Bicycle Mechanics - "click" noise from crank

Hi All,

I know there are a few threads already regarding this, so I apologize for a little redundancy!

I took my bike (still relatively new - a Giant OCR2) in for a tune up at the start of season. The bike had about 300 miles on it when I purchased it used last summer. This is my first road bike, and I've put around 1100 miles on it this summer. I've been lubing the chain / shifters every few hundred miles, and everything is still rock solid.

However, in the past hundred miles or so, I've noticed a "clank" noise every pedal. It feels like it's coming from the left side, and from the crank. I tried tightening the bolts that hold the pedal arms on, but they all seemed fine. I even took them out to lube the threads a little bit. However, I noticed a slight "play" in the axial direction. If I grab onto each pedal, I can move the assembly a slight amount side to side (axial to the crank down the shaft). Could this be what's causing it? Is this a concern that I should check out right away, or something that can wait for a tune-up come next season (with only a month or so left of riding here) ?

Thanks!

If there is play in the crank, pull the left crank arm off, clean off any lube, and check for deformation and wear of the teeth on the crank arm and spindle. If there is any play in the crank arm it will move while you ride and accelerate the rate at which those teeth wear. If you round those teeth off I don't know of any way to prevent the crank arm from moving under pressure.

I'd recommend pulling the crank off the bike, pulling the BB cups, and pulling the pedals off the crank arms. Wipe all the threads down with clean rags, inspect the threads, apply fresh lube, and reinstall all the parts. If you have a torque wrench use it otherwise you can use the German method (Gudentight!). Just be sure to use good firm pressure and don't reef on it. You may want to check your cleats as well for wear and play.

Mike

The left bolt came off of the crank axis, but the arm did not come off. I wasn't sure if there was anything else that needed to be removed. Reading a bit more, I can see instructions about threading it back in a bit and using a wrench to take it out.

Again, being my first bike, I'm very nervous to do this. I'd hate to disassemble my bike and mess something up with such little time left in the season :) Anything to be weary / careful of? And, will my T9 chain lubricant be alright to apply in that area as well?

you need a crankarm puller to remove the crank,like the park 's ccp-2 for square axle or the ccp-4 if it the hollow 1 or 2 type.