Rashiki

I bought one of those Mercier track bikes that were for sale on EBay a couple weeks ago. It's only my third bike in my life! (My first being when I was a kid, my second was a mountain bike in 8th grade, and now this bike.) =)

For the most part, I really like this bike. I'm totally enjoying the fixed gear riding.

My question is that I have a lot of chain noise when pedaling forward. It sounds like it coming from the cog area, but I think it's the chain. When I'm not pedaling forward and torqueing (sp?) the cranks, the drivetrain is completely quiet. It's quiet when I'm just coasting to a stop and it's quiet when I'm back pedaling to stop, as well.

I "think" that the chainline is on, but to be honest, I haven't gone through Sheldon's steps yet to be sure. I was just assuming that the factory chainline would be pretty on. The chain tension is not too tight either. I've tried it tight and I've tried it loose, but it doesn't matter. I still have noise as described before.

When the chain is off and I turn the crank and freely spin the rear wheel, all is quiet.

What should my troubleshooting steps be and what do you think that it would be?

I know that the chain is cheap and when I look down it it doesn't even appear to be perfectly straight! Is this normal? It's a KMC chain and says 'Z' on the links and has a '3K' on a couple of the links. Is this the Z30 chain, which is that cheap, standard chain? Is this chain (according to quality) guaranteed to be noisy like this?

I know that first I should check the chainline, but then what? Should I try buying a new chain? Would I have to look into getting a new chainring and cog?

Thanks for the help. This board has been so helpful in me gaining the little knowledge that I have so far about fixed gear bikes. =)

Ryan

jfmckenna

What kind of chain noise?
is it squeeky like a mouse or gringing?
Is it a noise that the average person would never hear in the first place?
It seems to me like you have checked all the possible steps except oiling the chain and checking the chain ring bolts. Have you checked that the front hub and the headset or pedals are not making a noise?

*new*guy

You may have answered your own question right there. Sounds like the chainline is definitely off.

fixedpip

Could be wrong but these have the Truvativ cranks that are on the KHS, Bianchi etc right? Someone mentioned that these have a 44mm chain line where as track hubs have 42mm chainline. With a lot of these cheaper fixies they have converted road cranks so the chainline is not perfect.

Is the cog further in than the chainring?

Some suggestions to fixing this:

i) Putting a spacer behind the cog. Not recommended but you can do it. BB spacers work.
ii) Switching cog. Some cogs esp the Surly cogs seem to have really thin shoulders so they don't line up on some hub/crank combinations. Love EAI cogs but they're pricey.
iii) Changing chains as you suggest. Some chains are just quieter than others. But if your chainline is off it probably won't help much.
iv) Oil the chain. Just for a craic to see if it helps.
v) Ride it for a while and let it bed in. Normally find it takes a little while for components to get settled.

I would also search this forum for chainline suggestions, some good info here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ight=chainline

I would do iv & v and ride it for a little while longer to see if it gets better before messing around with chains/cogs etc.

ink1373

or buy a BB with a shorter spindle.

Rashiki

Aw geez. I'm terrible at describing noises in words. I tried to get a recording, but it didn't work out. If I had to guess, I'd say grinding. Not a popping or squeaking.

Here's the funny thing, when I'm out riding and torqueing the pedals noise is definitely louder than when the bikes upside down and I'm just turning the cranks. It's definitely coming from the cog area, though. When riding forward and cranking, it's noisy. But then when riding and I'm either coasting, or back pedaling to stop, the chain's quiet as can be. When I have the bike upside down and I'm just turning the cranks either forward, or backward, the chain has a little different noise (still coming from the cog area), which I can't really explain either except that it just sounds rough, and it is noisy whether I'm moving the cranks forward, or backward. So I don't understand what it is about me being on the bike and coasting (so to speak), or packpedaling, that makes the chain/cog area so quiet all of a sudden.


No, it's definitely loud enough for the average person to hear. When riding, it's loud. I couldn't sneak up on someone.


I oiled the chain when I first got the bike. It's sounded like this since I first rode it. No, I haven't cranked down on the chainring bolts, but the sound is definitely coming from where the chain and cog meet. It's not a creeking, or squeaking, noise.

Thanks. With everyone's help, I'm sure it'll get resolved. You guys are great.

Ryan

*new*guy

that kinda sounds like the chainring is either distorting under pressure, bent, or you've got loose chainring bolts that are letting it move around under load.

Rashiki

Yes, I will definitely look into the chainline. But the chain description I gave is weird. It's not that I'm certain that the chainline is off (yet, but it might be off a little just by looking at it with a naked eye), but it actually seems like the chain links don't all line up perfectly straight! It's like every few links, it looks like the chain is kind, well, crooked. If I turn the bike upside down and turn the crank, as I watch the chain travel, the links seem to be a little crooked.

