Fifty Plus (50+) - Run Silent - run deep

How many of you 50+rs need to have your bicycle PERFECTLY, ABSOLUTELY quiet when you ride?

It drives me nuts to have any chain noise or rattling of any kind when I take a ride.

What my goal is is a totally quiet ride on a lovely trail. I even carry a small bottle of chain lubricant, just in case I forgot to lube the chain enough and I start getting just an inkling of that "dry" chain sound.

I want to be a totally "stealth" bike, no matter which bike I ride.

Okay, am I nuts? Or is anyone else the same way (and perhaps also nuts)?

I'm a member of the club. I clean and lube my bicycle after every ride, and I want no noise. Recently, there was a little click that was driving me nuts. It turned out to be a slight distortion in one of the links of my chain. Removed link - no click! I guess the one that drives me most nuts is when one of my brakes squeaks on application.

Oh, man, I with you. That's the nice thing about my old Paramount. It is silent. It just disappears under me.

It even drives me nuts when another biker comes along witha drudgy or out of adjustment chain/derailleur.

I want to stop them and offer to get things lubed and adjusted!

Okay, am I nuts?
IMO, Yes

Or is anyone else the same way (and perhaps also nuts)?
I hope I'm not; maybe others are as finicky/fastidious but I try not to generalize and guess about other cyclists' hang-ups/motivations.

I hope I'm not; maybe others are as finicky/fastidious but I try not to generalize and guess about other cyclists' hang-ups/motivations.

Huh?

Oh, I figured it out. You are doing your troll thing again! Please bow out. You seem to follow me through the forums, making very troll-like comments to attempt to throw the discussion into your strange reality.

Second person since I joined BFN 08-30-01 to make my "Ignore" list! A high honor, indeed.

I'm going through that now on my Bianchi Axis. There's an ever so slight chain rub in high gear on the front derailleur. My lbs has adjusted it three times but just can't seem to get it out and it drives me absolutely nuts. I need to take a class in bke mechannics because I'm afraid to try the adjustment myself.

A bike so quiet all I hear is wind in my ears....totally lovely. To think that one dry chain link or squeaky shoe/pedal interface can disrupt such harmony. Its not a fastidious compulsive thing......its that desire for completely interlocking peace, and because, unlike runners, we are a human/mechanical hybrid when riding the bike, we want it to work as effortlessly as (we wish) our bodies do. In fact, maybe our bikes become a kind of alter ego. [This is getting too deep for me...but yes, I love a quiet bike.]

How many of you 50+rs need to have your bicycle PERFECTLY, ABSOLUTELY quiet when you ride?


Then I guess that means that one cannot ride on grooved concrete or rough ashphalt and you cannot coast?

I love the sound of my freewheel clicking as I am coasting. Providing that is the only sound I hear I am fine but running Knobblies on Tarmac is the one thing that bugs me. Especially when it starts Graunching when the power goes on uphill. That means I am not going fast enough and The drag I am getting must be tremendous. Mind You, the clunks of the chain hitting the chain stay protector, or the suspension clunking when it bottoms out, or the sound of me (oomph as the air gets expelled) must mean that we are up to speed over the rough ground. The one sound I hate is "Pssssssss", as the air come sout of the tyre

Quiet means everything is working as it should. I aspire to keep all my rigs that way, But when one kicks up a fuss, I can handle it. The first rule is that it run well enough to get me home. Right now, my ETSX is in need of some serious tweaking. My last ride incorporated a particularily tough downhill that I launched into with abandon. By the bottom, the bike was complaining. I will find the source. Thankfully, my road bike is being the well behaved bike it always has been.

What I find frustrating is attempting to diagnose the mysterious noises in my fussier customer's bikes. I swear that their bikes often know when the mechanic is close by and will be on their best behavior and not make a sound.

Huh?

Oh, I figured it out.
No. You did not figure it out.

You asked a question. I answered it, truthfully. You were seeking praise/admiration for your behavior/idiosyncrasies and didn't receive it and then proceded to get all self-righteous on me.

It is your right to ignore answers that don't meet your apparant desire to have others boost your ego, but your name -calling reflects on yourself.

I dislike creaking/clicking noises, and make every effort to find and rectify them as soon as possible. They really do bug me. Nothing worse than going up a hill and everyone in the bunch is looking around to see whose machine is making the noise..

I took an old bike to the shop a few years ago and said to the owner's wife something like..

"It's got this creaking noise, which makes it very difficult to sneak up on people any more.." Fortunately the owner saw the funny side of this, though I had to reassure his wife it was just a little joke.. And for the benefit of some of our more humourless friends, (eg Carl) it was indeed just a joke..(even if it wasn't a very good one..)

Then I guess that means that one cannot ride on grooved concrete or rough ashphalt and you cannot coast?

No, those are all expected noises - a part of the riding experience.

I am referring to the operation of the bicycle with noises that shouldn't be there, that indicate a misadjustment, or a lack of lubrication, or something loose on the bicycle - that kind of thing.

I've had a couple of squeaks that would drive you nuts! On one of my first bikes I had Look aluminum pedals and after about a year's worth of riding the pedal/cleat combo squeaked on one pedal. I could usually get it stopped but for only about 1/2 a ride. So my cadence was Squeak.....Squeak.....Squeak.....Squeak.....Squeak..... I still use Look pedals but have the Carbon model which provides a nice smooth, quiet ride.

