Bicycle Mechanics - "Click" sound on each crank rotation: cause?

Any "Car Talk" fans here? This one is for you!

For two years now I've been trying to track down the cause of an intermittent "click" that I hear on each rotation of the cranks when under significant load, which I can only reproduce while riding. I don't have to pedal very hard, but I can't do it with my hand on the stand. This is a 2000 Lemond Zurich, double chainring, original Ultegra components but chain replaced a couple of years ago. Probably around 10,000 miles on the bike.

Each time my right foot starts to rise (or left foot starts to descend) while pedaling with some effort, I hear a "click." Here is what I have done to try to track it down:

Shift between chainrings: No effect. Clicks on either chainring.

Shift among rear cogs: No effect. Clicks on any gear.

Inspect front derailer: Doesn't appear to be rubbing.

Stand off of seat: No effect; doesn't appear to be seat post.

Let go of handlebars; No effect; doesn't appear to be stem or bars.

Loosen and re-tighten all chainring bolts: No effect. Everything seems tight.

Replace pedals with spares: No effect. Not the pedals.

Bottom bracket regular maintenance overhaul at bike shop: No effect.

Believe it or not, I seem to hear this problem more on hot days than cool days....

Any ideas are appreciated.

-Steve

Check your shoes/cleats?

Check your shoes/cleats?

Good idea that I hadn't thought of. You may be on to something - in hot weather I wear one particular pair.

Weird, I've been having this problem lately, and I basically went through the same process of elimination that you described. Gonna take it to my LBS pretty soon, see what the mechanic tells me.

We fix a lot of "noise" problems on customers bikes - 99% of the cause is a headset/bb/seatpost seat problem. Retorquing bolts is not enough. You need to take apart everything and regrease as appropriate for example.

Crank + BB area

1) Regrease, retorque chainring bolts
2) Regrease, reinstall pedals
3) Remove bottom bracket, clean and regrease threads + shell threads

Do the same for fork/headset area. Grease and retorque all stem binder/faceplate bolts and top cap bolts etc. Do the seat/seatpost area s well.

This is usually effective for 95% of the bikes we get.

Cleaning, re-greasing and re-tightening the pedal threads fixed it.

I have the same problem. It just started today. I have a brand new sram chain with powerlink and i think it might be that link although im not sure.

I did 40 miles yesterday in the pouring rain. I took the day today to clean the bike and i took the chain off....degreased everything and put some new RockAndRoll lube on. cleaned up the rear Derail and jockeys really well and all joints on the front on rear were hosed down with a spray teflon grease. I get on and click click click. It is either that $40 chain+powerlink or i got crap in my pedal axle and i need to rebuild those. They are cheapy Welgo clipless SPDs.

It seems to happen at the same point in the crank rotation which makes me think it cant be the chain....

driving me crazy though :)

That's correct, it cannot be the chain, as the same point on the chain hits a particular point on the drivetrain every (# of single links in chain)/(# of chainwheel teeth being used) revolutions of the crank - somewhere around 2 rev's of the large chainwheel. It also cannot be anything in the rear of the bike, as those parts are never turning the same rate as your cranks (unless you have 1:1 gearing).

In the past, it was a loose chainring bolt on my bike; re-tightening all the chain ring bolts made it go away. Another time it was a seat post - cleaned and re-tightened to fix that. This time it was the pedal bolt/threads.

im still fighting this one. I rode 24 miles and click click click. It happens when the right foot come up just before it gets to the top of the stroke.

I tore it all down today.

No tight chain links and my p-link is fine
swapped out pedals........still there on completely different pedals.....platorms without cleats to rule out my shoes and cleats
tightened crank arms......still there
removed chain and spun cranks....cant feel anything strange....smooth as butter....no play in BB
Broke down and completely tore apart the BB...regreased everything and retorqued everthing down.....still there.
happens when im on or off the saddle
tightend the stem...just in case....still there
removed wheels and put them back on to make sure they were straight in the stays......still there.

It feels like it is a deeper tick....not somthing hitting somthing on each revolution


any other ideas?

This is a long shot, but it just happened to me. I had a terrible clanking sound that had me pretty concerned because I just recently upgraded my pedals, crank arms, and BB. I did all the checks as you did (although you didn't say you tightened down your chainrings too - just the BB).

Anyhow, crazy thing on my end. The bottom tab on my water bottle holder broke so the bottle that was on the down tube was resting on the bottle on the seat tube. May have not been too bad with plastic bottles, but I have Klean Kanteen stainless steel. Eeeyeah. I didn't notice because I would just blindly snatch them off and put them back on without hardly looking. The saga only lasted a couple hours though before I picked up on it. But the lesson is, sometimes our minds go to the most complex possibilities unnecessarily.

i checked my chainring bolts.....still there.

