Bicycle Mechanics - Clicking Noise - BB Cups?

Trying to narrow down an annoying clicking noise that shows up sometimes while pedaling. Crank is Ultegra SL so i've got external BB cups, can these still click? The drive side seems a bit tight (can't thread it much without using the wrench, but it tightens just fine.

It's hard to reproduce unless i'm on the bike and even then it doesn't happen 100% of the time, usually at a higher cadence if that should make any difference.

Is it possible that the BB is the culprit even if they're just bearing cups? What would it be clicking against?

I'm going to try and swap out the rear wheel to rule out the cassette, freehub etc, along with the pedals just in case.


Since it's somewhat difficult to thread the drive-side BB cup (on a pretty new bike) should I take it in to have it faced/rethreaded?

or a pedal, or your shoe hitting the pedal...

I'm guessing pedal . . . your bike was faced/chased before those external BB cups were installed right?

You many find the following links helpful in tracking it down:

http://sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

AND

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=123

It's usually just a matter of patiently removing, cleaning,
re-lubing, and re-torquing fasteners until it quiets down.

Thanks, I'm assuming it has to be something that moves since it still happens if i'm not seated (so unlikely to be the seatpost/seat).

Not sure so about the BB area of the frame being faced/chased. The bike is a nearly new Cannondale, but the shop I got it from didn't do a great job prepping it. I'm reluctant to take it back for them to do any work on it for that reason.

(so unlikely to be the seatpost/seat).
.

It's unlikely to be the seatpost/seat... so it has to be the bottom bracket? Noises in the drivetrain area doesn't necessarily mean it emanates from there. Don't dismiss that sheldon link so readily or you will have just played russian roulette with a semi auto and one in the chamber.

Remove the pedals from the crankarms. Grease the threads. Re-install them tightly.

If you have a quill stem, remove it, grease the threads of the expander bolt, and grease the outside of the body. Re-install.

Grease the surface where the stem (either type) meets the handlebars.

If you have a new style stem (for threadless steerer tube), grease the surface where it meets the steerer tube.

These techniques get rid of a large fraction of noises like that.

Thanks for all the tips. Also, I didn't dismiss Sheldon's links (I know better), i'll go through those recommendations as well.

I'm just hoping it's not an issue with my BB shell since I don't have the tools to deal with getting it faced/chased.

After spending a whole afternoon re- tightning/lubricating every thinkable bolt/screw on my bike, the clicking sound was still there. My wife finally solved the riddle when she pointed out that my Look cleats on my cycling shoes was overseen by me. She was right, they were the cause.....

Some things take longer than you think they should. Glad you solved it and hope you learned a few things. These things can be annoying! I have a couple of rattles in my car that have been bothering me for months. No one can find them.

I once had a strange "tink" sound on my bike that went with each pedal stroke. It turns out that the drawstring on my jacket was tapping on my top tube!