I have a new full 1/8" driveline: sugino-75 48t chainring, izumi eco chain, surly cogs (15/17t). It has a perfect chainline and the tension is even (and set correctly) through full rotation.

However it is quite noisy - especially at higher cadences on the road. Noisy enough that others I've ridden with have commented.

I am surprised, given that my previous full 3/32" set up with cheap (mildly eccentric) sugino chainring, SRAM PC-58 chain, soma cogs was much quieter on the same bike.

I've heard that 1/8" may be a bit noisier and that a new driveline may quiet down after use. Mainly I wonder if any of the above 1/8" driveline components or combination of them are known to be noisy.

Al

Lube the chain?

New drivetrain components need time to "mate" properly. Even doing something as simple as taking your wheel off to change a tube or rotating your chainring/cog can make your chain noisier than usual. On the other hand, it might just be that your chain is too tight.

I had a similar problem with a 100% new bike with Sugino Zen Chainring, EAI cog, and Izumi ESH chain, all 1/8". It was loud and rough, despite good chain tension, good chainline, and meticulous chain maintenence. It never got any better no matter how much I messed with it, and thankfully the cursed Izumi chain wore out after 420 miles. I tried it with a Surly cog as well and it was so loud and rough that it was basically unrideable. NJS my ass! Never again! I put a cheapass KMC chain on and it has been absolutely silent ever since.

Edit: heres the thread I started about it. https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/249091-serious-chain-noise-grinding-despite-perfect-chainline-what.html

aerop- chain is well lubed

mcatano- i flip wheel often and noise is same on each side, chain is not too tight. have tried snug to loose and each is noisy

mihlbach - interesting about the chain experience - i feel some roughness too, when pushing hard on pedals can feel the 'vibration' from teeth engaging in sprockets.

Al

Thats exactly what I experienced with the Izumi chain and EAI cog. The problem went away immediately with a KMC 510H chain. I keep track of my mileage and I'm getting more miles out the the KMC 510H than I ever got out of the Izumi. I'm going to try a KMC 510HX next. Its "stretchproof" according to KMC. I doubt that that is entirely true, but maybe its more resistant to wear.

Most noisy drivetrain issues I've had have been rooted in either chainline, which was then adjusted, or just new components learning to get along with one another. Once everything is well-lubed and broken, in, though, it's all been butter. What sort of chain lube are you using? My drivetrain was noisier back when I used White Lightning. Much quieter as soon as I switched to T9.

i developed that problem with my izumi eco, but only after i'd been riding it for about 10 months. replaced it with a sram pc-1, and it is silent. those eco's aren't known for being stretchproof, ya know?

My 3/32 setup is dead silent, my 1/8 is noisy. Chainline, tension, lube are right on, the thing is just noisy. Dunno why but there it is.

Maybe the chain is just a little bit gritty?

yup. right after maintenance, when you'd expect everything to be nice and quiet, the drivetrain sounds gritty. it needs a little while to "bed," and then it's fine

+1

To diagnoise the "grinding" feeling, flip your bike and pedal very slowly. If you hear the grinding and feel it in the hand that's turning the pedal, look closely at the chainring and cog to see if the chain slips forward as it mates with the cog and goes around. My drivetrain did this when new (slipped about 1mm) but has since quieted down.

I had a 3/32 chainring and cog and 1/8 chain. The only time it was loud I just lubed it and it was golden.

yeah they sound like coffee grinders

Still makes a good deal of noise - not the gritty dirty kind, but more of a ryhthmic grinding. Its lessend a bit. I've cleaned it a few times.

My main concerns is not the noise, but that the chain keeps 'stretching', now at 700mi and it hasn't yet stabilized.

Al

I've noticed this with my bike as well... it's loud enough that I've had other bikers or pedestrians quickly shoot me concerned looks as I pass. And yes it does sound like a coffee grinder.. good description.

Chain is lubed. Chainline is fine. Chain isn't grimy. Chain is abolutely not too tight.. just the right amount of sag. Surly 19T rear cog. Sugino 48T front. No clue what chain, now that I think of it. We need a quiet-chain list..

I had the same problem. This weekend I switched out my 16t superbe pro cog for a 19t Surly cog. With the 16t cog, the drivetrain was silent. But with the 19t cog, I could hear that rhythmic grinding sound. I took the bike over to my lbs because I was afraid the chain might be too tight. To accomodate the larger cog I had to move the hub all the way to the front of the dropouts, and there seemed to be a lot of tension on the chain. I figured that was what was causing the noise.

The mechanic at the shop said that the tension and alignment were all spot on. And that actually, 1/8 pitch components can just be noisy. He said it was the sweet sound of success, but that yes, some combinations are quieter than others. He also recounted how the track can get really really loud, and that's it's a very common misconception that track bikes are silent machines.

usually different chain helps wiht the noise IME

frikkin Surly..

Okay, can someone chime in here? What is the right amount of sag? I recently tightened my chain, and yes it's significantly louder. Is the noise just an annoyance? If I loosen it just a little, the heightened noise disappears, but would safety be compromised?

For what it's worth, my drivetrain was extremely loud when I had an 18t 1/8" Surly cog. I've got a Godspeed on now (same number of teeth) and it's silent, in addition to having more even chain tension. The chain is an Izumi Eco.

Mine is kinda noisy too.
Sugino 75 ring, DuraAce cog, KMC chain.
I had an NJS hkk chain..that was even worse. I now have the KMC and its better and i tossed the NJS chain out in the rain to punish it.

I've got some noise on my new setup. 3 days of use so far. Sug75 ring, EAI cog, KMC "Z" chain. It was worse when the chainline was off by 3 or 4mm (not for very long), but since reinstalling the cranks and having them all the way tapped into the spindle as opposed to the initial installation (woops...) things have quieted down now that the line is dead on, but there's a little noise every half rotation (not completely consistant). I'm hoping it's either because the parts haven't 'mated' completely yet, or a lack of grease issue... I haven't heard anything good at all about those Izumi chains by the way, NJS or Eco.

I had the same experience. Even my geared bike has been a lot quieter since I switched from White Lightning to Rock N Roll lube.