It isnt somthing loose in the frame rattling around. It is definately somthing clicking on each revoution. It was fine...then i did 40 miles in a heavy down pour for 2.5 hours. Now it clicks....

Thanks for the suggestions.

Cleaning, re-greasing and re-tightening the pedal threads fixed it.

Hee-hee! I had the same problem and exactly the same solution nearly 20 years ago. I've documented it in other posts.

i checked my chainring bolts.....still there.

It isn't something loose in the frame rattling around. It is definitely something clicking on each revolution. It was fine...then i did 40 miles in a heavy down pour for 2.5 hours. Now it clicks....

Thanks for the suggestions.

What frame? What kind of BB?
Did you remove, clean, grease, and reinstall the chainring bolts? (Although, from the rotational position of the click I bet it's some tiny play in the bottom bracket mechanism.)

Your knee (or other) joints?

Grease the quick releases or try another set.

I've had a sliiiiiighly loose derailleur hanger cause a once-a-crank-rev click. Even fooled the LBSes; everyone was looking around the "front" end of the driveline. On a whim, I put an allen wrench on the der hanger cap bolt, and it turned aprx. 1/6 turn. No more click.

Try this trick (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?637848-Bottom-bracket-clicking-options). A lot of times, the solution requires some quantifiable numbers, rather than just yes/no, all-or-nothing, black & white qualifiers. Also record the torque used to install the crankarm-bolts.

I fall in between the dry-vs-grease camp when it comes to the spindle-to-crankarm interface. I prefer to use a little oil there. I've found that it really does quiet down creaks and noises in cases where the crankarm doesn't quite fit the spindle perfectly even though the proper torque was used (such as crankarms that have been ridden after the bolt had wiggled loose).

I would give Danno's trick a try (multiple layers of teflon tape on the BB threads). Also, one last thing that hasn't yet been mentioned is to make sure that the end of your front derailleur cable isn't bent outward and contacting the crank arm on every revolution. That has been a problem for some.

Hey, this thread is right up my alley, I'm having a similar problem. Rather than start another one, if no one has any objections, I'll post it here.

I have a new TA Carmina 24/356/48 crank on Rivendell Bombadil frame. BB is a Shimano UN54 w/1mm driveside spacer. I friction shift a 7sp. FW.

I've also had clicking sound from the start, it's one click or two very closely timed clicks. Metallic sounding.

I didn't know where in the drivetrain it was coming from, so I first changed the FW. Still clicks.

Then I changed pedals. Still clicks.

The chainring bolts are tight, as I had just installed them, but I checked them again. Still clicks.

Took out the UN54, applied teflon tape to the threads and around the non-DS body. Still clicks, but didn't seem as quickly to do it at first, but after a ride it was fully back clicking.

Took off the chain..... I rolled the bike down the drivewaym hopped on. With the pedals in the 9/3 horizontal position, I gently hopped on the pedals ... CLICK. In the 12/6 ... no clicks.Now I could produce the sound.
at will. I'm assuming at this point it is not the rings, as their is no load on them at all without a chain. I'm assuming though......

I replaced the UN54 with another, and installed a Problem Solvers UP-cup #54.... an AL replacement cup for the UN54. It's very nice, fits very very snug. I applied the same teflon tape inside the threads and the around the non DS body, as before. The clicking sound has decreased at this point. Upon one or two rides though, it was back at full sound.

I've been riding it this way since. I've notice on the road the sound only comes in the 9/3 o'clock position +/- an hour. I can still reproduce it freewheeling by simply hopping on the pedal in that horizontal position. If, after that click(s), I spin the pedals one rotation backwards, I'll hear another click, even though my feet are just resting on the pedals, I'm not pushing them down. If I then make one rotation forward, there is not another click.

In verbal terms it is a definite click, it is short and sharp..... as opposed to a creeeeek with a long E.... which is longer and more drawn out. I used my mp3 player attached to my leg to record the sound. It almost sounds like the sound of an indexed shifter.... a metallic click, even though it has nothing to do with shifting, nor do I have any indexed stuff on my bike .... it just sounds like that on the recording.

I'm just scratching my head at this point .... this is out of my experience. Any more ideas would be really helpful to me , or sgogoodri.

Then I changed pedals. Still clicks.
.

