AVS92037

New bike, new Dura-Ace 7900 gruppo. Love the brakes and the shifting is simply uncanny. But the drive chain is l-o-u-d! My derailleurs are perfectly adjusted -- what I'm hearing is not the chain rubbing on the derailleurs. The noise occurs in both chainrings, and pretty much all the cogs (larger cogs slightly louder).

Metallic, continuous sound that varies with pedal stroke.

You gotta help me here -- I've tried everything.

Is this a break-in thing with 7900? Did not have the same problem when my 7800 gruppo was new.

[I have a 50/34 compact in front and 12-25 in back.]

brianallan

Take it to a bike shop : )

trojanman

Had this problem with my 7800. Drove me nuts..........

Took everything apart.............EVERYTHING

It just needs to break in

patentcad

Bike noises are hard to diagnose. I have a ton of experience sorting out these noises on numerous road bikes. Recently on my new Cervelo S2 it sounded like a nasty drivetrain noise. It turned out to be several causes, not just one:

• New chain (old chain was borderline, almost worn out)

• Creaky seat post: cleaned it, regreased the bolt, re-prepped and re-inserted post

• Dirty rear hub (Williams 38c): LBS cleaned, repacked rear hub

Now the bike is silent.

Other suggestions:

• LUBE drivetrain. Critical.

• GREASE pedal threads, make sure noise is not in pedals

• CHECK quick release lever tightness: loose QR levers can creak like crazy, particularly on CF bikes.

merlin55

Is it possible that it doesn't have a 7900 chain? Second guess, perhaps the B Screw adjustment has the der. cage too close to the cassette.

patentcad

My LBS checked this and other things, which helped, because I knew the B screw adjustment was proper. It's trial and error, process of elimination. Your LBS may not be able to find it without help from you for a few reasons. In the end I found these noises by paying attention, trying different things. One issue is that I wasn't hearing these noises in the parking lot, I was getting them 1 mile into a three mile climb, and then for the last 20 miles of a 50 mile ride. I finally figured out the rear hub and seat post angles in my driveway one night. But it did drive me nuts for about two weeks.

Booger

Are you sure your RD isn't slightly out of adjustment? Mine made a similar noise.

patentcad

That's key, be sure the LBS checks all aspect of derailleur adjustment and make sure they know what the F they are doing.

AVS92037

All good suggestions. My LBS spent 20+ minutes checking out my derailleur, even went took my bike out for a test to hear the noise themselves. Their diagnosis? "Break in" issues -- the teeth on the chainrings need some more miles to smooth themselves out.

I will double and triple check the B screw. And I'm certain it's not the seatpost or pedals.

Anybody running DA 7900 who cares to comment on their experiences with drive chain issues?

Thanks!

jay0k

We're assuming the noise is only made when pedaling. Brand new chain might need a little time to break in. If you been riding in any bad weather (like rain) thoroughly clean the chain, cassette, and rear derailleur. Then re-lube with a semi-dry lubricant to make it quieter.

Cdy291

Lube the center of the top derailleur pulley.

DaveSSS 

No mention of the type of chain lube. A dry lube or too-thin wet lube will make for a noisy chain.

The break-in excuses sound lame. My Campy 11 drivetrains didn't need any break-in to run dead quiet, but using an ultralight chain lube can cause a bit of chain noise, even after 1000 miles of use.

Some frames are naturally louder than others, amplifying small noises to sound worse than they are. Same frame or a new one?

StanSeven

The grease new chains come with can cause problems, especially with some lubes you or your LBS put on it. Some people say to thoroughly clean and take off the factory lube before adding anything yourself.

MattDC

^^^ Myth

johnybutts

what are you, a mythbuster?

patentcad

Uh oh. That sounds pretty flakey. Could be time for another LBS to look at this bike. Never heard that one before.

wru

mine does the same thing and i'm just as frustrated. it almost sounds like it's coming from the bottom bracket. i have about 700 miles on the drivetrain, so i'm not sold on the 'break-in' concept...

i've also noticed that it only does it under load. i've had the shop adjust twice and it's silent on the stand.

anyone ideas?

Roadposer

Have been runing 7900 for three months, first couple on rollers so no coment on how noisy drivetrain was then. been on the road the last while and mine in super quiet. Am riding a cannondale super six, so the front rings are cannondale made by fsa, chain is a kmc X10sl, not a stock 7900. If your running the stock chain I believe it is asymetrical, as in only goes on one way, if installed wrong could make noise.

alcjphil

One earlier post alluded to a possible cause of your problem: some frames tend to amplify noises. A few years ago, I swapped my drivetrain from a titanium frame to a lugged carbon frame, and drivetrain noises almost vanished. I am told that some monocoque carbon frames are very noisy. What kind of frame do you have?

patentcad

Forget about it. They're all noisy, like CF speakerboxes.

Donegal

I ride a cf monocoque frame and the 7900 setup. I get a lot of racket out of the chain on the front rings. It acts like I am cross-chaining in all but a couple of gears and the sound resonates through the frame driving me crazy. Every sound that you get on this bike makes all kinds of racket. It's a good thing I love the ride, the noises it makes drive me crazy.

fordmanvt

Isn't the 7900 chain asymetrical? possible it's on backwards?

wru

nah, it's not backwards. i'm thinking it may just be the noise amplification issue that's been mentioned. S2...

i'm going to give it a full cleaning/re-lube and will report back.

PCAD, are you on 7900 with your s2?

wru

cleaned everything to sparkling. re-lubed. dried everything out.

noise is still there. i think it may be the chain, seating on the teeth of the chainring. does anyone know if the 7900 chain is narrower?

aicabsolut

Mine is noisy. I don't use a 7900 chain, only 7900 cranks. It's getting a bit better after a couple months of use. It gets horribly bad when the chain starts to get dirty, particularly with sand and grit. I am a compulsive nut when it comes to keeping the chain clean, so the fact that it starts getting noisy at some point on nearly every ride drives me nuts. I can't find anything wrong with the performance, though, so I just deal with it.