Recently my front derailleur was out of adjustment and had the worse case of chain rub. It was horrible but I it took me a while before I had time to run it by the shop. It was really hard to sneak up on other riders plus I probably alerted every dog for miles around.

I'm not to the point of carrying lube with me on rides but can really appreciate a well tuned machine.

Don't want my bike to be noisy either. I've developed a "click" (think the bb cups probably need re-greased on my mtn.bike) that annoys me. But I'm getting ready to go away for some R & R, so it's going to have to wait, at least until I get back.

Have you ever noticed, a bike has more pops/squeaks/squells in the morning but is nice and quiet in the afternoon?

It also needs to warm up after a good nights sleep. ;-)))

No, HiYoSilver, the bike is fairly silent in the mornings....its my knees that "pop/squeak/squell".

Hadn't thought about it but now that you mention it ........

My road bike has a campy drive train. Those of you who use campy know that a click on the front derailler shifter doesn't move you to the next chain ring. You have to take several clicks. I find myself often centering the front cage right after a chain ring change with the shifter. I guess I do it to make sure it doesn't contact the chain and make any noise. I agree that silence is a virtue on a road bike. How else can you hear the dogs coming at you?

I would like to be finicky, but something in my nature makes this impossible--probably laziness. My bike is usually a little noisy, even though I lube once in a while and adjust when I really have to. One time a cyclist behind me said, "You're a little noisy, aren't you?" I think I felt as annoyed with him as DnvrFox felt with the troll on the forum. :D
I wish I had a snappy comeback like, "Yeah, but not as noisy as your mouth!"

Personally and professionally, I love the noisy bikes of other riders. The noisier the bike is, the more likely I will see it in my shop before long.

This thread is a timely one for me, and perhaps someone can answer a couple of newbie questions on this topic. My new bike is a Trek 3900, a xc mtb which i ride mostly on the street. I now have about 250 miles on the bike.

I'm beginning to get some noise from the bike. I get a clacking noise which seems to come from the front gears or perhaps the pedals, and I get a clicking sound which happens on some gears, but not all. It's really distracting becuase, like many of you, I love the silence of the bike when I'm swooping here and there.

I also have some problems downshifting, and have to downshift two or even three gears before something kicks in, and then i have to upshift to get the proper gear. In addition, getting from 2 to 3 on the front ring is sometimes problematic; I have to sort of use both shifters at the same time to make the chain move on the front rings. Is that normal? Doesn't seem like it should be!

I've done no maintenance to the bike yet, and intend to take it back to my LBS (a Trek dealer) for the first of it's free checkups and tightenings and such. So here's my questions:

Is the mileage (250) about right for things to get loose and need tightening?

Should I be cleaning/oiling my chain by now, or will occasional stops at the LBS handle this?

My brakes seem to work pretty good, but I'd like them even tighter. Is that a good/bad idea?

Thanks to anyone who cares to respond -- remember, I've the mechanical aptitude of a banana slug, so that's why I ask!

This thread is a timely one for me, and perhaps someone can answer a couple of newbie questions on this topic. My new bike is a Trek 3900, a xc mtb which i ride mostly on the street. I now have about 250 miles on the bike.

I'm beginning to get some noise from the bike. I get a clacking noise which seems to come from the front gears or perhaps the pedals, and I get a clicking sound which happens on some gears, but not all. It's really distracting becuase, like many of you, I love the silence of the bike when I'm swooping here and there.

I also have some problems downshifting, and have to downshift two or even three gears before something kicks in, and then i have to upshift to get the proper gear. In addition, getting from 2 to 3 on the front ring is sometimes problematic; I have to sort of use both shifters at the same time to make the chain move on the front rings. Is that normal? Doesn't seem like it should be!

I've done no maintenance to the bike yet, and intend to take it back to my LBS (a Trek dealer) for the first of it's free checkups and tightenings and such. So here's my questions:

Is the mileage (250) about right for things to get loose and need tightening?

Should I be cleaning/oiling my chain by now, or will occasional stops at the LBS handle this?

My brakes seem to work pretty good, but I'd like them even tighter. Is that a good/bad idea?

Thanks to anyone who cares to respond -- remember, I've the mechanical aptitude of a banana slug, so that's why I ask!

Yes, you should be getting almost all of the original cable stretch by now. It will lessen in the future and pretty much stop. Your LBS should have had you come in after 100 miles, IMHO.

I lube my bike every 100 miles or less. I think you are likely getting significant wear on your chain by waiting for 250 miles, but I will let others weigh in on this, as opinions differ. Anytime you get that "dry chain" noise, you are doing damage to your components.

Your brake cable has also stretched, and needs adjusting

I am surprised your dealer didn't inform you a bit better on these topics.


Again, others may differ on their thoughts, but these are mine.

Good luck.

The silence is pure enjoyment. In fact how can 'nothing' be so loud in its statement to inner peace?

I ride with 2 guys that are older than I am (more than 55). They are both hard of hearing and ( it appears)mechanically challenged. The bikes they ride are high end but are never adjusted correctly and the constant "click, click, click" of their bikes and the front DR chain rub drive me crazy. As a confession, during breaks I will sometimes adjust their bikes and not tell them. Is that anal? If not anal maybe peaceful.