clengman

I have a Schwinn World Voyageur. I've been riding it for a couple years and like it very much. I have been planning to make some upgrades to the drivetrain and then have it repainted, and keep it as my "retro-modern" sport touring bike for centuries/brevets. I've priced out parts and services and I think I'd be hard pressed to find a new steel road bike that's a better fit for me personally for less money than what I plan to put into this bike.

The issue is, it has been making a godawful noise for about the past year. I've been trying to determine the source of the noise before I put any money into rebuilding it and so far I have been stymied.

The noise is like this: It is timed very precisely with the crank rotation. When I'm spinning lightly, it manifests as a single tick that I feel in the left pedal as my left foot comes over the top in the crank rotation. As I increase force on the pedals, additional ticks/cracking noises become audible and they get louder. The noise is present whether I am seated or climbing out of the saddle. At it's worst I feel 4 or 5 distinct cracks. It's very rhythmic. They always happen in the same sequence and always from around 2 o'clock to 10 o'clock in the crank rotation. The only time I've noticed that the noise goes away is during a spell of wet weather.

Since the noise started I've gone through three sets of pedals, the original platforms that came on the bike, then a new set of platforms with toe clips and straps, then a set of SPD clipless. I repacked the BB using new bearings. I disassembled the crankset, cleaned the chainrings, cleaned and lubed the stack bolts and nuts and reassembled. Cleaned and lubed the spindle ends. None of these things had any effect on the noise whatsoever.

I took it to my LBS last week to get a more experienced opinion. At the shop he has inspected thoroughly for things like chain rub, stray shifter cables, other things that might be striking the crank or chainrings. He adjusted both hub bearings. He took apart the headset inspected and adjusted it. He adjusted the BB (said I had it a little too tight). He swapped in a different freewheel. He swapped in a sealed cartridge BB. He inspected the frame for cracks. He says that he too, has no idea what's making the noise, and that he can't spend any more time looking.

There's one more thing that it has occurred to me to try that I don't think he did. I have a second crankset at home that I think I'll swap in when I get the bike back. Perhaps there's a crack in the spider or a crank arm that has gone unnoticed. I guess it's also possible that there's a crack in the frame or a failing braze joint that we weren't able to find.

I really hate to have to give up on this. If I do then I'm left shopping for a new bike (not happy with the upfront cost and lack of tinkering involved if I go that route) or shopping for another old bike and starting from square one (trading a bike of uncertain condition for a second bike of uncertain condition).

I'm hoping someone might have either a) some ideas for things to check that I and my bike mechanic may have overlooked or b) some way I can test to know for sure. Any insight is welcome!

JTGraphics

Has anyone pulled out your BB it could be bad bearings and may be coming apart, I've fixed a few and when BB was removed it was very easy to see the issue.

mconlonx

Don't forget to tighten seat clamp and seatpost clamp...

Little Darwin

Because the sound is related to the position in the pedal stroke, I think the BB/Pedals were good first steps... Now that those are out of the way, I would try the other crank, and see whether it fixes things. So, I think you are on the right track.

If it was the frame, I would think that the noise would not be so strongly tied into the position in the pedal stroke, and would possibly make sounds at other times that might stress the joint, such as hard cornering, or other actions that could apply torsional force to the frame.

RollCNY

If the rear uses a QR skewer, swap it out or tighten the **** out of it.

Booger1

Since in seems to go away when wet,take a spray bottle and go for a ride....see when it stops.

AnkleWork

Have you considered powder coat?

clengman

Thanks. I hope it works. My fingers are crossed.

clengman

I'll try it.

Martian63

You said you had gone from platform to clipless pedals so this may not be the problem. I had a similiar issue. Like you did everything trying to find if. After reading some google search I had done I removed my cleats, cleaned and put antiseize on the bolts. Reinstalled them and applied a light coat of chain lube to the cleat and let it sit over night. It solved my problem. Periodically I apply a little chain lube again and let them sit over night. Haven't had the problem since.

clengman

Definitely haven't ruled it out. I know a wet paint job will be a little more expensive, but I'd like to try to match the Kool Lemon color it's got now. If I can get a powder coat color that's pretty close I'll probably do that.

