Obsessive about bike noise?
 

How obsessive do you get? Sometimes it drives me batty, and I waste valuable time with the bike on the stand trying to figure out where the particular noise is coming from. (Re-creating the noise while the bike's on the stand is impossible I've discovered.) I wish I could just let it go, but I can't. And I can't afford to take the bike to the LBS for an overhaul every time there's a nuisance I can't figure out. (And I'm the most minimal of bike mechanics, so overhauling a bike myself is out of the question.)

Obsessive in the sense of being extremly liberal w/ chainlube, despite the price later extracted in gummy gritty chain and gears. Other noises, I don't think any have defeated me yet. One that kept me going for a while the other day, and possibly longer, can't quite tell if it's the same noise against a shifted ambient noise background, was my right heel apparently sliding in so my shoe was scraping on the crank on part of the pedal stroke.

I get obsessive about rubbing, grinding, clicking, or squeaking noises. I simply have to figure out what's causing it and make it stop. I save my obsession for after the ride, though. I wouldn't cut a ride short just to figure out a noise unless it's getting apparently worse or I start noticing other problems.

Standard road, gear, derailleur, and freewheel noise does not bother me at all.

If I hear a noise that wasn't there before, it's probably time to lube or clean the part where the noise is coming from.

+1

Here's what Sheldon has to say about bike noise:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

(I tore my pedals apart this weekend and regreased them because of a clicking coming from the left one. No more click!)

squeek...
 

I just waxed my new shoes (and new look cleats) and pedals to stop tehj squeek that made ne nuts. I wrapped my frame pump with leftover cork tape to make it never click against the frame.
My happy times: right after a chain lube.

Doesn't it make you nuts to ride next to someone who will ride with the bike not exactly in gear?

drives me crazy enough that my bike is in the shop right now due to a couple of noises I can't track down

My wife's new obsession with video games has freed up lots of time to nurture my obsession with bicycle squeaks. It's getting worse and worse.... But the bike rides like a dream -- or more like a silent film?

Yes, but only with major noises... like when my performance shoe covers were squeaking with every revolution, or a dragging brake rotor. I don't care so much about things like chain noise.

I do love the quiet of the fixed gear though...

this started happening to me a while ago. eventually i went fixed. far less things to make noise.

+ just the hum of the tires.

I'm afraid that squeaks aren't problems you can easily resolve unless you've got a fair bit of mechanical knowledge.

Before I knew anything about bike mechanics, I was completely mystified by squeaking parts. They just seemed to come from nowhere. Now I know all the common culprits (chain, BB, seatpost, saddle rails, cassette, derailers, headset, brakes, etc.) and I can usually find a squeaking noise in half a minute or so. I guess it's just a question of familiarity with how the parts work together. Kind of maddening till you get the hang of it, though.

Every noise I've had either led me to a problem that needed fixing or didn't lead me to a problem that eventually led to a more severe problem.

Al

I got over caring about such things once I started commuting.

I'm pretty obsessive about bike noise. I don't even like noisy freewheels but noisy brakes, chains and squeaks just have to go. There's some zen like pleasure from cruising along spinning at 22MPH to the hum of my tires on the road.

Silicone Spray is your friend.

Old derailleur-equipped bikes get squeaks and clicks fairly often, but I ride them anyway. I usually like to figure out what's making noises so I know whether anything's going to break or get worse, but I often leave the bike making its little noises just out of laziness, if I know it's nothing serious.

Since I know my fixed gear can roll in absolute silence, every new click or squeak gets my attention so I can scare the old ladies.

I think this is where I've lost all sense of reality. I'm expecting my fixie to be absolutely silent. Although I haven't ridden it much this winter, what riding I have done has deposited much in the way of grit in my chain that no amount of cleaning can seem to rid. I've taken it off, soaked it in solvent, brushed the links, and I swear I can still hear trace grit when I flex the chain. Of course, this is a non-issue when I'm actually riding, because there's no way I'll actually hear that. But now, I'm obsessing over different levels of noise in the drive train with varying degrees of chain tension.

I once thought this was OCD, but someone who actually works with people afflicted with OCD said "It's not OCD; you're just anal."

I used to spray my bike with that stuff till it was dripping... but it never fixed any squeaks for more than a minute or two until I learned to figure out what was causing 'em.

YES! My wife's bike has wornout gears and she just rides along beside me with a gnashing sound of worn gear sound until I look over and she shifts into a different gear (or not...). We're saving right now to get her a new bike and I, for one, can't wait.

I obsess over noises, not just for myself, but if I were riding with the bike club, each and every one of them would give me the "evil eye" while on my to being relegated to the back of the pack.

I treat any noise that's not normal as a symptom of something either wrong or going wrong, whether it's simply time for some lube or something more severe, and I start trying to track it down. Don't like strange noises...

It fixed my squeaking Brooks B-66 saddle with a couple of squirts on the springs. Haven't had other distubing sounds requiring action at all in years.