My digital camera batteries just died, so I'm going to recharge them and I'll try to get a little video of it, if I can get close enough. Thanks.

Ryan

redfooj

you can remove the chainring and lay it on a tabletop to see if that is the case

Rashiki

Yes. It says "Truvativ Touro" on the crank arms. Does that mean 44mm and 42mm from the center of the frame to the the chainring or cog? Oooh, that would be bad. I did read Sheldon's article on chainlines and he said that it should be no more than 1mm off. All I can do to fix that are spacers? Is this where dishing a wheel differently comes in because if so, I'm screwed and have no idea about such things at all. I'd like to learn as soon as possible, but the easy way of learning would be preferred.



If anything, by looking with my naked eye, I'd have to guess that the cog is a little further out than the chainring.


If my problem does turn out to be that the cog is a little further out than the chainring, how would I address that? I'd have to take the spacer out from the left side, replace it with a slightly thinner spacer setup and then add a thin spacer to the right side of the hub. Right? What's a "BB spacer"? Bottom bracket? I don't think I'd be ready to push that out, as a beginner, to line up the chainring with a cog that's a little further out.


I don't have any idea what kind of cog I have. I'm sure it's cheap, though.


I know. I really need to measure the chainline, otherwise this is all nothing but talk and guessing. I will consider getting a new chain probably anyway, though, becuase of what I've mentioned about the chain links seeming to not even be in line. I'll try to get that video so you can see what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure (but I haven't measured this either and will when I buy a ruler today) that my drive train is 3/32". Can you please suggest a reliable, quiet, not too expensive chain? Thanks.


I did oil the chain when I first got the bike. I've only had it for exactly 2 weeks today. I've put maybe 75 miles on it so far. I need to read Sheldon's page on chain maintenance so I will know how to properly care for my chain and how often to do what. I know. I know. It's just all so much to take in at once. I don't know any of this stuff.


This is what I was hoping for in the first place. How long should a it take to "bed in"? (I guess I should probably ask in miles, but even my distance of riding on the bike is just guesswork because I don't have a odometer on the bike. My 75 miles is a big guess.)


Okay. Thanks.


Okay. Thanks so much for your help. I'll keep posting back to this thread, especially after measuring my chainline, to let you guys know what's going on. Thanks again.

Ryan

Rashiki

Geez. I don't know if I'm ready to go out and buy a whole new bottom bracket on a 2 week old bike to fix this yet. Thanks.

Ryan

Rashiki

But I don't hear any noise at all coming from the chainring area. Whether I'm riding, or have my bike stationary and upside down cranking it, the noise always seems to be coming from the cog area. I think the chainring's okay. I suppose the cog could "flex" under pressure, as well, right? But what still gets me is why it's so darn quiet when I'm "coasting" or backpedaling when I'm on the bike, yet a little noisy when I just have it upside down and am turning the crank either forward, or backward.

Ryan

Rashiki

I'll probably end up doing that with my cog first. My chainring's quiet. It's the cog area that's noisy. The problem now is how to get my freaky lockring off. It's a three prong. My LBS only had 2, 4, 6. They were baffled when I told them it had three. They suggested using a bottom bracket lockring wrench to get it off. Think it would work?

Ryan

redfooj

i used a bb lockring wrench to take off and lock on the ring.. works fine

Rashiki

Okay. Thanks.

Ryan

jfmckenna

Is it a 3/32" Chain or 1/8th?

The teeth of the cog as you rotate should protrude dead center between the links in a perfect world. If the teeth are comming up and scraping the sides of the links then your chain line is definitely a problem. A 1/8th chain will give you a little more room for play if you are running 3/32 cog and chainring.

One more point on the loose ring bolts is that as you cruise forward you may be shifting everything out of wack and then when you slow down you are reversing the stress and putting things back where they belong.

Next could be bad brrings

If you have a bad chain line I suggest using a brake

Rashiki

Well, I managed to record a video of my strange chain, but the max upload size of this forum is 100K and my video is 1.47MB zipped, so I guess I can't get it to you guys.

Rashiki

Okay. One more observation before I go out and buy a ruler (which I am surely going to) and measure my chainline. My cog has 16 teeth. I carefully watched where the tooth feel between the chain links. Standing at the rear of the bike with it upside down, I started with number one and watched as this tooth was a little to the right of center between the plates of that link. When I got back around to tooth number one again, it was now dead center between the plates of the link it now occupied. I think my chain is all screwy. I picked another tooth (tooth #5 to be exact) and watched it as I slowly spun the rear wheel. I noticed the same erratic behavior. I will definitely be getting a new chain, as well, but I will also still measure the chainline.

Ryan