Mysterious tick in drivetrain
 

First Question:
I have a 1 year old Raleigh hybrid (1500 miles on it). In the last month or so it has developed an annoying problem. On the downstroke with the right pedal I feel and hear a tick or twang. If I ease up on the pressure and just let it ride around without much force it goes away, but if I push on it with my foot much it does it. it's very consistent and it does it in every gear. I took the chain off and spun the cranks, but by hand I couldn't replicate the pressure that riding creates. It didn't do it.

Can anyone tell me what the possible problems would be. I'm thinking it could be the bottom bracket, pedal or deraileur, but the latter two seem unlikely. I'm not too familiar with the inner workings of the BB so that seems most likely.

If it is the BB, does it need to be tightened or replaced?

Next Question:
I have begun to hate this bike because the pedals are rather far apart for my liking. My knees hurt when I ride it. I'd like to bring the pedals closer together. I currently have about a thumb width between the crank arm and the frame, so I could bring it in a bit. Can I just change my BB spindle or do I need to swap out the whole BB. If I want to get a better Q-factor by getting a new crankset, can I just choose a crankset and BB that match and put the whole thing in, or do I have to worry about what type is already in there, or what size the frame's BB cavity is?

The illusive ticking. Believe it or not, it could be in your seat clamp. That's where I finally found my tick when I was using a cheap-o, single bolt seatpost. Many other possibilities, but see if it stops when you stand and pedal hard. If so, check your seatpost and your seatpost collar.

I would suspect the pedal as a culprit. My bike was doing this and I actually needlessly replaced the bottom bearings trying to get rid of it.

Sheldon Brown has an essay on clicks and creaks: http://sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

Ditto for pedal at fault. Once had this happen on a bike, and I had the LBS tighten everything in sight and it wouldn't go away. Turned out to be a sliver of metal from the pedal bearing. Could also be some dirt or even a pebble stuck in there. Borrowing a different pair of pedals is a good way to verify.

While speaking of pedals, if you feel your feet are too far apart, have you considered adjusting your cleats?

I'm having the same clicking problem and it is driving me crazy. It only happens when I'm on the big chain ring though. It's really annoying.

If you guys think it's the pedal, can I take it apart and clean it, and lube it? I have dual sided spd and platform shimano pedals. I'll look at my manual.

I developed a noise in my new Long Haul Trucker, and it was found to be that the front derailleur clamp was insufficiently tightened. The FD rotated slightly, and in the two lower chainrings was actually contacting the next higher chainring. I didn't notice that it didn't happen in the big ring.

Can you isolate the noise to certain gears only - may help you locate it?

I had the same problem today and thought it might be the bottom bracket. After reading this post, I checked my left pedal and VOILA! There it was.

I guess it's like checking to see if your computer is plugged in when it won't come on. It's so obvious, I didn't think about it.

Thanks guys!

Well, I switched out the right pedal, where I feel it ticking/twanging. It didn't fix it. I've looked over the front deraileur and it isn't loose or wiggling at all. It has become more pronounced.

I know for sure that the amount of pressure I apply to the pedal makes it more or less noticeable. If I put pressure on the outside of the pedal it does it less, than if I lean on the inside of the right pedal. I wonder if the BB is loose in it's socket.

If I want to take my BB out and check everything out, what tools are involved? I have a Suntour/ Shimano drivetrain. Crank removal, BB tool?

My click ended up being my pedals or the big chain ring. I tightened up the chain ring and I'm going to buy new pedals when I can afford them.

I am curious to the source as I seem to be experiencing the same problem. Brand new Kona JTS, only 250km on it. I get multiple ticks on each rotation of the crank. Its very annoying riding through a beautiful park, listing to the water falls, wind, wildlife, and TINK - TI TINK TINK, over and over again. Have not yet made it to the LBS to investigate. Started about the 125km mark. Pretty certain its not the pedals or derailler.

check chainring bolts and cleat screws (if you use clipless).

On my bike, I have old platform pedals. I took the offender off, dumped oil down it, and that fixed it.

Someone up there said it's obvious, and it really isn't. It won't make the noise if you spin the pedals by hand, and when you're riding it, you can't tell exactly where the sound is coming from, so it can be hard to nail down.