Hi guys 🙂

For some time I have this problem, when pedaling with force a ‘click’ can be heard and felt in the left pedal. This doesn’t happen regularly, sometimes it’s just a click and other times there’s like 3 one after another. It feels like the pedal is moving a slight bit away from the arm. I was very sure the sound came from the left pedal, which in fact had big play, and some balls got behind the cone, in the dust cap. Thinking the broken pedal was the problem, I bought a new pair and installed them. Today I went for a ride to test the grip of the new pedals, and guess what, the click is still there 👿
The pedals are tightened on the arms, and so are the arms. I tried to move everything in all directions down there, and there doesn’t seem to be any play anywhere. Also, I could not reproduce the problem, with the bike upside down, moving the pedals with my hands.
This is not causing any real trouble but it really pisses me off.
Any help is greatly appreciated 🙂

Bottom bracket.

Possibly but start with the easy stuff.

Take out your wheel skewers or thru bolts lube them and re fit.

Then do the headset, then the bottom bracket.

Try everything you are told on here…..then lube your seat.

It is always my seat, I used to hear a click from my headset-it was my seat rails. Next I had a click on my bottom bracket-it was my seat clamp/post. The click was never coming from where I thought it was. Bugged the $hit out of me.

Thing is the OP says they feel it in the left crank too?

Cable or zip tie catching on crank?

Crank inserts

Hi guys
For some time I have this problem, when pedaling with force a ‘click’ can be heard and felt in the left pedal. This doesn’t happen regularly, sometimes it’s just a click and other times there’s like 3 one after another. It feels like the pedal is moving a slight bit away from the arm. I was very sure the sound came from the left pedal, which in fact had big play, and some balls got behind the cone, in the dust cap. Thinking the broken pedal was the problem, I bought a new pair and installed them. Today I went for a ride to test the grip of the new pedals, and guess what, the click is still there
The pedals are tightened on the arms, and so are the arms. I tried to move everything in all directions down there, and there doesn’t seem to be any play anywhere. Also, I could not reproduce the problem, with the bike upside down, moving the pedals with my hands.
This is not causing any real trouble but it really pisses me off.
Any help is greatly appreciated

click = loose chainring/chainring bolts especially from the non drive side

If you’ve got BB30 it’s the crankset axle flexing inside the inner bearing races. The signs of wear will be more obvious on the non-drive side because the drive side is stabilised by chain tension. Dismantle and refit the crankset with a smear of bearing fit compound where the machined areas of the axle sit inside the inner bearing races. Problem solved.

Crankset is a Shimano Deore FC-M612-L.
I don’t think is anything too far away from the crank, since I can feel a clear movement in the (left)pedal.
I’ll be away from home for some days, but as soon as I return I’ll try what you guys said. Thanks for all the advice 🙂

Pedal. Two different bikes have had the same as the OP. Tried all sorts with the first, new BB and all sorts of removal and refitting. By chance I spun the pedal by hand and found it rough. replaced it . Creak gone. Another bike did the same yesterday but this time I was clever. Swapped pedals. Job done.
Wonder how many hours I have wasted and BB’s binned when all it needed was the pedals checking. If, like me, you always mount and clip in in the same way , you give one pedal a hammering. Most of use mount from the left, clip in with the right first and unclip with the left at junctions etc. It gets a lot more use. Worth checking cleats as well. If pedal, strip and grease and the jobs done for pennies.

I had a perfect storm of pedal bearing and bb.

Pedal bearings are generally made of cheese.

Took a long time to figure out, as I’d got new pedals and my bb was (unknown to me at the time) on its last legs.

All you can do is systematically eliminate parts, staring with the cheapest first.

If the pedals are manufactured by Look and called Keo, you can be sure they will click and creak at only a few hundred miles old. After about 500 miles the plastic bodies will unscrew from the bearing shields and they will drop off their spindles.

Ok, my fault. The screws on the left arm were very tight when initially checked, but today I applied some extra force, actually thinking that something would break, but it seems this solved the problem. I guess I really need to buy a torque wrench.
Thanks guys! 🙂

Try everything you are told on here…..then lube your seat.

It is always my seat, I used to hear a click from my headset-it was my seat rails. Next I had a click on my bottom bracket-it was my seat clamp/post. The click was never coming from where I thought it was. Bugged the $hit out of me.

Haha brilliant, same for me. So many mystery clicks or creaks that seemingly come from somewhere completely different. Always the seat.