Hi everyone, and hi Mash Master in particular.

I know this discussion about your 'pinging' sound was over a year ago, but I found it whilst searching on the internet to find a solution to the very same problem I started having this weekend! So, I wondered if you ever got to the bottom of your problem? Did you eventually find the source of the 'pinging'?

I have a very modest alu-framed road bike (Decathlon Sport 7.1) that has seen me through around 6000 km (so almost 4000 miles) and I'd put some fancy high-tension spoked wheels on it at about the half-way point.

Anyway, last Saturday, after a week without my bike while travelling, I did a short ride and everything was normal. Then on Sunday (yesterday) I went for a longer ride and within a few kilometres started hearing this sort of creaking/clicking (yeah, 'pinging'!) sound whenever I put load on the pedals (either when accelerating hard on the flats or when going uphill, especially when out of the saddle). I kept stopping and checking things .... spoke tensions, pedal play, crank play, BB play, wheel skewers, etc. The pinging itself was 'in tune' with my pedal stroking. At one point I accelerated past another cyclist, with my bike 'pinging' away, and he accelerated to come along side me to discuss the problem! He accompanied me for the next 20 km and we kept stopping and checking everything, tightening this, wiggling that. We were both beaten. (And, embarrassingly, we were both wearing the same cycling clothes!)

I somehow convinced myself that it was something to do with the front high-tension spoked front wheel. So yesterday evening I swapped the tyre over to the original front wheel for my commute to the office this morning, and I've had the same thing (thus ruling out the front wheel as the pinging source!). My next line of investigation is to swap the back wheel (swapping the cassette in the process). When doing so I'll check the seating of the cassette on the current wheel. If that's not it, then I guess the next thing to which to give my attention would be the BB. I have a sealed BB (not surprisingly) so I won't be able to service it, of course, but I can try the remove-clean-grease-putback routine.

Any ideas from your experience and knowledge?

Best wishes,
Neil Jenkins