jnbrown

I am having some noise issues with my Santana Sovereign that I could use some help on.

First, there is a loud CLACK which seems to be coming from the rear drive train. It happens most often when we have been coasting and then soon as we start pushing on the pedals CLACK! It also can happen at other times during pedaling. I have heard this same noise occaisionally on my single bike too. My only thought is that the chain gets misaligned to the chainrings or cassette and noise is from the temporary misalignement, but I have no proof or eveidence of this. The chain line seems perfectly fine. I recently upgraded the crankset to Ultegra 9 speed triple and the noise seemed to have gotten worse after that.

The second noise has to do with the brakes, they squeal bad. I have Avid V-brakes. I put new pads on the rear and that seemed to help. I tried toeing in the front pads and that made it worse. The front brakes are also grabbing so I don't use them much because when they grab my stoker get lurched forward and I get yelled at. I ordered some Kool Stop pads to try because they work great on my single bike.

Thanks - Joel

oldacura

I was told that a clack when we just started to pedal again could be caused by the pawls in the rear hub slipping off the teeth of the hub into the next set of teeth. I was told that nothing could be done about this and that it was of no concern. Not sure if this is what you are hearing.

Reagarding the squeal - I often find that we get transfer of rubber from the brake pads onto the rim. Then, when you apply the brakes, the pad rubber & rim rubber grab & slip, grab & slip (often called stick-slip). I was able to improve this by using a Scotchbrite pad & water to remove the rubber adhered to the rim. Nice & quiet now.

jnbrown

The slipping pawl does make some sense but if that was the case I would think I would feel the slip in the crank and I don't think I do.

I have heard steel wool also can be used to clean the rim surface.

Joel

matthew_deaner

I had a rear freewheel go out recently (on a single-bike, not a tandem). It started making clacking and pinging noises when I started pedaling - especially if I engaged the pedals lightly. I never felt a slip in the drivetrain - just heard the pinging/clacking noise. I talked to my LBS mechanic about it, and he said that it's normal to not feel slipage because there are a couple of pawls in the freehub - and if one lets go there is a noise, but no slipping, because the other pawl is still engaged. He said that the freewheel probably wasn't fully engaging because of the cold weather, and told me not to worry about it.

Well, two weeks went by, and then the freewheel totally let go in a sprint. I fell down, messed up my shoes and scratched my right pedal and brifter. I was OK though... Following that incident, I had the freehub rebuilt.

I believe this noise is something to be concerned about. I would get it looked at.

cornucopia72

What worked for us best was cleaning the rims with rubbing alcohol.

zonatandem

Rubbing alcohol to clean rims and the brake pads. Inspect pads to see if anything is imbedded in the rubber.
Sounds like pawls for the rear end noise.

jnbrown

Is there anything I can do myself to the pawls to correct the problem?
I have Hadley hubs, I am not sure how servicable the pawls are.

Joel

matthew_deaner

I do not recommend it. Freehubs are complicated inside, and I think they require special tools for removal. But maybe you'll be able to fix it if you're mechanically inclined... who knows.
When freehubs slip, it is often caused by grease on the pawls. Maybe if you could remove the hub shell you could check for grease contamination? Just a thought...