Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Having more issues with my Trek 7200 =(

Last week the gears wouldn't shift. I fixed that by adjusting the barrel. I'm a 400 lb 6"5 rider on a 25" frame.

Now I've got two more issues...

1. A "click" noise down by the pedals. It only makes the noise when I'm on it and spinning. The noise occurs at certain locations on the rotation, and will not happen if I'm coasting or spinning the pedals by hand if I'm off the bike. It has gotten progressively worse over the last week, and there are no cables or anything I can tell getting in the way.

2. An issue I first realized today, it seems like my front wheel is wobbling. About once a second, I feel like the bike "pulses" and sways to the side a tiny bit. It's not noticeable when I'm spinning, but is obvious when I'm coasting. My untrained eye doesn't see any obvious damage to the wheel tire or spokes. I'm not positive it's the front tire since I can't see the rear, but feel it more up there.

Any ideas whats going on? Is it likely they are related?

thanks!

A couple of possibilities:

Issue #1: Possibly the bottom bracket (where the pedal arms attach to) slightly loose\worn\needs grease or the front derailleur is catching on the chain at a certain point in the rotation. Does it make the noise in every gear or just the lower (easier) gears ?

Issue #2: Have you recently repaired a puncture? If so, did you seat the inner tube correctly in the tire so that no "bulge" appears after inflation? Did you hit a kerb or similar that would cause the wheel to lose alignment?

Just thoughts and ideas....

Thanks for the reply!

1. Changing gears seems to have no effect at all on the noise.

2. I haven't had any punctures, no big bumps or jumps either. I'm heavy so I take it easy on the bike. Could it be that a few spokes have loosened and the wheel just needs truing?

thanks!

EDIT** Now that I think about it my little brother knocked my bike over the other day. This is been my first ride since then and that's when I noticed the wheel wobbling...

1. About 99% positive that it is the bottom bracket. This has happened to me on other machines and sounds exactly like what you are describing.

2. Most likely a wheel that is no longer true. It doesn't have to be off by much to make it wobble.

Ouch =/

What do you recommend I do about the bottom bracket? Will it likely need replacing or just a tightening/greasing?

Whatever the case, it looks like I need special tools to get in there, so I just ordered the spin doctor essential tool kit. Damn this is getting expensive...

Should I avoid riding until my toolkit comes? It will probably be at least a week =/

thanks!

#1. Bikes will often make strange clicks, and they can be hard to diagnose. It may sound like the BB, but could be the pedals, chainring bolts, or even a loose skewer. An easy thing to try would be to remove the rear wheel, make sure that the cassette is tight, and replace the rear wheel and make sure the skewer is tight. I would still ride it

#2. Lift the front wheel off the ground and spin it. Watch the rim next to the brake pads and see if it is out of true. If so, you can try to fix it or take it to the lbs.

Bikes will often make strange clicks, and they can be hard to diagnose.

True. I had an '84 Gitane TdF that had a similar clicking sound, and it turned out to be from a hairline crack in the crankset spider. Then my 1990 Trek 1500 developed a similar sound that ended up being caused by a crack at the drive side rear dropout. Both were covered by warranties - the Gitane got a new crankset and the Trek got a whole new frame.

You could also try holding onto the rim and seeing if there is any side to side play. Just try to jiggle the rim from side to side. Should be no play when in the fork or chainstay. I have non sealed bearings. I was actually told to have a very small amount of play with the wheel out of the frame. When you tightened the skewer in the frame no wobble. Maybe the cones need adjusting. If you can still do that with all the sealed hubs these days. Don't know what you have.

Clicks as has been said can be difficult. Try and jiggle the crank arms to check for looseness too. If this is a fairly new bike I would go over the easy parts and see if any are loose. Tighten the pedals, crank set, chainring bolts, etc. Also clean it and look for cracks.

I have a click in my Cannondale that I just can't find so I'm probably no help!!

Bill

Edit: I just Googled you probably can't adjust side to side play in your hubs.

You might ask in the mechanics forum.

1. sounds like a bottom bracket noise, check and see if there is any side to side play in the bottom bracket. I had a brand new pedal that I purchased this year, that was loose and causing a clicking noise. First pedal that had that problem, check the pedal for side to side play.

I also had a clicking noise from an old bike, it was a cracked chain stay.

Don't start replacing parts without knowing what the problem really is. look for whats causing the noise.

I'm going to check the seat, the pedals, and the cranks. I'll regrease them and retighten them. If none of that works, I'll check out the BB, clean, grease, and tighten. I'll keep my eye open for cracks.

