Bicycle Mechanics - I hear a clicking sound...

I finally figured it out! It appears that I've been using Shimano SPD pedals (unbeknownst to me, they are primarily used for mountain biking). I bought a pair of KËO road bike pedals & the problem seems to have vanished. Thanks to all for your help & support!

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=184951 might help you, I just had a similar problem (sounded like it was coming from my right crank though) that was fixed with RD adjustment.

Bottom bracket? Friend of mine had this problem. I removed the BB and put some fresh grease in where it goes and re-installed it. Problem went away.

Is it difficult to uninstall/reinstall the bottom bracket? I'm kind of new at the whole bike mechanics. It just had a huge overhaul & is basically a new bike. But from what I've read about the bottom bracket, that might be the problem.

Cool deal. Thanks for the link. I think it will definitely help!

Is it difficult to uninstall/reinstall the bottom bracket? I'm kind of new at the whole bike mechanics. It just had a huge overhaul & is basically a new bike. But from what I've read about the bottom bracket, that might be the problem.

It is an it isn't. If you have a self-extracting crank bolt, all you need is an allen wrench to remove the crank arms, a bottom bracket tool, wrench, lube, torque wrench, patience and a little info, say from the park tool website or a good bicycle maint. book.

The only difficulty I find is related to keeping the bottom bracket tool from slipping out of the BB splines. That can be solved using a quick release. I am not a mechanic, but I have removed, installed or changed out well over a dozen in the last 3 years. The only one that gave me fits was in an old inexpensive SteelTrek mountainbike. That one was difficult to remove!

I had a click that turned out to be the pedal - it only clicked under torque (ie. standing or climbing, or starting in too high a gear, when you're putting extra pressure on it), not when pedalling normally.

Yeah, that's exactly what mine is doing. Did you fix the problem?

Got similar problem going on, but the sound only comes out when I'm really cranking at the top of a big hill. Thought it was the handlebars, but after messing with those, not really sure. Probably pedals...freakin bikes sometimes!

Tell me about it. I wish I understood the mechanics of them better! :(

too vague. where in the pedal stroke is it happening? big ring, middle ring, or granny? when was your last tune? how old is the bike? frame material? is it a click, or more of a creak? perhaps it is a pop? are your QRs tight enough? how about your cleat screws? is the little end of cable sticking out and hitting your crank arm as it come around? do you have 2-piece external BB cranks, or more traditional 3-piece cranks? ISIS, octalink, or square taper? are your pedals tight? is there paint on your dropouts where the QR clamps down?

try to locate it by eliminating one possibility at a time.

The bike's pretty much brand new. It's a Trek 5900 SL & it just had a complete overhaul & tune-up. So it shouldn't be making these noises. I'm going to the bike shop on Wednesday. Perhaps they can diagnose the problem. As you listed, it could be a number!!! of things.

Do you use clipless pedals? I've seen the cleat/shoe/pedal interface make noise. Try pedaling without clipping in (shoe just floating on top of the pedal) and see if the sound goes away. Perhaps try another set of pedals.
Just my 2 cents.

lube your nipples, try it before you go to the bike shop. it could be the cause. When it first happened to me it took me two trips to the bike shop before anyone could figure it out.

Do you use clipless pedals? I've seen the cleat/shoe/pedal interface make noise. Try pedaling without clipping in (shoe just floating on top of the pedal) and see if the sound goes away. Perhaps try another set of pedals.
Just my 2 cents.

I've had cleats that made a clicking sound when they were almost worn out. I got rid of the clicks by putting a bit of lube on the cleats and pedal interface.

My pedal clicking occurred at the top of the stroke and I got rid of the pedal. It had a sealed cartridge that I didn't know how to open, and it was too old to bother paying someone to service it.

Having said that, your click could come from many spots. It's almost certainly shoe, crank, bottom bracket or pedal related if it happens on every pedal stroke, but occasionally some other part of the bike clicks in time with the pedals, due to you rocking the bike or something like that.

chain ring bolts..

Can you borrow a pedal from another bike and see if swapping pedals stops the sound? If the one click per revolution is per a wheel check spoke tension. That is my main source of clicking sounds.

Clean the crank and carefully check for hairline cracks esp. where the crank meets the chainring

The bike's pretty much brand new. It's a Trek 5900 SL & it just had a complete overhaul & tune-up. So it shouldn't be making these noises. I'm going to the bike shop on Wednesday. Perhaps they can diagnose the problem. As you listed, it could be a number!!! of things.

so have you fixed it? onetinsloth asked u a bunch of good questions which you didn't answer. how about answering them?

he said:

too vague. where in the pedal stroke is it happening? big ring, middle ring, or granny? when was your last tune? how old is the bike? frame material? is it a click, or more of a creak? perhaps it is a pop? are your QRs tight enough? how about your cleat screws? is the little end of cable sticking out and hitting your crank arm as it come around? do you have 2-piece external BB cranks, or more traditional 3-piece cranks? ISIS, octalink, or square taper? are your pedals tight? is there paint on your dropouts where the QR clamps down?

try to locate it by eliminating one possibility at a time.

I have a new 2006 Giant Yukon (2 months old) that was clicking while pedaling hard and they regreased the BB and that solved my problem. Hope this helps and good luck!

Ummm... OK?

I had that problem sounding like it was coming from up front and finally got rid of it by putting a bit of lube (tri-flo) on all the spoke intersections, and where the nipples entered the wheel.