Bicycle Mechanics - Ticking noise when going uphill because of incomplete welding?

My one month old Fisher Tassajara is making loud ticking noise when I am pedaling uphill. My LBS couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from. I take the bike apart myself and found out that the frame welding on the down-tube, close to the head-tube, is incomplete (or at least it seems like it).

The down-tube is actually not welded directly to the head-tube. There is a piece of metal that connect those tubes together. I found out that on the underside of the down-tube, there is a 1 inch gap on the welding that hold the down-tube and that metal connector I mentioned before. I can actually insert a small piece of paper through the opening. Is this a defect? And could that have caused the ticking noise.

Thanks

Small correction: The down-tube is welded directly to the head-tube, but there is an extra piece of metal (about 5 inches long) welded on the underside of the down-tube.

Anything is possible, but this would be very unlikely. A click or creak generally is the result of two things moving against each other. In the case of the frame, the two tubes would be moving due to a poor joint. If this is the case, it will get worse and worse until it fails completely. Welds and joints generally fail from the outside, not from the inside.

If possible, get someone to help as you diagnose the noise further. Begin with the typical sources such as the cranks and bottom bracket, and then proceed further. A click can often be felt as well as heard, so use your fingers to feel as your fiend stresses the bike. See http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/creaking_and_squeaking.shtml

The easiest place to start looking, and quite a common source of clicks when pedalling, are the pedals.
Often , the tranmission system only clicks when you put extra force on it, like going uphill.

That extra piece of metal is called a gusset, and it's supposed to have a gap. When welding, the process creates heat and gases. If you look closely, you will see holes drilled in each of the tubes of the frame. They are there to release the pressure from the welding process. In the case of the gusset, the gap does the same thing!

Now, as far as the ticking noise, tighten all the bolts you can. Especially the seat, the cranks and check the pedals as previously mentioned.

The other culprit, although rare, is that the rear wheel quick release is too tight and this is causing some binding in the rear hub.

L8R

The click you hear when applying maximum torque to the pedals can be coming from

1. The bottom bracket. Most BBs are cartridge-type, so it would only be the threaded cups at each side of the shell.

2. The cranks. Specifically, the bolts that attach the cranks to the BB spindle.

3. The chainrings. Specifically the chainring bolts.

4. Your pedals. Specifically, the threads where the pedals screw into the cranks.

5. The chain.

If the bike is new, I doubt it['s the chain, unless it's dirty. If it is, clean and re-lube.

For 1-4, the problem is usually just a loose bolt or slightly loose BB cup or pedal. Tighten these -- or have your LBS tighten them -- and see if you problem goes away. The noise could also be cause by dirt or grit that has worked its way into the threaded contact points. This happens to my cyclo-cross bike all the time. The solution is to remove each part, clean the threads thoroughly, dry, apply white lithium grease to the threads, and screw the part back in tightly. You LBS can do this, too, if you don't have the tools.

Thanks a lot!

Oh, one more thing. While standing still, the only way I can reproduce the clicking is by tipping the bike 45 degree to the right, and applying pressure (perpendicular to the ground) to the crank-pedal joint. I can see the bike flex a bit, and then (3 out of 5 trials) I can hear a very sharp clicking sound when I release the pressure.

Hmmm... you know, it could be something as simple as a loose pedal... very common.

You think so? Oh well, my LBS might have missed it because I doubt they could take my bike to an uphill trail for a test-ride. On a straight, the noise is very subtle and infrequent.

I'll bet it's the seatpost.............

These kind of 'sounds like this when I..." always get a million good guesses.

Here is another:

I find that noises like that are often associated with things not originally part of the bike. Examples include the bike lock attached under the seat and clanking everytime I pedal or turn.

Another might be your pedal slightly touching the kick stand with every revolution of the crank (if you have a kickstand).

Maybe something in your seatbag or your light.

GOOoooooood Luck!

OK, the good news: the noise seems to go away. I've tightened pretty much everything, including the seat-post.

The bad news: l still don't know which parts caused the noise in the first place.

I haven't had a chance to hit a trail, so I keep my fingers crossed :)

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