hkboy313

hi, i have a road bike and had a problem before w/ clicking noises...i read around and someone suggested taking out my pedals and cleaning them and rescrewing them on. problem fixed, i guess there was dirt in the thread?

well now its not the problem, i took it off again for cleaning again and when i ride the right pedal has a soft bump every cycle. i rode that for 25 miles, nothing happened but the bump i felt was still there (its a subtle bump but very annoying and its not loud at all, u really have to listen but feeling it on my foot is obvious)

do you think when i screwed the pedals on i torqued it too much?(by hand) there isnt anyway i could have bent the pedals /thread is there?

i believe my entire bike is made of aluminum. its a dawes lightning 1000, model 2006.

thank you for any advice or suggestions. i really appreciate it.

melkman

maybe a problem with the bearings

anthony691

The pedal is probably not properly threaded. Remove it and reinstall it carefully.

hmto

as mentioned check bearings and play with the tension and see what happens.
My keos developed a clicking after a long ride and a quarter turn cured it.

antiquebiker

This could be your cleats and/or your shoe rubbing on the cleat. Try rubbing your cleat and the pedal with parafin, or if you don't have that a candle. If you don't have that either, a bar of soap and see if the noise goes away. If it does - that's what is making the noise. I actually use grease on the part of my pedal that interfaces with my cleats on one of my bikes to stop this noise.

antiquebiker

Oh just thought - it may be a loose crank as well. If it is every turn, the crank might be clicking over (from push to pull on the axle). Have you checked the tension on the crank bolts that hold the cranks on?

hkboy313

ya i will try this again, when i installed it the pedal went in smoothly i didnt have to force it so i assume it would have been threaded properly?

when u say play with tension, do u mean maybe loosen it a tad bit? or take it off then put it back w/ different tension? how can i check for bearings? do u mean the bottom bracket?

sorry ididnt mention earlier, i dont have clip pedals.

nothing is loose as far as i can see. and everything is tight...

thanks for all your replies!

arterture

I had a similar problem recently and it ended up being my bottom bracket which needed to be serviced.

KevinF

Getting to your pedal bearings is usually more trouble then its worth. Most modern bottom brackets are cartridge systems as well, so you can't get to the bearings at all.

Did you grease the pedal threads when you re-installed them? If not, I'd take them out, grease the threads, and re-install them. Sometimes weird ticking noises like you're describing can be caused by the metal threads making direct contact with the threads they are mated with. A little grease in their can quiet things down remarkably.

I have seen various recommendations on here about how tight pedals should be installed. I've usually seen torque recommendations of 30 Nm or so, which is way more then "finger tight". There's no need to get them "gorilla tight", but I install mine to fairly snug.

nvr

Noise on the right pedal only? Have you checked to make sure the FD cable isn't poking out in the way of the crank arm as it comes around?

hkboy313

what grease do you recommend? i have chain lub "finish line" but dont have pedal grease...

yes only the right pedal, and nothing is in the way. it really doesnt make a sound, you can only feel it when you're on and applying pressure to it. its like a little bump or notch that you feel..like your going over a smooth bump?? sorry if this is even more confusing...

here is what i did tonight. i didnt take the pedals off cuz it was pretty snug already. i took the chain off the crankset and cycled the pedals. i spun the pedals too, no sound, perfectly quiet. i didnt ride the bike yet...t-storming as we speak...i think it may be ok for now, but when i start actually riding it thats when it will start the 'thudding' feeling...


thanks again for your suggestions!

arterture

It could be that it only does it under load. When I spun my crank without the chain it wasn't very noticeable but it wasn't spinning as well as it should have been. I actually put my ear up to the frame when I spun it and I could kind of hear a sort of crunching/grinding noise. Ended up being water in the BB which was causing the bearings to go bad.

This may not be your problem but it's something to think about if you only notice the problem when you are pedaling.

KevinF

Chain lube and grease aren't the same thing. Just about any type of grease will do; your local hardware store will probably have some, or your LBS will be happy to sell you some as well.

Note that your pedals (since they were installed without greasing the threads) could be nearly impossible to get off in the future unless you go back and re-install them with the threads greased.

hkboy313

i will definitely keep this in mind! thank you for ur advice

thanks, i will purchase that even if it doesnt help this problem, it will be good for future!