Did you clean the threads and put enough grease on them? That was my issue all those years ago- I rebuilt the crank set entirely on three consecutive weekends, chasing the creak. When I took the pedals off, they had some grease on the threads. It looked a little dry, so I cleaned them, put on lots of grease, and reinstalled. No more creak.

found it....


it was the fixed cup. never checked it on my regreasing job. Looked tight.....but i threw on differnet wheels today and it was still there. I brought it up on the stand again was was wiggling the bb at 3 and 9 o clock and tried again at 12 and 6 o clock with the drive side up and thought i felt somthing. I kept at it and sure enough......in the 12-6 spot i could feel it move. I popped off my drive side crank and the cup was loose. The cup on the fixed side of my bike seems to be reverse thread meaning as your crank turns forward that is the same way the cup loosens. im cleaning up the threads and going to try 3 wraps of teflon tape.....torque it back down and hope for the best!

note: it was only loose or producing the strange click at the 12 - 6 posistion with the drive side at 12. I suppose had i rode it long enough i would have ended up twisting the loose cup out even farther and finding it that way but could have also damaged the threads. Glad i caught it early.

thanks for all the help everyone!

Did you clean the threads and put enough grease on them? That was my issue all those years ago- I rebuilt the crank set entirely on three consecutive weekends, chasing the creak. When I took the pedals off, they had some grease on the threads. It looked a little dry, so I cleaned them, put on lots of grease, and reinstalled. No more creak.

Jeff,

Yes, the pedals were installed with liberal grease.

You know , the only other wild card I can think of is this crank has self extracting bolts. They are snug, and installed with grease in the threads of the crank, but it is about my last possibility.

Jeff,

Yes, the pedals were installed with liberal grease.

You know , the only other wild card I can think of is this crank has self extracting bolts. They are snug, and installed with grease in the threads of the crank, but it is about my last possibility.

I hate self-extracting bolts. Generally, these are hex (Allen) head, which tends to limit how much torque can be applied to the bolt. They require a lot- 30 to 35 foot pounds. That's more than most people are comfortable applying with a standard 8mm hex wrench.

found it....

The cup on the fixed side of my bike seems to be reverse thread meaning as your crank turns forward that is the same way the cup loosens.

The right side cup is left-hand thread on the vast majority of bicycles made today. It's reverse thread so it will tighten while you pedal- look up "bottom bracket precession" if you want to know why.

I hate self-extracting bolts. Generally, these are hex (Allen) head, which tends to limit how much torque can be applied to the bolt. They require a lot- 30 to 35 foot pounds. That's more than most people are comfortable applying with a standard 8mm hex wrench.


Yes Jeff, these are not easy with a standard wrench, if not impossible. I use a 8mm hex, 3/8" drive socket attached to a long torque wrench..... it's really easy to get enough torque. To remove I attached it to a 12" or 8" socket wrench.

I've been dealing with a "click" on every go-round of the crank as well; for me it's when the right pedal is on its way down, somewhere between 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock (or 60-120 degrees from vertical). One hint in my case, that may not apply to you: it only seems to happen when I have both feet cleated in with my clipless pedals. If I have my left foot on the pedal, but not clipped in (as when preparing to stop) -- no sound. I've tried the uncleat-one-foot trick when under real load, and it still silences the click. So I do think it's something in the pedals or crank. Thanks, guys!

Yes Jeff, these are not easy with a standard wrench, if not impossible. I use a 8mm hex, 3/8" drive socket attached to a long torque wrench..... it's really easy to get enough torque. To remove I attached it to a 12" or 8" socket wrench.Yeah, if you do a search for "loose crankarm" on here, you'll find a tonne of problems caused by insufficient torque on the crankarm bolts. The required 30-35 lb*ft torque simply cannot be generated using itty-bitty L-shaped allen-keys. You MUST use an allen-socket attached to a sufficiently long ratchet wrench. This is still a problem with hex-head bolts too as there are those stupid double-ended 6" Park wrenches with 14/15mm hex sockets. You need the proper tool:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Cycling/AllenSocketBreakerBar.jpg

I'm hoping I got it figured out. I replaced the self extracting crank bolts with regular ones ,and so far, hopping on the pedals around the house, no clicks !! The proof will be tomorrow's ride though.

I had a click... thought it was bottom bracket problems, but it turned out to be the (suspension) seatpost. On another bike, I once-per-rev had a click because the handlebar clamp wasn't tight enough. Now I've got a 2x-per-rev noise that I haven't tracked down yet. It's always something.

