Mountain Biking - Noise when pedaling

I hear a faint rachety sound when I pedal forward...I had some grit in my chain that was making some noise so i cleaned it out really well and lubed it up. now my chain is clean but that faint rachety sound is still there when i pedal. Isnt the drivetrain supposed to be fairly silent while pedaling? Is this rachety sound just the chain hitting the cogs and is normal? I know its not the hub because I can spin the wheel backwards and its silent.

if your chain is rubbing the fd:
-you should be able to see this happening, run through your gears and see if theres any major contact. a little contact when you're say, on the third ring up front and the smallest cog or largest cog in the back is okay. ie: small bits of contact are okay when you're in "extreme" (the very highest/lowest) chain combos should be okay. just not lots of contact.

if your chain isn't rubbing your fd:
-it could be that your cranks are a little loose. i used to have square taper cranks and they needed a little tightening up to stop the creaking.
(thats if the creaking occurs on every other pedal stroke when u put pressure down on the cranks)

it could be your seat post/pedals:
-everyone always says check your seatpost, b/c something that sounds like its comming from your cranks may be comming from your seatpost or pedals. check for dirt/lube them up.

it might be your BB:
-make sure its tight and clean and greased up. havn't had too much experience on that being loose though.

g'luck

Yes, your pedalling should be relatively silent.

If your bike is new, your derailleur cables have probably stretched a little, throwing it's position just as little out of wack leaving it sort of half way between a shift. The store you bought it from should have offered you at least a year worth of tuneups.

You could probably do it yourself, but I'd bring it in regardless. They should go over the entire bike and tighten/tune up everything that gets loose on a new bike from it's first few weeks of riding.

My new KHS Alite 3000 is just starting to make the same clicks. It's my front derailleur, and only makes the noise when I'm in my highest gears on the big ring.

Does it make the noise in all gears?

a little contact when you're say, on the third ring up front and the smallest cog or largest cog in the back is okay. ie: small bits of contact are okay when you're in "extreme" (the very highest/lowest) chain combos should be okay. just not lots of contact.



Heh heh, that answers my same question. When I'm on the big ring and smallest cog (barreling down the road and hauling butt :D) I get that rhythmic ratcheting sound. If I shift to a larger cog or the middle ring, all's quiet. The bike is new, and I'm sure it can use some adjustments too.

yea its new...only a few days old, but ive been kicking its ass so maybe it does need some tuning