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Tick sound while pedaling

Old 04-17-13, 11:06 PM
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Tick sound while pedaling

Ok this is after I tried my best to adjust the derailleurs' limit screws... (things seem fine for the most part after several rides, with very rare rubbing).

Occasionally, when I was pedaling, I hear a no-so-loud tick sound, very similar to the sound we normally hear when cruising the bike (i.e. wiithout pedaling), but less loud than that. When this happens, it's only every 1 or 2 cycles of pedaling, not constantly. It's not rubbing sound, just ticking like cruising sound (not as robust). What could be the cause? How serious is the problem?
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Old 04-18-13, 05:32 AM
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There are so many possible causes of various sounds that it's not productive to blindly compile a list of possibilities (ex: "Hey that happened to me once and it was...") What you need to do is to observe and then convey to us the following:
(Note to others with problems: The list below is applicable to a host of issues, so keep it in mind when posting a request for help)
  • What is the bike model, and how old is it, purchase new or used?
  • When did the problem start, and did any kind of incident, equipment change, or repair procedure immediately precede it starting?
  • Does it occur in certain gear combinations (front/rear) or any combo?
  • Does it occur under light/heavy pedal pressure or both?
  • When it occurs are the cranks (specify right/left) in a certain position?
  • Have you tried anything to correct it or eliminate a possible cause, and what did you do?
  • Normally I would ask about the frequency - in time with pedals, wheels, every x pedal strokes, or random, but you seem to be saying that it happens either about once per pedal rev or twice - is that correct?
p.s. Previous experience leads me to request that you answer all the questions, not just the ones you think apply. If you are not sure, that's a perfectly acceptable answer. Thank you.

Last edited by cny-bikeman; 04-18-13 at 05:50 AM.
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Old 04-18-13, 05:40 AM
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It may be as simple as a cable end hitting your crank arm. See if you may have bent it over when you were adjusting the front derailleur.
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Old 04-18-13, 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by curbtender
It may be as simple as a cable end hitting your crank arm. See if you may have bent it over when you were adjusting the front derailleur.
+1 Check to see where the crimped cable end is contacting while the cranks go round.
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Old 04-18-13, 07:42 AM
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There are a thousand things that can go "Tick" on a bike; I have had them all.

Before anything else you MUST identify whether the tick is in synchrony with the rotation of the wheels or the crank. It will be exactly in synchrony with one or the other, not "sort of about every other time I turn the pedals."
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Old 04-18-13, 08:32 AM
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Had a tick once. Took a couple minutes to figure out it was the end my shoelace hitting the left crankarm.
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Old 04-18-13, 08:46 AM
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It's not cable end hitting the crank arm. The frequency of the tick is much higher than the pedaling frequency (think when you are cruising along without pedaling, the sound goes like tick tick tick tick tick... continuously). The sound seems to come from the right side toward rear. It's not in clear sync with pedal or wheel, but seems to be like every 2-3 pedaling cycle (to the best of my memory--I'll pay more attention next time to get it more exact). It only occurs occasionally and briefly, like 5 or 6 occasions during a 30 minute ride.
  • What is the bike model, and how old is it, purchase new or used?
Raleigh Detour (hybrid), 2.5+ yrs, new.
  • When did the problem start, and did any kind of incident, equipment change, or repair procedure immediately precede it starting?
Since a week ago after I "screwed up" the derailleur limit screws (both front and rear) and re-adjusted them. No other incident/accident whatsoever.
  • Does it occur in certain gear combinations (front/rear) or any combo?
I never changed the front gear (always on "2", the middle one). For the rear (which has 1~7) I only used 4, 5 and rarely 3, 6. It just happened out of nowhere: say I was on 2/4 for a long while, then suddenly heard the tick (the sound is not bothering at all, very smooth and not loud), so I switch to, say 2/5. Sometimes the sound disappears, sometimes not. Then I switch back to 2/4. After one or two tries, the sound disappears. So I have no idea what made it disappear (and reappear some time later).
  • Does it occur under light/heavy pedal pressure or both?
I ride leisure speed, so it's light pressure.
  • When it occurs are the cranks (specify right/left) in a certain position?
Again it's a continuous tick ("ticktickticktick...", not "tick, tick, tick..."), not just when the cranks are in a certain position. But as mentioned above, the sound comes from the right side.
  • Have you tried anything to correct it or eliminate a possible cause, and what did you do?
Just switch gear back and forth, but not sure that was the reason the sound disappeared.
  • Normally I would ask about the frequency - in time with pedals, wheels, every x pedal strokes, or random, but you seem to be saying that it happens either about once per pedal rev or twice - is that correct?
Here is what it's like: Imagine the following two (a) and (b) happening at the same time:

(a) Pedal---------pedal---------pedal---------pedal---------pedal---------pedal--------pedal---------pedal
(b) __________ticktickticktickticktickticktick____________________ticktickticktickticktickticktick____

It's definitely not cable or shoelace or other "foreign" stuff hitting the bike parts. Seems coming from right side rear, maybe rear derailleur or wheel?

