When you get a tick, squeak or rattle there's the usual things most people to know what to check. But sometimes it's something you haven't heard or thought about and it's maddening.

On one road bike I've had a loud rattling noise driving me crazy and I checked everything, or so I thought. It has rim brake calipers and it turned out to be that aluminum tightening nut on the barrel adjuster. You know, the thing you're supposed to tighten down all the way after you adjust the tension. I did screw it down but not all the way. It was just loose enough to be loud as hell rattling against the caliper.

Another good one is when you have a ticking noise only when you're in the saddle. It can sound like a loose seat post clamp, saddle rail clamp, ext. On two bikes the problem was the seat post was sticking way far down inside the seat tube and at the bottom the post will tick against the inside of the tube. Chopping a couple of inches from the posts cured it.

Any other good ones?