Bicycle Mechanics - Clicking sound/feeling when pedaling

So when I pedal I can feel something click in my pedal. Its not major but its kind of bothersome, would something such as tightening a few screws help this?

Possibly a worn bearing in the pedal or bottom bracket. Do you feel it in both feet, or only one? Does it happen at the same part of the pedal stroke each time?

My brother had a problem that he swore was the bottom bracket, and after replacing it, it turned out the sound/feel was a bad link in his chain. Removed the link and everything was back to normal.

Check your chainring fasteners as well. I had a rythmic creaking sound that was being caused by the chainring fasteners. Removed them, cleaned, and reassembled the chainrings and it was all good.

It could be your shoelace. I had a ticking sound that was driving me crazy. I finally realized it was the plastic tip of my shoe lace hitting the crank on each revolution. It only happened at a high cadence.

I'm saying this not because I think it is your shoelace, but to point out that bike noises can be varied and sometimes hard to diagnose.

One of my friends had a similar symptom and shop replaced the BB on his bike. The noise was still there. The problem was a crack in the frame where chain stay connects to rear dropout on the drive side. The crack would close with a loud clack twice for every pedal revolution.

Jtarkey - Been there, done that... got busted knuckles to prove it.


We're always too quick to blame the BB, when it's usually something much easier... and cheaper... to fix. If the bike doesn't have a bazillion miles on it, and you haven't been riding through flood waters, the BB is probably okay. You can check for a stuck chain link by backpedaling very slowly, and carefully watching the chain as it runs over the cassette and through the jockey pulleys... if every link makes a smooth transition around the course, it's probably okay, too. Clean & lube it to make absolutely certain.

I'd suspect a worn out pedal. Two ways to check it out: Borrow a set of pedals from someone, spin 'em on, ride.
Or, if you have something like 10K miles on yours, just plump for a new set and see if that makes the noise go away. (You might even have a set of cheapo as-delivered pedals in a box somewhere... A couple of my older bikes came with flat pedals installed... They're useless for riding, but perfect for diagnosing ailments like this.)

If a pedal is extremely worn, you might be able to reproduce the "pop" feeling by grabbing the pedal with your hand and pulling up... or down... hard.

If you do find out that it is a pedal making the noise, you don't have to toss out the set. Most pedal bearings can be disassembled and repacked. In fact, you might quell the noise just by tightening any play that you find in the pedal axle's bearing cups... They adjust just like wheel bearings, and you might even be able to adjust them without even removing them from the bike.

If those clikky-poppy pedals are of the sealed, "permanently lubed" variety, plant 'em in the kitchen wastebasket and buy your bike some new ones.

I had that happen, clicking sound, I tightened the screw on my clip, seems to have stopped.