jpsawyer

So on my ride this morning i noticed a small clicking sound coming from my front wheel. it only clicks when i put pressure on the handlebars though. so if i ride no handed or just spin the wheel the clicking does not happen. i checked to see if the axle nuts and the spacers were all tight and they are, theres nothing rubbing against the wheel. i also checked the headset and took it apart and re greased it to eliminate that, but the clicking noise is still there. i dont think it is the hub as it spins as smooth as it always has. anyone have any idea what it could be? thanks a lot

Yo Spiff

Creaking of the bars in the stem maybe? That wouldn't likely sound like a click, however. Could pressure on the bars be somehow tugging at the brake of shifting system? I'm thinking something in the bars/stem area.

I've been chasing a weird sound for a while now, that I only hear when going over bumps, like seams in a concrete path. It was more of a soft creak. Headset was fine and could not duplicate the noise any other way. Finally figured it out today. It was my water bottle in the metal cage.

cny-bikeman

What it "could be" covers a lot of ground.

First, any time you want remote help where we cannot see/hear/feel you need to provide all the information you have.

That would include:

• What exactly happens that you find problematic.
• Equipment involved if you think it may apply
• Anything that was done/occurred at the time the problem began (fall, equipment change, tune-up, etc)
• Conditions under which the problem occurs or goes away
• Frequency (once per wheel revolution, irregular, etc.)
• Consistency (can you reproduce at will or does it happen randomly)
• What you have tried so far.

We have some but not all we need. We know it happens under pressure only, that it's a clicking sound that apparently just started on your last ride, and that you have overhauled this headset and checked the hub.

We need to know if the noise is once per wheel revolution and whether you have done any equipment changes or maintenance just before the problem occurred.

What you can also do is find out what it isn't. If you have a spare front wheel, or a friend's you can borrow, trade it out and see if the noise continues. That will narrow the problem down to the wheel or something else.

If it's the wheel, check the spoke tension, and especially flex the paired, crossed spokes. You may find that when you do so they produce a similar clicking sound, and catch as they flex across each other. It is not unusual for spokes that are allowed to loosen to flex slightly under the tension and release of rotation, and created a burr at the cross. Once that occurs, moving across the burr makes a clicking sound.

If it's not the wheel I would suggest checking to make sure it's not the at the stem/handlebar.

One final note: I and others who provide help on this forum enjoy doing so, but we are volunteering our time, effort and talent as well. In return it is helpful if you, as a return courtesy, take the time and effort to compose your post so that it is not a labor to read. The lack of capitalization, apostrophe's, etc. makes our task more difficult, and also may result in fewer persons responding with help. I always read over my post and most often edit it to make it more clear, so it seems reasonable to ask the same of those who are asking for assistance.

Thank you.

dedhed

If you have a front wheel bike computer check the magnet to pick up clearance.

jpsawyer

Sorry for the grammatical errors on my part, I will be sure to compose it better in the future.

The problem I am having is that when I ride my bike an ensuing clicking noise occurs, but only under pressure. It is a quick but quiet noise that happens multiple times per rotation of the wheel. The day before the clicking noise started happening i put a new tire on, but did not hear any noise coming from the wheel on the first ride with the new tire. I cannot reproduce the problem while off of my bike, only when I am riding with pressure on the handlebars.
I have eliminated the possibility of the axle nuts or spacers being loose and anything rubbing along the wheel or tire. I also checked the spokes to see if they made any clicks when flexed and did not notice anything, although some of the spokes are a little under tensioned. Could that be a reason for the clicking?
I will try putting a different front wheel on and ride with that and see if the problem occurs, and i will also try and repack the headset and check the bars and brakes for creaking.
Thank you very much for your time and responses, I appreciate it greatly.

cny-bikeman

Thank you also for your acceptance of my feedback and for the additional info. Loose spokes can certainly cause what you describe, including multiple clicks per rotation. Sometimes the clicks have the same rhythm (click...click.click) sometimes not.

Still need more info - Is the clicking generally in rhythm with wheel rotation, relatively constant (though irregular) or more in sync with the alternating pressure on the handlebars? The first two would strongly indicate a wheel issue. Tensioning the wheel properly would certainly be a good idea. I would not advise redoing the headset or doing any more work until you try the wheel swap.

jpsawyer

The clicks have the same rhythm the majority of the time, although it skips around sometimes. The pace is always the same though and doesn't seem to change with the speed that the wheel is spinning.
I did a short ride with a different tire and the clicking went away completely which means it is my front wheel making noise. I will tension the wheel later today and hope that stops the clicking. any other ideas what it might be?
And also, do you think it might be the new tire I put on recently? I have no idea why it would be that though.

cny-bikeman

Great, most of the battle is narrowing down the possible causes. I find it very hard to believe that it could be the wheel and yet the pace (frequency) does not change when the wheel rpm does. Likely it just seems that way. Other causes? There are only two other parts to the wheel - the hub and the rim. Neither seems very likely, but let's just see what happens if you sufficiently and evenly tension the wheel. Lots of online and other resources for that so I won't rehash here. As for the tire - it's rubber, can't see how it could directly cause clicking. However, if the new tire is aired at a much higher pressure than previously that could theoretically lower the spoke tension.

jpsawyer

So I retensioned the spokes and that seems to have done it, though I only got to take the bike on a 10 minute ride back from the co-op I volunteer at, there were no clicking sounds. We will see what happens when i get to go on a longer ride though. Hopefully that did it, it seems promising so far though.
And the old tire had a min PSI of 90 and this new one has a min PSI of 110, so maybe that did it

Strangelove

I have the same or similar problem. Disassembled BB and headset, cleaned and put back together. Clicking didn't change. But I noticed that it is not happening under pressure what I was originally thinking like other people. It happens when the bike tilts slightly to the sides what usually happens while pedaling stronger than normal, uphill. Maybe this will help you and others to narrow down the problem.
Next I swapped the wheel and QR from a different bike to compare. Still clicking. I will look again at the headset, it has sealed bearings, maybe it's coming from there?

HillRider

Another possible click source; the valve stem clicking against its rim hole edge. I had that happen once and it was very difficult to locate.