This is definitely in the crank/BB area. I turned the bike upside down, put the arms parallel and pushed down really hard. It was difficult, but once in a while I could recreate the sound. I could put my ear right up to the BB area, but I can't pin point it.

Turns out the friggin' clicks came back today after about 10 miles, it was very faint, then gradually came back to full sound by the end of 20 miles. The fact that it didn't click after reinstalling the crank means something, I just don't know what. As I recall, I think it does this every time I take the crank off and reinstall it. The clicks stay away for awhile, but gradually comes back on the first ride after.

I'm wondering about greasing the tapers. I've not done this in 3 decades of use, but maybe these cranks and a UN54 need it.

Ive had something similar...nothing at first, noticeable after some miles, and rather loud after many miles. I changed the bottom bracket and it fixed it. In my case, Im guessing there was an issue with the bb that heat made worse, like a bad bearing that got worse due to heat (heat from rotating spindle). I tried many of the other suggestions but no luck.

Click or Creak? Click; Is the tip of your FD cable making contact with the crankarm? Creak; the square taper is digging into your crankset and causing a creak, ride it until it gets too noisy and starts to loosen then replace the crankset

Dont grease the taper. The metal on metal contact causes wear on the crank and thats why it creaks, not really too much to do except replace both of them with high end parts. I cant think of any of my mid to low end bikes that didnt have at least a little click, creak or chirp in the crankset, dont worry about it, honest

It's a click. Sharp short metallic click(s). My previous posts described what I've done so far. It's not the FD or the cable. This is gravity related , meaning only when body weight is applied to the pedals in the 9/3 position. Just spinning the crank on a work stand there are no clicks.

At this point I'm hoping it is the taper/crank arm interface. Each time I take off the crank and reinstall it the sound is not there initially. During the course of the subsequent ride the sound gradually comes back. This would make sense as the arms seat themselves on the taper as body weight is repeatedly applied during the ride. It makes sense ..... I'm just not 100% certain. I'm aware of the grease/no grease taper endless debate. While I've not greased a taper, now that I've heard both sides I don't have a problem with it. It doesn't matter.

Have you tried re-tightening the crank arm bolts after re-installing and riding a while until the noise returns?

At this point I'm hoping it is the taper/crank arm interface. Each time I take off the crank and reinstall it the sound is not there initially. During the course of the subsequent ride the sound gradually comes back. This would make sense as the arms seat themselves on the taper as body weight is repeatedly applied during the ride. It makes sense ..... I'm just not 100% certain. I'm aware of the grease/no grease taper endless debate. While I've not greased a taper, now that I've heard both sides I don't have a problem with it. It doesn't matter.I think you've narrowed it down to the crank & spindle interface. Do this test:

1. position yourself near a wall so you can stand on the bike while stationary

2. position cranks at 9 - 3 o'clock and stand up on the pedals.

3. then bend your knees and rise up and down and push down on both pedals evenly so you don't spin the crank.

4. then sit down and rotate the cranks 180-degrees to 3 - 9 o'clock positions

5. gently stand up again, bend knees and push again evenly on the pedals

6. does it make the noise?


What we are going is spinning the crankarm relative to the spindle in opposite directions using the opposite crank to balance the body-weight. This is the worse-case scenario and adds maximum force to the crankarms. Normally this force is lower because the bike moves in response.

What torque did you tighten the crankarm bolts to??? How do you know that?

I also like to split the difference with the grease/no-grease on the tapers by using some oil. One drop per side is sufficient.

Yes Danno ..... you hit the nail on the head! This is exactly what I've been doing, and after #5, it makes the noise. I saw an earlier post you made about your procedure and followed it.

I'm using 27 ft/ lbs. of torque, applied with a Craftsman Digitork torque wrench like this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00944596000P?prdNo=9

What weight of oil do you use ? I've got oils from 5W30 Mobil One synthetic to Phil Wood oil.... which is about standard weight SAE oil in viscosity.

I'm guessing the black finish of the UN54 taper has something to do with this. I don't know why they just don't make them unfinished, like almost every taper I've ever seen. Maybe it's to hide the cheap steel they use . I've used UN72's without this issue for years, but even with them, different length spindles used different steel. Very odd.

Thanks for your help.

Just another SWAG to follow my re-tighten idea -- perhaps the finish on the BB taper is causing the crank bolts not to hold their torque. Have you tried _checking_ the torque (without actually changing anything) after the noise returns?

Just another SWAG to follow my re-tighten idea -- perhaps the finish on the BB taper is causing the crank bolts not to hold their torque. Have you tried _checking_ the torque (without actually changing anything) after the noise returns?


