Bicycle Mechanics - Tink, tink, tink in my bars/stem??

I have this issue of hearing a little tink noise when I press or pull on my road bike handlebars. Is it my threadless stem? It only happens when riding, the bike shop cant find the noise when they ride it? Its there, and it bothers me. Its not loud, just a little noise, when pressure is applied. Just started happening. This Bianchi is only 11/2 old and 1500 miles. Any ideas.

A "tinking" sound often comes from a loose spoke. Check the front wheel.

What you're hearing is probably a bit of squeak. Grease the threads on the stem bolts [front and back] and tighten them. This is common with aluminum stems/bars.

I get this A LOT on my bike that has a quill stem with adjustable head angle. It has 2 screws on the clamp around the bars and anotherone holding the adjusted angle in place. I've tightened everything up to max torque and its still there.
I think its a mixture of metals thing.

I've always had this problem on this particular bike. change of stem and change of bars has changed it to a greater or lesser degree, but its never cured it.

Its definitely the bars/stem clamp. Very annoying, but I can't cure it.

Stew

Yeah, tightened and greased everything around it. The guys at the bike shop think Im crazy - but its there! If its not a problem Im ok with it, but it does bother me.

I have a similar problem with my threadless stem.
Every so often when I hit a bump (like crossing RR tracks) I hear a tinkle sound from the stem area. Sounds kinda like a bell on a kids tricycle.
My LBS checked it out said everything was tight.
They said it was probably the spacers clinking together when I hit the bump. They didn't want to make it any tighter. It could cause bigger problems with steering. :(

Its been doing this for over a year so I just ignore it.

the threadless stem has three major part, the Bolt. the spring and the wide washer, when installing the handle bar, place the major part, in this order, the the wide washer, the spring then tighten the bolts, I can assure you the noise will disappear...

Are you saying that the set up is wrong?

If it were me, I would take all of the bolts out of the stem and grease the sides and shoulders of their heads, the full lengths of their shafts, the wedge itself (if a quill stem), and under the rim of the quill cap if so equipped. Basically, if it's not a weld, grease it all over. ;) A drop of TriFlow between the bar and the stem may silence a noise there, also, but make sure it isn't going to slip as a result.

If it's a threadless stem and headset, I'd do likewise with the entire stack of headset parts. Anything that touches something else has the potential to shift and make noise, including the spacers, the bearing cartridges (if so equipped), the stem on the steer tube, and even the cap where its rim touches the stem. I wouldn't get carried away; it only needs a slight film of grease to provide some lubricity.

Originally posted by nikos
Are you saying that the set up is wrong?
maybe, because i had the same problem when I place the washer, the spring then the bolt, the noise disappear.

Sounds drive me whacko too, so I've spent alot of time tracing them down. You would be surprised how a sound can resonate from some other part of your bike. Start tightening things around the area you think it's coming from, and keep going from there. You'll find it eventually. Or just do like me and ride with people who finally convince me that I'm just being anal and forget about it.

Yeah, got the Zin book, love reading through it. The lbs thinks Im a little nutz, but I too cant stand the little noises. I keep my very clean and lubed, so I expect it to be quiet!