Strange double click sound coming from crank/BB area when cycling uphill

Bike Forum

[closed]

Strange double click sound coming from crank/BB area when cycling uphill

24 posts & 16 voices | Started 1 year ago by rig | Latest reply from resisted

Tags:

No tags yet.

rig - Member

Can I dip in to your collective wisdom please?

When I put pressure on my road bike pedals (exclusively going up hill, either sitting or standing), my bike has started to make a loud & distinctive double click. This happens when the left pedal is at about 2pm. It doesn't happen the rest of the time. The noise appears to be coming from somewhere around the cranks/BB.

I have checked all of the usual bits - tightened pedals, cranks, SPDs, chainring bolts, etc, but it still makes the sound.

The bike is only four months old, so nothing should be worn out yet.

Has anyone experienced anything similar &, if so, did they find a solution?

Many thanks

Posted 1 year ago #
hp_source - Member

Does it do it regardless of pressure? (i.e. same clicking if freewheeling and pedaling leisurely, as going full attack?)

BB possibly going (could be manufacturing fault if only had light use)?

Posted 1 year ago #
Beagleboy - Member

Check the rear wheel QR is really tight. Also might want to check your front mech cable isn't pinging off the cranks on every revolution. Not that I'd ever have been plagued for ages by such a silly little thing.

Posted 1 year ago #
rig - Member

Thanks for the prompt replies.

It only happens under pressure - typically going up a fairly steep hill. I've tried listening to it on the stand, & pedalling with my hands to see if I can feel anything - but nought so far.

The cables are clear thanks. I'll try tightening the rear QR - haven't done that one yet.

Posted 1 year ago #
franciscobegbie - Member

Could be your BB.
Grab a crank in each hand and try pulling them, wiggling them etc. Any movement?

Posted 1 year ago #
poisonspider - Member

It's it your knees?

Posted 1 year ago #
Dr_Bakes - Member

I had a similar issue that I ignored for a bit before it pursuaded me to finally look into it. Turns out the internal BB was/had worked a bit loose so I took it out, cleaned it, reinstalled it with copperslip and it's as quiet as a mouse now. It took all of 10 mins in the end.

Posted 1 year ago #
rig - Member

I've pulled the cranks about thanks, applied full brakes & put pressure on them, etc. - but again nothing. there's certainly no movement that there shouldn't be.

Regarding my knees - I bloomin' hope not, otherwise my cycling days are about to come to an end

Posted 1 year ago #
rig - Member

Thanks Dr Bakes - I'll have to buy a tool or that one, never having taken an external BB off before.

It looks relatively simple for a Truvativ BB however ... he says ...

Posted 1 year ago #
benman - Member

As above, definitely try taking the BB out, greasing (or copperslip) the threads and put back in.

Posted 1 year ago #
rig - Member

Right ho - thanks guys - a BB tool it is.

Posted 1 year ago #
banjowhacker - Member

Ooh. Can be annoyingly tricky to isolate a clunk or creak (I once spent ages worrying about a loose headset that turned out to be a worn bush on my rear shock!).
I think it could be the pedals. On new bikes these tend to be where cost savings are made by stocking low spec bits. Also, being small, loose bearings (if they are...) they can be more prone to suffering problems when new compared to the larger, sealed bearings in your BB.
Can you swap out an old pair of pedals and see if that solves it?

Posted 1 year ago #
rig - Member

I can do thanks banjowhacker.

I actually changed the pedals to decent Shimano clipless ones when I bought the bike (it came with toe clips).

Thanks for the suggestion.

Posted 1 year ago #
oldgit - Member

front mech or shoe strap clipping the crank, two more for you there.

Posted 1 year ago #
Andituk - Member

Sounds very much like the creak I cured this weekend on my MTB. The driveside BB cup was loose. Took it off, took the opportunity to clean it up and some new grease and re-tightened. Jobs a good 'un.

Posted 1 year ago #
banjowhacker - Member

front mech or shoe strap clipping the crank, two more for you there.

Indeed!I was once confused by the alloy end cap on my front mech cable catching my rightside crank each time it revolved past the seat tube. Solved by deftly bending the cable out of the way.

Posted 1 year ago #
bigyinn - Member

Clean and grease the pedal threads, undo the front mech clamp bolt a bit and tighten it again. Perhaps re-grease the pedal bearings, check the BB mounting threads, clean any seatpost clamps and quick releases, check the crank splines and finally check the chainring bolts.

Posted 1 year ago #
franki - Member

I noticed a strange "pinging" sound when standing on the pedals riding to and from work. Only happened some days and not others.
Wondered for quite a while what it could be and checked the bike over to no avail.

Imagine my surprise when I eventually realised it was the buttons on the inside of some cheap "cargo-pants" (the kind you can roll the leg up and button it in place) that I wear for work, catching the top tube!

Posted 1 year ago #
resisted - Member

That kinda thing is so hard to detect but it's almost always BB issues on new bikes. When the BBs are factory installed very little grease is used and they often are torqued up too much/too little. What will usually happen is water ingress in the frame will wash the small amount of crappy grease out. The dry BB threads will then bind against the threads in the shell, especially under heavy load and reverberate up through the frame.

Lots of good quality grease/copper slip (more so on steel frames) should solve it.

Posted 1 year ago #
phinw - Member

It’s always worth putting a bit of grease around the rear axle / dropout interface, the qr itself and the seat post and saddle areas before trying anything more drastic. It’s surprising how often things that sound like they are coming from the bottom bracket or crank are coming from somewhere else entirely.

Posted 1 year ago #
docrobster - Member

I had these symptoms on my road bike recently and asked a similar question on here and got similar suggestions as to what it might be. It was the non drive side BB cup. When I took it out it was rough and had little grease left. Stripped it and repacked it last friday night and it seems to be running silently again. Was the first time I have disassembled a "do not disassemble" shimano BB and it was easy peasy. Used a kitchen knife to prize the "tophat" carefuly off, then same again with dust seal. clean, regrease, press things back into place. Sorted.
I shall be replacing bearings for £4.50 a go instead of BB cups for £20 in future.
I was once dumbfounded mid ride by a "click click click" from the back end- thought the drive train was fecked. It was a large stone trapped in the centre tread catching the seatstay bridge.

Posted 1 year ago #
rig - Member

front mech or shoe strap clipping the crank, two more for you there.

Thanks for that oldgit. It's definately a mechanical click - not shoes/clothes or anything like that.

The only other thought that I've had, is that it was the first time that the bike had got really drenched. It happened on Saturday & the click got worse towards the end of a 64 mile ride.

We all got completely soaked over the first 20 miles.

Posted 1 year ago #
andytherocketeer - Member

Clean and grease the pedal threads

Had that once. Swapped pedals between 2 bikes - click gone (on both). Swap back - click reappeared - always in same crank position. Was initially confusing, but obvious that bearings etc. were all OK, especially as it was a nearly new BB.

Other click turned out to be frame / seatpost.

PITA to isolate sometimes though - if you go slow to cut down wind/tyre noise the click disappears.

Posted 1 year ago #
resisted - Member

Another really common complaint of clicking based on cadence I used to get when I worked in the trade was front mech cabling that was too long catching the crank arm each revolution. Always worth a check and trim/bend as necessary. So often something so simple goes overlooked

Posted 1 year ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Topic Closed

This topic has been closed to new replies.

Singletrack Mountain Bike Magazine

Bike Forum

Strange double click sound coming from crank/BB area when cycling uphill

Topic Closed

Don't miss…

Singletrack

Website & Forums

Exits