I've tried that. The bolts lose the initial torque very little, which is normal. About 1/16 of a turn with the torque wrench is all that's needed.

It doesn't help with the noise though.

I went ahead and greased the tapers. I can't see how grease or oil makes any difference.... just something to adhere to the steel.

A day later ... one bike ride ... and no clicks so far. It's always come back after re-attaching the arms during the course of the ride, but not today. All this grief over lack of grease on the tapers. It's a first for me, I've used nothing but tapered cranks for 30 some years without grease..... but I think it's Shimano's lovely black finish that contributes to it in this case. Shimano's got a thing right now about coloring certain parts black.... I'm sure they'll change eventually... again.

I wanted to find the cause of it because I wanted to buy another of the same crank, and there was no way I was going to buy another without knowing where the clicks were coming from.

Not the finish, that doesnt make any sense. Just try a different bottom bracket. Sheesh.

Guess you've got it. Had a similar thing with a seatpost on a tandem. Needed to be removed, greased, and reinstalled. No more click. Drove me nuts until I found it.

Not the finish, that doesnt make any sense. Just try a different bottom bracket. Sheesh.

The finish is the only variable in the equation. Why do they need to be anything but the raw material in color? Likely because the cheap steel they use will rust. I have one UN72 that has gray steel spindle and developed surface rust all over it. I have another UN72 that has a higher chromium content in the spindle and had a nice chrome finish from the start, and it's still shiny. It really doesn't matter what you or I think makes sense ..... the grease was needed in this case.

This was the second BB I had tried, as I stated earlier in the thread.

Could there be enough deflection under load that would cause the crankarms to contact the front derailleur or chainstay ?

Well, please check back in 50 miles later when the grease is destroyed and the creak returns..... haha not trying to be an ass but this has got to be the longest thread about the simplest of bike problems ever, just sayin

Well, please check back in 50 miles later when the grease is destroyed and the creak returns..... haha not trying to be an ass but this has got to be the longest thread about the simplest of bike problems ever, just sayin


Respectfully, With such a long, mundane thread about "the simplest bike problem ever" ..... you haven't offered any expertise. Is it below the realm of forum posts to get to the bottom of a noise? It seems it is for you. Been there too.

When/if the click comes back would you ship me yet another BB to try? That would be useful ! You may be trying not to come off as an ass ..... but when someone says "I'm not trying to come off as a #%$" ..... they usually are.


To johnny b good ..... there's no clearance issues with either. The crank doesn't even need to rotate to creat the click.

ive had the same problem, it turned out the bottom bracket was loose. it is a sealed BB but the cups had loosened up slightly causing the BB to move very slightly and click under hard pedaling.

Yes Danno ..... you hit the nail on the head! This is exactly what I've been doing, and after #5, it makes the noise. I saw an earlier post you made about your procedure and followed it.

I'm using 27 ft/ lbs. of torque, applied with a Craftsman Digitork torque wrench like this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00944596000P?prdNo=9

What weight of oil do you use ? I've got oils from 5W30 Mobil One synthetic to Phil Wood oil.... which is about standard weight SAE oil in viscosity.

I'm guessing the black finish of the UN54 taper has something to do with this. I don't know why they just don't make them unfinished, like almost every taper I've ever seen. Maybe it's to hide the cheap steel they use . I've used UN72's without this issue for years, but even with them, different length spindles used different steel. Very odd.

Thanks for your help.Glad you found and fix the issue! I just use a drop of 75w90 Mobil-1 as that's what I have around for my chain.

Let's see how long the creaks stay away. If you find it comes back in less than 6-months, you may want to also add the following:


1. use new crankarm bolts

2. instead of flat washer, use a star lockwasher

3. apply a little blue Loctite to bolts

4. use 30 lb*ft torque, high-end of their recommended range.


Regardless of all the convention on crankarm installation, sometimes you need all the tricks possible to get it to work. I've found random combination of cranks and bottom brackets that refuse to work together even though other samples of the exact same combo does work. I suspect it may have something to do with manufacturing tolerances where the crankarm tapers are on one end of the range and the BB may be on the other end and the fit ends up being at the largest possible variation.

It's the auto-racing equivalent of blue-printing in stock-based engine-building. You go through a large pile of stock parts and pick the ones on the ends of the tolerance ranges that are of benefit. On the tight end for some parts and on the loose end for others. You can actually end up with an engine that gets up to 10% more power than stock just by stacking tolerances in your favour. Or in your case, it may be stacked against you.