I’ve got a minor issue i’m struggling to diagnose.. funny enough my riding mate has a similar one too. When i’m pedalling in the 4 bigger cogs on the back and pushing a bit harder up the hills, i get what sounds like a loose spoke noise… you know, 1 time per rotations and a ‘dink’ noise, but checking the rim, i can’t find anything particularly ‘loose’ that would lead me to think it’s the spokes.
It’s a brand new BB, pedals and i’ve swapped the main pivot bearings…

The minor downside is that i don’t think i have a spare boost wheel i can fit for the day to test it.. which is unusual for me, but i can’t have every spare in the world. 😀

It’s on a 12 speed which is something i’ve not owned before, so just wondering if there’s something on a 12 that may sound similar but i’ve not come across before, hence asking.

Shoelaces?

Just checked and I do have a 10/11 speed wheel up in the loft space, along with some boost spacers, so could try that.

is it something cable catching on the crank or your heel? I know front mech cables were a good source of annoying clicks

is it something cable catching on the crank or your heel? I know front mech cables were a good source of annoying clicks

Dunno, but i’ll certainly check. the spoke thing makes think it’s that because if i easy pedal in same gear i don’t get it, so seems to be when i push it a bit harder… but not in the smaller cogs.

Edit: Deleted. Didn’t read the OP’s post properly. Good luck in sorting it out.

Is it once per wheel or crank revolution?

I’ve had similar before when it was crank revolutions and the extra force on the downstroke when going uphill (in the lowest gear) was enough to twist the wheel slightly and cause the rear mech cable to catch a spoke.

Took a while to figure it out and was on a road bike with relatively spindly wheels.

If you have a bike stand, could you simulate it by turning the cranks with the rear brake applying some load?

As a one stop test I’d give all the spokes a squeeze in twos, like back when we were young and a wheel mysteriously went wobbly – (nothing to do with the curb just cased at silly speeds 😉 )

edit. Another thought – what cassette and fixing method is it? If it is the four biggest cogs and they are on a std Shimano freehub, are they all in an assembled chunk as part of the cassette? If so, maybe a worn freehub or cassette, loose locking or similar that is allowing the cassette to clunk over as the force transfers.

i’d say once per wheel revolution rather than a crank revolution.

edit. Another thought – what cassette and fixing method is it? If it is the four biggest cogs and they are on a std Shimano freehub, are they all in an assembled chunk as part of the cassette? If so, maybe a worn freehub or cassette, loose locking or similar that is allowing the cassette to clunk over as the force transfers.

It is Shimano yes, on a Stans hub with Flow rims and whilst i’ve seen more chewed up hubs before, it’s far from new and soft as Dairylea looking at it. The larger cogs are all attached yes, with the smallers all separates.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-neutron-v2-rear-wheel-36t/rp-prod195303

Might be easiest to just buy this.

Check for bent or damaged link in chain too.

Might be easiest to just buy this

New bike time, I reckon 😀

Not the mech cable just tapping on a spoke occasionally?

Not the mech cable just tapping on a spoke occasionally?

deffo not…

Chain is a good shout as i need to order a spare 12sp chain just in case anyway.

Could be a cracked freehub body.

You’re pushing more torque through the drivetrain in the easier gears, I had a creak from a seized chainring bolt which only happened when pushing harder in the bigger cogs.

I’m no expert, but it could still be the wheel flexing slightly and spokes pinging even if the spokes themselves feel tight (with what? A precisely calibrated squeeze?).

Worth checking the rear axle is torqued to spec. That was the irritating answer to a hard-to-chase creak for me recently.

https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/stans-no-tubes-neo-durasync-freehub-body?gclid=CjwKCAjw-ZCKBhBkEiwAM4qfF8BCYk0cmMadhpWFZJYLMoonsTMg2VIZTlWp3YV7dBSHEnb4udPr6RoCB14QAvD_BwE#stans-no-tubes-neo-durasync-freehub-body-shimano

Freehub body is £53 which isn’t terrible.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mrBJtS]2021-09-17_09-12-51[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Still not convinced on the spoke tension, some are what i’d call a bit soft, some are proper firm… so i think first port of call next week is to drop it into LBS when i’m out on Tues for a tweak on the spokes and get them right. I’ll just ride it this weekend and put up with it 😀

(with what? A precisely calibrated squeeze?)

correct 😀

I don’t have a spoke tension tool and last time i borrowed one i turned the wheel into an egg 😀

Might it be a bent/chipped tooth on the cassette catching on the chain?

Might it be a bent/chipped tooth on the cassette catching on the chain?

good call, i did have one of them in gear 6. Which i’ve straightened. But this is in 3-4 of the cogs and they’re all straight from what i can see/tell.

Rim join?

You’re pushing more torque through the drivetrain in the easier gears, I had a creak from a seized chainring bolt which only happened when pushing harder in the bigger cogs.

That’s more likely to be due to chainline. If you change to a smaller front ring, there will be more tension on the chain and more torque going into the rear hub, but it makes no difference to the load on the chainring bolts. If you change to a larger rear sprocket, there will be more torque going into the hub, but the tension on the chain doesn’t change and neither does the load on the chainring bolts. The loading on the chainring bolts isn’t affected at all because they are at a fixed distance from the axle – the only thing that affects them is the amount of pressure you put on the pedals. But, if you have a loose chainring bolt and a bad chainline, there will be lateral forces acting to bend the chainring. This will increase as you change to larger sprockets because the chainline is getting worse. It’s nothing to do with the torque at the hub.

Rim join?

Good call – many years ago I had a rim start to fail at the join.

Can’t really change the chainline, it’s a GXP BB, so no spacers apart from 1… So i can’t move or affect it. The spacer is installed on the hub on the inside of cassette, so again, not a lot i can do there. Chainring specifies 3mm offset, 148mm boost compatible.

Oh jeepers… we may be onto something here… what a numpty !!!!

Each GXP bottom bracket comes with two spacers. For SRAM the following rule applies: 68mm bottom brackets need one spacer left and right, 73mm bottom brackets don’t need any spacers.

Would you believe i’ve got a spacer installed !!!!!!

So it transpires it was rear wheel bearings that were the cause on mine.

Took wheel out after Sat ride and they were horrible. Didn’t have the right ones in spares so ordered some up.

Bearings arrived in the post today.

Had an hour after work so took the hub off and started trying to get the bearings out.

Jeez they were hard to get out. I was using one of the blind bearing tools.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131982079526?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=431327089735&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Some required multiple attempts to get out.

Took it all apart and I need 3*15267 in the freehub, I never even considered there’d be 3 of them in it.

Grrrr

Fitted with the best of the 3 so it’s all ready to roll but I’ll need to replace it again at some stage. It spins lovely now, I’ve ordered the 3rd bearing though and will get it replaced before the weekend assuming I have time.