Diesel-CAAD9

Hey guys, i have a clicking noise in my crank area on the downstroke of the left pedal under load... i get a "click" when the crank arm makes a revolution...

it's not all the time, and hardly ever when NOT under a load... is this something i should have checked out...? doesn't seem "normal"... i shouldn't be getting this noise, should I...?

it's a BB30 bottom bracket on a CAAD9-5...

diziet

Are you crossing gears? Most likely you're in small upfront / small in the back and your chain hits the fd or something like that.

Diesel-CAAD9

nope nothing with the chain here... it's coming from the crank area...

i no longer cross chain at all... i've figured out i can trim my FD if i do get into the small - smaller setups, but i don't do that much at all anymore...

RazorWind

There are tons of things that can cause something like this, but in my experience, the first two to check, particularly on an aluminum frame are:

1. Make sure that the crankset doesn't have any play side to side (that is, in the same direction as its axle). My FSA SL-K crank would get loose a lot when it was new, and I eventually tracked the problem down to the sub-par bearings in the MegaExo bottom bracket the bike came with. Replaced with Ultegra and the problem went away.

2. Make sure the clicking isn't an aluminum ferrule in an aluminum cable stop. I had a similar problem to what you describe a few months back. It drove me freaking nuts; I dismantled and greased practically the entire bike, and it still happened. Eventually, I realized it stopped if I held the cable housing for the rear brake still as I pedaled, so I put a little drop of tri-flow on the aluminum ferrule where it goes into the top tube (this is on a Cervelo Soloist Team), and that made the noise go away.

rydaddy

Check your seatpost and saddle rails. Can you hear the noise while out of the saddle? If so, then nevermind....

Trouble

Second this.

frischtr

The first and easiest thing to check is the pedals... 9 times out of 10 this is the problem. Remove, re-grease, remount. If it's still there, check back again...

Hickeydog

Check the pedals. Mine were clicking and they were driving me nuts. Remove them, lube them, and then enjoy the silence.

Diesel-CAAD9

What do you guys use to lube pedals...? It's only seeming to come from the left side so maybe it is the pedal. It's very annoying for sure.

frischtr

I personally use Phil Wood waterproof grease on bottom brackets and pedals, but any heavier grease should work.

melanotaenia

get your BB checked out too if none of the above mentioned methods prove helpful.

KiddSisko

pedal bearings may have worn out.

Pharmr

+1

hansel

Teflon oil works very well.

rOOster14

well, i just had an awful experience with creaking/squeaking coming from my "bottom bracket area"
noises on bikes are tricky, but i discoverd it was my rear derailleur hanger making all kinds of crazy noise due to a missing screw.
its worth it to check everything as it could literally be anything.
-crank
-chainring bolts
-pedals
-cable on FD
-FD mounted incorrectly
-seat rails
-seat collar properly tight
-rear derailleur hanger
-everything.

Randochap

Pedal maybe ... or BB. But drivetrain noises are sometimes hard to diagnose. Why not take it in to the LBS?

paurep

I had that same noise on my Specialized CrossTrail, I was able to tighten the rear derailer hanger screw about a quarter turn and that noise is gone.

tonski 

Make sure the chain rings are tight while you're out doing all this other stuff.

curtwally

There are lots of possibles and BF has info in history that may help.

If it is a continuous every time under load and at the same point in your stroke/cycle then it may be related to Bottom bracket or peddle. I have had both problems with 2 different bikes. Peddles can be the cause and you can put teflon tape on both threads and re-tighten. This year my problem was a ticking noise on every stroke at the top of the cycle, say 1 oclock on left peddle, and this turned out to be a loose right/drive side bottom bracket cup.

So if it is every stroke it is probably bottom bracket related.

If is is mostly every stoke it could be peddle or believe it or not your saddle. Grease the rails.

Good luck and keep us informed of progress. I am willing to help as this has caused me a lot of grief this summer until I figured out the loose BB cup.

curtwally

YOJiMBO20

Is it the crankarm hitting the FD cable?

I used to get that a lot, especially after changing out the cables.

I don't have that problem anymore because it kept happening and the end of the cable snapped off.

scattered73

I bent the part(? where the two crank arms connect) on my crankset on the driveside and was glad to catch it before it broke.

Val23708

loose cassette.

Diesel-CAAD9

looks like a crank arm needed a bit of tightening, and the left pedal was a bit loose as well... greased up both pedals, and tightened that crank arm up...

seems good to go now... hopefully i'll be able to get out and ride this weekend, weather permitting...

i rode my mountain bike yesterday, and i have to say MTB's suck compared to road bikes... it's not even close IMO...

davidindec

I am also hearing a noise (more of a rrreeee.... rrreee.... as I pedal) that I think is coming from the crank/bottom bracket area when I "crank" down on the left side when out of the saddle. I heard it for the first time over the weekend and pretty much hear it consistently now.

The weather changed recently and I wonder if that has something to do with it.

I have only heard it on the left side when standing and applying more power than normal as when going up hills. I am quite sure its not the pedal and the noise sounds like metal on metal that is under pressure (not an expert though).

I am taking it into the shop this coming Monday with the hopes that they can fix it.

kimconyc

I had the same exact issue, same sound, etc.

Recently, I had the shifter cables replaced because they were frayed and that alleviated 99% of the noise but I still hear the "rreeee" sound every blue moon, usually when I am on the small ring and climbing out of the saddle on a higher gear (14-16).

I think the problem has something to do with the bottom bracket cable guide and the actual cables but not sure.

Please post again if your wrench figures it out...