sevenlas

before reading further....I will say that i just started biking this past june (1) religiously. instead of the MTA (subway) i been commuting. its about 21 miles per day. I have racked up over 1500 miles already and so i'm an extreme newbie so go easy on me.

During that time the most i have done myself was clean my bike, oil it up. replace the brake pads, change tire, tubes.

so i went away on business for 2 week and i ask my wife to bring the bike into the shop because it was slipping on me..not much but once in a blue moon when bike standing up and applying lots of pressure. it would slip just once then catch so i couldn't duplicate it everytime.

so anyway....she brought the bike in for them to check on the slippage (which randomly happen) and to tune it up for me.

anyway i'm back from the trip and the bike is all nice and clean for me and the tech told my wife that the bike was just really dirty and shifter was a little off.

i just rode it around the block to see if it would slip and i notice that the bike is not silent no more. like i hear the wheel spinning.. i hear this clicking noise by the freewheel and i don't recall hearing it when i brought the bike back in June. I put in some more oil (finishline) but i can still hear the wheel spin.

so my question is...if i lift the back wheel and spin it...should the wheel be silent or should i hear a clicking sound (sounds like that wheel of fortune wheel when they spin it)

the wheel spins with no resistance.

oh yeah..i have a dahon p8 (fold)

if this is a really dumb question. and it might be but humor me first and answer the question THEN i give you permission to make fun of me.

its just brothering me and i'm trying to rack my brain to remember.

surreal

basically any bicycle with a freewheeling mechanism will click. This is the sound your pawls make as the wheel is allowed to spin while the cassette or freewheel remain stationary.

Unless you have a fixed gear, you'll hear the clicking. Your bike was almost certainly clicking the whole time, but you were probably hypersensitive when it got back from the shop, trying to make sure everything was good.

hth
-rob

sevenlas

surreal thanks. hypersensitive... :-) that sounds better then anal. I didn't want to go back to the bike shop and sounds like a crazy fool.

I didn't realize how much noise this bike make. it was creaking and moaning when i'm riding it standing up...freaking me out that it will just break/collapse on me in the middle of the street.

the next question. can i throw grease in there to lessen the clicking? :-)

surreal

wait, is it clicking, or creaking and moaning?

there's a difference.


-rob

ps-don't grease anything til you know what (if anything) needs greasing. also, as ppl tend to have to say on here all the time, what's on the bike, component-wise? Esp rear hub, cranks, etc

rumrunn6

didn't even get through the OP's post ... too long

noglider 

Try Ritalin.

sevenlas

LOL...I thought ritalin was a brand of grease until googled. jokers everywhere.

Surreal: everything is a stock Dahon p8. the creaking was from the handlepost. I was riding really slow to see what was clicking and to stay balance i was pulling back on the handle bar and hear the creaking.

FastJake

Almost all freewheels click, except for those fancy new ones that don't have the pawls (I forget what they're called.) Anyway, yeah your bike is fine. As long as it only clicks when coasting. It should theoretically be silent when pedaling.

BCRider

It's a Dahon folder! There's more joints and rickety bits on that bike to creak, rattle and groan than a catapiller! While you could lightly grease all the sliding fits the bike and you would soon be a mess if you fold and collapse it on a regular basis. Made some sort of dry film lube may prove better for this bike.

As for the freewheel it is supposed to click and must click. When it clicks it says that the ratchet pawls are freely moving and reacting to the teeth going by when you're coasting. Grease will gum the works and not allow the pawls to snap down into each tooth the way they are supposed to. At most dribble some oil into the freewheel through the crack between the part that moves and core that doesn't. But don't dribble it down along the axle opening. Leave the wheel on it's side for a while and keep turning it now and then to distribute the oil around inside to the bearing balls and ratchet teeth and pawls. Then turn it freewheel down over some old newspaper and let the excess drain out for a few hours.

sevenlas

GUYS I FOUND the cause AND FIXED the issue.

i know i didn't give enough technical info but after going for a ride....when i'm coasting its pretty silent (minus the noise you guys are describing). But when i pedal..i really hear the clicking again.

anyway I flip the bike upside down and slow pedal to see where it was coming from.

the bike mechanic readjust my gears (told my wife that it was off alittle bit). (orginial it was off by not being on the exactly the number but had no problems shifting). I tested it by shifting and it was all good.

by slowly pedalling the bike upside down i notice that the chain was rubbing onto the side of next gear. (if that makes sense) it was doing it twice every rotation. I readjust and make sure the chain when before it sits into the teeth it doesn't touch anything.

its silent again.

thanks again everyone's help. i'm not crazy!!!!