Another thing I'm wondering WRT coatings, don't know if you might know... This frame is chromed under the original paint. This chrome coating seems to have done it's job preventing rust, but it is also probably the reason the frame is in such bad need of a paint job. The original paint just doesn't stick well to the chrome. Do you know if there's a good way to prep the surface for better adherence of either powder coat or wet paint? Is either powder or paint preferable considering the nature of the substrate?

AnkleWork

Just needs the right prep.

FBinNY 

Given the age of the bike, I suggest you remove the skewer and check for a broken rear axle. You may be hearing the locknut face creaking in the dropout when chain tension peaks pull the right side forward.

blamester

Grease the pedal threads.

clengman

We have a winner! Maybe. I was preparing to swap in a different crank tonight, but before I did I tried one more time to reproduce the noise off the bike. I pushed and pulled as hard as I could on the left pedal and every once in a while I could make it make a little tink. In my hand it felt like it was coming right from the pedal and not further down the crank.

Now... I absolutely applied lube to the pedal threads every time I changed pedals on this bike, but I thought it was worth trying this easy thing one more time quickly before I tried anything more difficult. Took off the left pedal and cleaned the threads on the pedal spindle and inside the crank arm thoroughly, I applied some lube, put the pedal back on and now I was not able to make it make a little tink. I took it for a spin and the noise is gone.

I hope that it was just some dirt or grit in the threads, and that the problem is gone for good. I think I can't really rule out stress cracks in the crank arm, though. In the past just getting it wet made the sound go away, too, so good lubricant in the right spot should do the same thing whether it was grit or the beginning of stress failure. Regardless, I'm happy I at least know the source of the noise at this point. If it comes back, I'll try a new crankset. (I've been thinking about going to a 48/34 anyway.)

And yes... I'm very embarrassed...

Thanks for being a sounding board.

FBinNY 

I can't believe (actually I do, because that's what happened) that you replaced tree pedals without making a difference. SOP for a synchronous click is to replace pedals to eliminate the pedal and pedal thread. That should entail cleaning and greasing the thread, or at the very least, cleaning the face where the pedal flats meet.

I could see leaving a bit of dirt there once, but it's hard to believe that three changes didn't clean it off by accident if not intent.

BTW- Though i still don't use them, I understand that pedal washers seem to help with this issue.

clengman

I'm surprised, too. In my defense, I wasn't changing pedals with the intent of eliminating the noise. I just wanted to try different pedals. The noise was a minor annoyance at first and has gotten a little worse with time and it wasn't until some time after my last pedal change that I really started to concentrate on getting rid of it.

Each time I changed pedals I would squirt in a little WD40 and pass a rag through the hole in the crank arm. Put some lube on the pedal threads and that's all. Thinking back, the noise probably went away for a little while each time, but always came back, and if anything got worse with time. Like I said, it wasn't a major concern until recently.

This time I was much more thorough. Got in there with a toothbrush. If it gets noisy again in a week or two, I'll be pretty certain that it's not just dirt.

FBinNY 

The best evidence that it's pedal thread related is that it made a difference, even if only for a week or so. It would stretch credulity that some other part of the bike magically got quieter whenever you switched pedals. if the noise comes back, get a set of pedal washers, grease the thread, and the pedal face ares (both sides of the washers, and tighten the pedals TIGHT. Use the kind of torque you'd use in removing them.

clengman

Sure. I know where the noise is coming from now. I just wonder how likely it is that there could be damage to the crankarm... maybe as a result of a minor accident I had about a year ago... that I sort of forgot about... in which I tried to squeeze between a parked car and a parked snow plow and maybe got my left pedal hung up on the plow and maybe went over the handlebars...