Cycling home from work and then back in this morning I’ve noticed my front wheel is making a strange clunking noise. Its rhythmic so I guess its coming from a specfic part of the wheel. It doesnt do it when the wheel is freely spun, only when the wheel is under load. Is this likely to be a spoke issue? I have no experience of stuff like this so if it’s glearingly obvious then any advice would be cool!

Dru

have you got a magnet on the spokes ?

hub spins cleanly ?

Knacked bearing?

Loose spokes??

have you got a magnet on the spokes ?

^^this. Magnet hitting sensor.

Is it deep section? possibly the valve moving. Try a lockring if they are.

I assume you’ve checked for play and balance.

The balance isnt great when free spinning, it causes a slight shake to the bike. If there were loose spokes is it likely to cause this clucking noise as that part of the rim hits the road?

I’m not convinced its the bearing as the noise is intermitant and dependant upon rotation. If it were the bearing I’d expect it to make the noise during the full revolution of the wheel.

pluck each spoke in turn – if all the spokes on the same side of the wheel sound roughly the same and are reasonably tight then they’re probably ok.

I’ve had rims in the past where the metal bit that holds the 2 ends of the rim together before welding was moving a little bit.
Only happened when the tyre was pumped up hard (on commuter so most of the time), when tyre removed it didnt budge. Rim was being expanded slightly by pressure from tyre beads.
Sorted it by hammering screwdriver on the joining bit went to wedge it in a bit firmer. Also heard to inject a bit of silicone sealant in there which holds it in place.