.

There are some other things to try in the link I posted above.

Not had a problem myself across three bikes and one I did for a friend: all cups installed the "Loctite & hand tight" method.

Could you use a slim washer between the BB shell and cup? Was the BB faced after the recent paintjob?

I've heard of folks doubling up two wavey washers. BB shell was faced, yes, which make me wonder if it has been done several times over the course of its life it's reduced the overall width of the shell enough to be outside tolerance?

Torque is... eh. Turn allen hard till it don't go no further, then add another quartern turn #failproof

...Torque is... eh. Turn allen hard till it don't go no further, then add another quartern turn #failproof
I'll bet you ten pints, that this is your problem.

I can't justify a big torque wrench at present, so I get the LBS to do it: it's a two-minute, fiver/favour sort of job.

The clicking noise, will be your BB cups getting fucked :)

Seriously doubt it, I've done extensive reading on the RogueMechanic pages etc all talking about the same problem and there is consensus that the torque of the bolt, even when perfectly done, makes fuck all difference.

I mean, even if over/undertightened, it's job is to hold the joint together, and it's not like it's going to allow 2-3mm of lateral movement in the axle shaft, is it?

I hate noises.

Totally ruined a fancy BB trying to fix a clicky creaky noise recently. Grrrr.

sounds weird but maybe check your rim tape-if it's the cheap nylon strap stuff it could squeak/be making a loose spoke hole eyelet squeak? Whatever it is sounds fairly macro-I had silly lightweight q/r skewers that clicked and did my head in for ages.

Removed the rim tape which was the fabric variety. All eylets and the weld look to be fine there was a lot of what looked like salt under there, presumably from winter.

I cleaned it all up slapped on some new rim tape, again fabric, pushed the bike back into its home and there it is again, "ping". Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh.

Should I be lubing the spoke nipples or bashing out the bearings and replacing? If the latter can I determine the required bearing before bashing out - it's an unbranded hub?

Thanks everyone

Are all the spoke ends seated in the hub properly?

Seriously doubt it, I've done extensive reading on the RogueMechanic pages etc all talking about the same problem and there is consensus that the torque of the bolt, even when perfectly done, makes fuck all difference.

I mean, even if over/undertightened, it's job is to hold the joint together, and it's not like it's going to allow 2-3mm of lateral movement in the axle shaft, is it?
You're probably right (read that piece ages ago and filed it away); however unless you're starting with a correctly installed set-up, then it makes fault diagnosis that much harder.

Cranky: does it ping i) with the front of the bike lifted up, ii) being pushed (ie no rider) or only iii) when being ridden?

we should hold a weekly clinic to deal with these kind of things
the collective forum brain would be welcome i'm sure

compass beers innit

they seem to concentrate on the drinking

Removed the rim tape which was the fabric variety. All eylets and the weld look to be fine there was a lot of what looked like salt under there, presumably from winter.

I cleaned it all up slapped on some new rim tape, again fabric, pushed the bike back into its home and there it is again, "ping". Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh.

Should I be lubing the spoke nipples or bashing out the bearings and replacing? If the latter can I determine the required bearing before bashing out - it's an unbranded hub?

Thanks everyone

This 'ping' if it is a true ping, like a spoke ping but not a spoke ping as spokes are all seated and tied. Could be spokes overlapping and rubbing / releasing on rotation. Solder / wire at overlap will stop this. You are sure it is not mudguard catching? I had a loose bolt on mud guard causing noises.

I know you have tested another wheel in the bike and there is no noise. To rule this out being a coincidence, are you able to test the wheel on another bike?

You're probably right (read that piece ages ago and filed it away); however unless you're starting with a correctly installed set-up, then it makes fault diagnosis that much harder.

Yeah, I see what you are saying... It's a great design but there's obviously enough people getting issues that it's something to do with shell width tolerances and the axle being able to shift under load.

Going to disassemble everything and try adding an extra wavy washer I reckon, might even invest in a torque wrench but this then means I need the campag tool instead of a 10mm allen key : /

Bah!

I used to have wheel pinging, it was a non-consistent noise per revolution on a pair of Mavic Ksyriums. Drove me mad.

Could be a few things from what I've read about:
-Spokes not properly stress relieved
-Hub bearings not properly preloaded (although I think you mentioned you had cartridges) I didn't have the mavic key with me so couldn't test this
-Flat spokes rubbing up against each other and at the spoke holes at the hub - this was my problem, a drop of dry lube at each spoke intersection and most importantly at the spoke/hub interface solved it all for me (mavic k. hubs have a spoke cover thing)

This all being said, ksyriums seem to ping often for a lot of people, not sure if that relationship can be extended to a mavic rim too.

MishMash

About 1 week ago my front wheel (I think) appeared to develop an annoying creaking noise mainly when standing on the pedals and leaning on the bars eg climbing hills, starting off at lights. It sounds a bit like the spokes pinging as they bed in, if not stress releaved enough when building the wheel.

The wheel has 28 spokes (DT Champion 2mm I think) and these are radially laced to Mavic Open Pro rim and an unbranded hub. The cartridge bearings appear to still be butter smooth. I've checked the rim and hub shells for cracking - none evident. The wheel still runs true with an average spoke tension reading of 24.7 on the non-drive side and 25.4 on the drive side (both measured on the Park Tool gauge).

I've also checked that the SKS mudguard is not creaking at the fastenings and it appears to be silent. I'm now stuck for what to check to stop the annoying noise and it's driving me mad. It's not loud just annoying as I know it shouldn't be there and wasn't there.

Any suggestions other than ear defenders?

Just switched from knackered old freewheel on knackered old wheels (silent) to fixed cog on new wheels, and am now getting a constant clicking purr at any kind of speed.

The rest of the bike is about a month old, drivetrain looks fine, chain pretty much new, wheels seem fine to the relatively untrained eye - where's the f*cking noise coming from?! Could it be spoke tension?

Any advice much appreciated.

sticky chain link is the most obvious place to start, or else pedals...

I know you have tested another wheel in the bike and there is no noise. To rule this out being a coincidence, are you able to test the wheel on another bike?

Good point. I'll try over the weekend. In answer to S Suffolk's questions: it disappears with the front wheel off the ground and is there whether ridden or pushed.
It can't be spoke overlap as its radially laced. I'm insure about the spoke head seating though. The wheel is 8 years old and done well over 10,000 miles wouldn't they have seated themselves by now and any noises arisen along while back?

Bearing preload sounds interesting. I read in Barnett's manual that cartridge bearings that weren't quite seated properly could make mysterious noises. Although why one or both should unseat themselves is beyond me. I think I'll replace them anyway.

My headset has started knocking a little bit under braking, I notice it at the lights most. Obviously this was due to it being loose, so I tightened it a bit. Still knocks. Tightened it some more and it still knocks. It's gotten to the point now the steering is getting a bit tight, but it still knocks.

Breaking bad references aside, does anyone have any suggestions on what might be the problem? It's a chris king headset, carbon steerer with an expander thingy inside the steerer. Worked fine for 2 years.

Ta