P.S. Maybe the closer characterization of the tick sound is it's like the sound when you pedal backward. (which is similar to the cruising sound)

Last edited by vol; 04-18-13 at 11:24 AM.
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Old 04-18-13, 09:08 AM
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Originally Posted by reddog3
Had a tick once. Took a couple minutes to figure out it was the end my shoelace hitting the left crankarm.
That's happened to me as well. About a year ago I had an irregular sound like described and it drove me nuts for several rides. I eventually realized it was the water bottle against the bottle cage. Bending my cage a touch to add a little tension fixed it.

It could be a stiff chain link. I've had such noises and due to the length of the chain, it comes around every 2-3 pedal strokes without seeming to be in syc with anything.
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Old 04-18-13, 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by vol
(a) Pedal---------pedal---------pedal---------pedal---------pedal---------pedal--------pedal---------pedal
(b) __________ticktickticktickticktickticktick____________________ticktickticktickticktickticktick____

It's definitely not cable or shoelace or other "foreign" stuff hitting the bike parts. Seems coming from right side rear, maybe rear derailleur or wheel?

P.S. Maybe the closer characterization of the tick sound is it's like the sound when you pedal backward. (which is similar to the cruising sound)
maybe free wheel body is messed up? Based on your decribed pedaling cadence, it's not your bottom bracket.

Does the noise happen if you back pedal?
Does the back pedaling when the ticking starts, stop the noise?
Are you using double walled rims with a cavity? I had a deep V rim that had debris trapped in the V that made a ticking noise.

-Diagnosing ticks can be a bugger.
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Old 04-18-13, 02:42 PM
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Barrel adjuster rattling?
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Old 04-18-13, 03:31 PM
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I'd suspect the chain could be ratcheting on the pulleys.
Are the 2 derailleur pulleys perfectly aligned to the cogs in each of the indexed positions?
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Old 04-18-13, 09:34 PM
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I paid attention again during last ride this evening. It happened much less (I had readjusted the limit screws a little yesterday, not sure if related), only about twice during the 30 min ride, each lasting less than 1 minute (when it happened, I shifted the gear for a short while, then shifted back, and no more tick). I noticed, unlike what I said before (sorry!), it seems to happen when pedaling the right crank down, but the tick sound lasts longer than that down-pedaling. It's very light tick sound, not like any rubbing.

Originally Posted by OneGoodLeg
maybe free wheel body is messed up? Based on your decribed pedaling cadence, it's not your bottom bracket.

Does the noise happen if you back pedal?
Does the back pedaling when the ticking starts, stop the noise?
Are you using double walled rims with a cavity? I had a deep V rim that had debris trapped in the V that made a ticking noise.

-Diagnosing ticks can be a bugger.
How to check the free wheel body? The name "free wheel" suggests to me it's possible. I'm totally clueless. If I back pedal, then the tick sound is the normal back-pedaling sound. Point is that sound is not supposed to happen when forward pedaling. No double walled rim cavity. Again it's not debris or any rubbing with foreign object (cable, shoe,...).

Originally Posted by kv501
Barrel adjuster rattling?
Not familiar with that.

Originally Posted by auchencrow
I'd suspect the chain could be ratcheting on the pulleys.
Are the 2 derailleur pulleys perfectly aligned to the cogs in each of the indexed positions?
As far as I see at home, they are aligned.

Again the sound is very smooth and light. But since it normally shouldn't be there, I am a little worried if it's something getting looser and looser and one day may get an accident.
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Old 04-18-13, 10:37 PM
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As you can see the list is long, and it can be difficult to nearly impossible to identify the cause. There are two approaches -- analysis and elimination,

By analysis, I mean get a sense of the frequency, is once per pedal turn, once per wheel turn, etc. Also, does it happen only while pedaling, only coasting or both, when climbing or sprinting or even at low pedal loads, can you feel it, etc. This will help you compile a short list of likely causes, or at least the likely places to check, cranks, hub, etc.

The other process is elimination, and this is fairly easy. Start with the easiest, remove and replace the pedals with another pair, to rule the pedals in or out, same with the rear wheel, or maybe just the cassette. Try riding standing to see if it might be the saddle or post.