I really hope this is a matter of tightening and greasing. I've already put so much into biking on accessories alone. I had to buy a toolkit just I could get into my crank and BB, that set me back $50 =(

It's a great investment..I just hope I'm done =)


Just to double check, it should be ok to ride on it for another week? Or could the creak cause more severe damage? The toolkit should be arriving next week, and hopefully fix the creak when it arrives.

thanks!

I would really like to hear what you guys think as to whether or not I should ride it or wait another week for my tools to arrive.

thanks!

My call? Ride the bike.

My call? Ride the bike.

Ditto.

As strange as this sounds, check the clamp that holds your seat to your seat post. When these start to loosen, even by just a hair, you can get a strange creak/click/groan noise which is often misdiagnosed as coming from the pedals. It happens when your weight is shifted just right on the saddle. All you need is an allen wrench to snug it up.

I had a "timed" click and it was dirt in the pedal bearing. Most
are easy to service. I keep a spare set to change out from time
to time and service the spare set when it rains or I have time
to tinker.

Check to make sure the tire is on the rim all the way around.
Plunk the spokes and listen for a loose one. If they are noticeably
loose, do not ride the bike.

Your "pulsing" or "swaying" problem sounds like a problem I had with spoke tension on the wheels of one of my bikes. Check the tension of the wheels and see if the spokes feel loose. If so, the wheels may be unsafe to ride until they are properly tensioned. If they feel tight, then ride with caution.

Take the time to work on your bike fit and do more diagnosis on your problems.

Do not get discouraged. Getting used to the bike and the bike getting used to you is a process all of us go through. This is not unusual. Stick with it.

The first thing I tackled was the out of true wheel. I removed the tire and was able to laterally true it pretty easily, using the breaks as a guide. Unfortunately I'm having a really hard time with the radial true. I know that one section dips in but I don't have a guide or anything and it's much harder to "spot". I know once I found it, I would have to loosen spokes in that area, but just can't find it!

Any advice for radial truing without having a stand?

thanks!

Wife has a Trek 7300 had a clicking noise down by the pedals I thought it was a bottom bracket too and it was a bad stock pedal. If the pedals are a stock pedals get a new set and see if that helps. Just as other have said get out and ride and have fun.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/wheel-and-rim-truing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcoSgl3qiHU

http://bicycletutor.com/wheel-truing/

Of course, it's better to have a truing stand, but you can do a pretty fair job using the brakes as a guide.

Thanks for the links Zoste, but I don't think I can use the brakes for radial true. I've read that using a cable tie around the fork will work and I can go from there.

Even though lateral true is really nice, the wheel is still very wobbly. I hope being out of radial true can do that, and I don't have a messed up rim. I don't see any defects, but it's in my nature to fear the worst =/

thanks!

I have trued wheels in a pinch with a ruler and a straight edge clamped to the frame of the bicycle. I fixed the straight edge to the frame with a rubber band. If you have access to a dial indicator, you can do a very precise job without a truing stand.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/IMG_7984bikertruingsm.JPG

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/skills/spokes.htm

That looks great, thanks! It's exactly what I needed =)

Now, I've found that there is a fairly large "sink/dip" in the rim, which is the main issue in regards to roundness. That would mean the spokes in that area are too tight. I have my tension set pretty well and even and didn't want to mess with it too much, but what I'm wondering is, should I simply loosen the spokes were the rim sinks, or tighten every spoke around? If that makes any sense =p

I'm worried if I loosen the spokes around the dip, they will be too loose, and not equal to the others in terms of tension.

thanks!

** after looking closely some more, it seems depending on which way i spin the wheel, it either dips or bulges!!! Grr radial truing is a pain

My opinion is to loosen them slightly, maybe a 1/4 of a turn, in that area and see what happens. After you get the major dip closer to true, you may end up putting on a layer of tension all around the rim to get the spoke tension properly adjusted.

I can't do it. I can't get it radially true. I found the area where it "pops" out, but not all the spoke tightening in the world even made the slightest difference. Even loosening didn't change anything. I don't know what the hell the issue is but it's driving me nuts and not any spoke adjustments I made had any effect on it. On top of that I stripped a few nipples and likely destroyed my tension balance in the afflicted area.

If I just ride with a wheel that has a bump in it, am I endangering myself? I've spent so much damn money on this bike I don't want to spend any more!!!

I've had my bike hardly two weeks and I just keep getting all these problems. I just want to ride the thing. My frustration is festering inside me....I'm about to pop.

=(

Sorry for that last post, I was feeling really "helpless" about the situation earlier, and was very whiny =/

I'm going to bring my wheels to a LBS and ask for their best wheelbuilder to true them, and take whatever other advice they can give me, as a very heavy rider. I hope my rim isn't bent, but whatever the situation, I've gotta deal with it.

thanks!