Nashville_John

I recently purchased a new bike with a Reynolds carbon fork and Shimano Ultegra components. The frame is Reynolds 853 steel. After riding about 150 miles, I started hearing a slight "clicking" sound which appeared to be coming from the bottom bracket area. It was cyclical with pedal strokes. Bike shop told me it was probably coming from the drive side of the bottom bracket, and that I shouldn't worry about it, but should have it "fixed" at the end of the season. About 200 miles later, the "clicking" noise bacame noticeably louder and not necessarily related to pedal strokes. Now it sound like it's coming from the headset, stem, fork area. I can't duplicate it when the bike is motionless. I've put pressure on the ends of the handle bars, tried to "flex" the fork, etc. and cann't get the sound. While riding, the sound sometimes occurs when I'm going down hill with no pedal rotation. Any ideas what it might be? Can loose spokes cause this noise? Might the carbon steere tube be cracking? I've checked all allen screws for appropriate tightness, and still get the sound when the bikes in motion. Sitting still, I cannot recreate it.

LIRider

John,

This is from a new bike with only 150 miles on it? Nothing should be clicking at that mileage. I have the same problem right now - sporadic clicking, usually starts about 5 miles in, seems to follow pedal stroke but isn't constant, seems to come from headset area but i'm not sure, can't recreate click when pedaling on a trainer. I haven't tracked down the sound yet, but I've gotten some good advice. First off, what kind of pedals do you have? If clipless, check out cleats to make sure they aren't loose. Are pedals lubed? Next, check for any loose spokes. Are wheels in true? When you hear the clicking, try standing while you pedal. If the noise goes away, it might be the seatpost.

If it's a brand new bike, none of these should be a factor, but maybe the shop overlooked something when assembling the bike. Good luck, I know how frustrating it is....

Nashville_John

The seat post appears to have been the source of the clicking sound. More precisely, the connection between the seat post and the seat rails wasn't at tight as it could have been.