By combining the analysis and elimination methods, you can either find the culprit or whittle the large list of possibilities down to a few likely suspects. At this point you'll probably need to get your hands dirty and do serious mechanical work, which will likely be pointless and frustrating, until you find some stupid cause like the end of the FD cable vibrating and tinging on the seat tube from time to time.
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Old 04-19-13, 04:11 AM
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If you are pedaling, but not producing forward motion, your freewheel will produce this sound. Check it out.
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Old 04-19-13, 06:11 AM
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First, thank you very much for the detailed list of symptoms - I always appreciate when a person asking for helps in turn helps those of us trying to solve a mystery. Secondly, thank you for posing such an interesting (though for you frustrating) problem. Believe it or not I have actually seen something similar to this before. To summarize:

The problem occurs randomly as far as gear combo and timing, but has perhaps somewhat of a rhythmic component.
It's a prolonged sound, similar to ratcheting.
It happened after a derailleur adjustment.
Changing gears sometimes affects it.
It may occur/start more when pedaling down on the right side
The sound seems to be coming from the right side.

Given the above there is one thing I can think of that is the most likely candidate, and that is interaction between the pulleys and the chain, with cog/chain being the less likely candidate.
  • Pulleys are designed to have some play in them, must turn smoothly, and have plastic teeth that can be damaged fairly easily.
  • The derailleur or pulley assembly as well as the derailleur hanger can sometimes be knocked out of alignment.
  • The chain has only a minor amount of tension when it comes off the bottom of the cassette, and chains sometimes have or develop a waviness from side to side or a twist.
  • Most people have more strength in their right leg so that frame flex, which can affect drive train alignment, is more likely when pedaling down on the right side.

I believe what is happening is some of the factors above combine at the right time to unship the chain from the bottom pulley so that it is running on the cage. It would make a ratchet sound as the links pass roughly over the cage instead smoothly turning the pulley, and of course the sound would be on the right side of the bike. It would not be as loud as the chain mis-indexing on a cog. It also would not be felt, and the chain not engaging the cogs properly would tend to be.

The challenge becomes determining if that is indeed what is happening, and then how to fix it. If what I propose is indeed occurring then the bottom section of chain would tend to shake back and forth when the sound happens - but it would be hazardous to try to see that while riding!

Given your lack of experience I would strongly suggest you take the bike to a shop. If you start to change things it could make diagnosis more difficult or introduce more problem. First have them check for be grease or scratches on the bottom of the pulley cage. Then ask the mechanic can put the bike in a stand and pedal while intentionally flexing the pulley cage out of line, in order to force the chain to unship from the pulley, and see if that is the sound you have been hearing (it will sound louder than you experience when on the bike). If it is then you're much closer to resolution.

The next step is correcting the problem. Have the mechanic confirm that the derailleur hanger and the derailleur/pulleys are properly aligned. If they are not, then correcting that could be enough to fix the problem. It's important someone with the right tool and a good eye do the work, as a bent derailleur or pulley assembly is not always easy to spot. Of course one could just try a derailleur swap, but given the intermittent nature of the problem the mechanic may not be able to determine a difference.

Next would be looking at the chain from the rear as the cranks are turned backwards to see if it "snakes" from side to side or has twists in it, as that can contribute to the problem. Tight links will show up as well, because the pulley assembly will "jump" as the bad section(s) pass through it.

The pulleys should also be checked to make sure they do not have excessive play, rotate freely, and do not have damaged teeth, and the cage should not be bent in toward the pulleys.

The mechanic would have to determine what needs to be done to correct the problem depending on what is found. Feel free to show the mechanic these notes, rather than trying to remember and explain everything. A good wrench will either know/understand already what I've laid out or will be open to trying out my hypothesis.

p.s. Just realized you did not say why you were changing the adjustment screws in the first place - was something occurring to cause you to try adjusting them?

Last edited by cny-bikeman; 04-19-13 at 08:38 AM.
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Old 04-19-13, 10:15 PM
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Thank you so much for the elaborated analysis. I'll follow your advice to go to the bike shop where I bought it to have it checked out. However I'll have to wait another month or so when I'm less busy and have time to go (it's not nearby and out of my way of daily commuting). Today I spent hours and gave the bike a thorough cleaning, including the chains and derailleurs, and re-adjusted the limit screws to the best I could (the reason I had re-adjusted the limit screws was that I stupidly tightened all of them the other day on a whim, totally ignorant of their functions--now you have idea whom you are talking to, heehee). I'll see on my next ride if the situation improves or not. Hopefully the problems that you summarized above will not cause serious damage in the following month if I pay attention and minimize gear shift before I take it to the bike shop (?).
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