Bicycle Mechanics - please help! - strange creaking/clicking noise

Hello,

Recently i have noticed the rear of my bike has been making strange noises when moving, specificly creaking/pop/clicking noises that seem to be combined together. it happend whn i'm pedaling or not pedaling, but when the back wheel is moving. Its not always consistant. How do i target an find out whats the problem?

- thanks,
Kevin

Maybe you're hearing spokes rub/grind against each other. This happens when the spokes aren't in proper tension. It may sound this way more when you're sitting than standing.

thanks i'll check that out, how do you tighten it? i've seen the toold they look like keychains.. right? and which direction do i turn it?

Oscar thank you SO much! that solved the problem! question now is i want to get a spoke wrench.. the closest shop if over 30 miles from wher ei live so thats why i havn't botherd going htere and i just got up to the point where it was SO anoying.. how do i find out what size mine is? also anyome know a good place to find out how to ajdjust my derailler?

thanks alot!
Kevin

Hi beyondallcom,
Do not attempt to adjust you spoke tension unless you have been instructed in the proper way. You can ruin your wheel doing this. If you have to ask which way to turn etc you are not ready to do this. Have a good bike shop ck your wheels.

Ride Safe...Dudley

Beyondallcom,
Bikinguy is right. Spoke tensioning should be left to a shop until you have gotten more familiar with what it is all about. As far as the der adjustment, I suggest you get a good book on bike repair/maintenance and read up on it. It sounds like you are getting interested in working on your bike. You might as well get off to a good start. I particularly like the Bicycle Magazine Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair. It will lead you through anything you want to tackle, including spokes. You will learn a lot more doing it that way and reading the front part of whatever repair book you get. That will give you some good background on how bikes work and some warnings about damage you can do if not careful.
Regards,
Raymond

Beyondallcom - I'll bet you can order spoke wrenches at Performance Bicycles. The fellas above were right to caution you about proper tensioning. To do the job right, you need a $100 tensionometer, or a musical ear. At any rate, you're ready for Sheldon Brown. Read all he's written about bike maintenance at www.harriscyclery.com under the section for wheels.

Beyondallcom, below is a link to a site for bike maintenance that was passed on to me by the good people on this list.

Absolutely excellent resource, hope you find what you need! Just click on the drivetrain part of the bike image.

Park Tools (http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml)

Beyondallcom-
If the heads of your spoke are stamped "DT get a black "Park" wrench, if stamped with a "W" for Wheelsmith get a green one most everything else needs a black one, or get a universal wrench, (a steel ring with different size slots cut in it).

Take a look at your rim- spin it on the bike, if the spoke opposite the spot where the rim rubs/nears the brake feels loose or makes a lower pitched sound than the others when it's "strummed" then tighten it. If it's tight opposite the rub spot and in more than one place, then you may be in deep "ca-ca", your wheel may be "sprung".
( It's kinda hard to make this simple enough to understand and not write pages of hints, I've built hundreds of wheels and repaired thousands and don't think about it much- just do it)

Keep trying, talk to people, read books and be one with the library, find some classes, use the search engines like www.askjeeves.com
( I found lots of good stuff there and about many subjects)
I learned, I'm sure you can too.

Ride with your eyes open
Pat