Bicycle Mechanics - The Quest for Peace...

...from noise. I can't seem to win lately, I had a noise coming from my rear wheel that sounded like something was loose, after much playing around I finally found out that the lock ring was really really loose, as soon as I tightened that up and now it was nice and quiet...at least for a while. Now that it's so quiet I'm starting to notice some other noises, currently the one driving me completely nuts is a noise coming from when I'm shifted to the middle of my cogset, I've tried everything that I can think of and can't seem to make it go away, I notice it more when I'm at a slower cadence however it's still there at the higher cadences. It's hard to describe the noise...it's a mix of sounding like it wants to change gears or is the bearings are loose however the wheel only has a few hundred miles on it and the cassette is fairly new. FYI, it's a Campy Veloce cassette with a Centaur rear derailleur and a Easton Vista SL wheel with campy freehub. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Okay, first of all... your user name scares me in a cosmic sort of way. My name is "Daniel Roy Lenski" and I've never met anyone with a similar name.

Anyhoo :) ... the best way to figure out where noises is coming from is to figure out how often they occur. Does this noise occur once per PEDAL revolution, once per WHEEL revolution, or at some other interval?

DRL are my initials and ski is the last the letters of my last name :)

there is no pattern in the sound, it's constant when pedaling.

DRL are my initials and ski is the last the letters of my last name :)
Are you a 24-year-old white guy who likes Linux? If so, then you may be my evil twin. Or perhaps I'm your evil twin. Either way, freaky!


there is no pattern in the sound, it's constant when pedaling.
Is your chain unworn (12 links less than 12 1/16 inches long), dirt-free, and well lubricated? Do you notice the cogs wobbling at all when you pedal?

Are you a 24-year-old white guy who likes Linux? If so, then you may be my evil twin. Or perhaps I'm your evil twin. Either way, freaky!

Is your chain unworn (12 links less than 12 1/16 inches long), dirt-free, and well lubricated? Do you notice the cogs wobbling at all when you pedal?

That is freaky, I am a 24-year old white guy, though I prefer BSD over Linux :P

The chain is fairly new as well though I just took a few links off of it. I also just finished completely degreasing it and lubing it up this past weekend.

That is freaky, I am a 24-year old white guy, though I prefer BSD over Linux :P
Wow, you ARE my arch-nemesis! (Just kidding, I actually like OpenBSD quite a bit, though I don't have as much experience with it.)


The chain is fairly new as well though I just took a few links off of it. I also just finished completely degreasing it and lubing it up this past weekend.
So you say this only happens when pedaling, so I think we can rule out the freehub, since its bearings are only moving when you are coasting.

You say it's more noticeable when you are pedaling at a slower cadence? When you pedal slower, you are probably applying more torque (e.g. mashing or standing up). Possibly your rear wheel or frame is very flexy, and this is causing the derailer to twist towards the next cog over... which would explain the shifting-like noise. What is your frame made of?

To test this theory: if you lift up the rear wheel and spin the pedals by hand, do you hear the noise still?

Wow, you ARE my arch-nemesis! (Just kidding, I actually like OpenBSD quite a bit, though I don't have as much experience with it.)


So you say this only happens when pedaling, so I think we can rule out the freehub, since its bearings are only moving when you are coasting.

You say it's more noticeable when you are pedaling at a slower cadence? When you pedal slower, you are probably applying more torque (e.g. mashing or standing up). Possibly your rear wheel or frame is very flexy, and this is causing the derailer to twist towards the next cog over... which would explain the shifting-like noise. What is your frame made of?

To test this theory: if you lift up the rear wheel and spin the pedals by hand, do you hear the noise still?

I'm more of a FreeBSD guy though I have worked with OpenBSD but FreeBSD tends to be a bit more "user friendly" when not working on a server environment.

It's a Specialized S-Works E5 frame which is pretty stiff. And yes, you can hear it more with pressure on it however I just had it on my workstand and pedaled it by hand and you could still hear it.

It's a Specialized S-Works E5 frame. And yes, you can hear it more with pressure on it however I just had it on my workstand and pedaled it by hand and you could still hear it.
Geez... this one's tough...

So, just to rule out the easiest possibilities: Is your derailer bent, even slightly? Can you get the noise to go away by turning the adjusting barrel on the derailer to move the cage slightly towards or away from the wheel?

turning the adjuster barrel doesn't do much for the noise, it's shifting crisp. The derailleur doesn't "look" bent to me. It sounds like it's coming from the actual cassette...unfortunately I don't have a spare wheel or cassette to test the theory.

turning the adjuster barrel doesn't do much for the noise, it's shifting crisp. The derailleur doesn't "look" bent to me. It sounds like it's coming from the actual cassette...unfortunately I don't have a spare wheel or cassette to test the theory.
The cassette itself doesn't contain any moving parts. If you grab the offending cogs with your fingers, can you wiggle them side to side or front to back at all?

The cassette is attached to the freehub body, and thereby to the hub itself. I suppose there could be something wrong with the hub bearings, though not sure why it would only be noticeable on some cogs and not the others.

If you take the wheel out of the frame, and spin the axle by hand (leaving the rim stationary), does the axle feel smooth?

ya...it seems smooth and the cog doesn't seem loose, I just tightened it as well for good measure. perhaps this is all just in my head, perhaps what I really need is a bike psycologist :P

would just like to say that I may in fact be insane. I took it for a ride this morning and didn't hear the "noise" at all. Must be my imagination...

Perhaps your brain is just trying to rationalize an explanation for why you need to buy a new bike :) Though it looks like you have an enviable collection already.

Perhaps your brain is just trying to rationalize an explanation for why you need to buy a new bike :) Though it looks like you have an enviable collection already.

lol, perhaps, my parents tell me they'll be kicking me out if I build another one though :P Know any good two bedroom apartments? One room for me, one for my bikes? :P