the bottom bracket on my fixie makes multiple clicking sound, similar to that of a stiff chain link, especially when i bear some weight down whilst pedaling. i know it's not the chain because that's well-greased and the same sound is present even with the chain off. the bike is a conversion... 70's french road frame with cup and cone and a campy track crankset. could it be bearing related? wondering what yo'll felt it might be before going to LBS. thanks.

Open up the bottom bracket and check the bearings. If they're pitted or rusted, get new ones. If not, just clean the cups, spindles and bearings, repack with grease and go.

Sounds like it needs a good cleaning.

hey thank you. actually, it was cleaned recently but i'll check the bearings.

could it also be the pedals?

just a thought...

I had similar clicking sounds a while back, and it turned out that one of the cranks was just slightly loose. Might be obvious, but give that a check too.

wow, i didn't even consider the pedals. i'll try it. thanks!

I also had the same problem, turned out to be a loose crank arm... tightend it up and no more click! word

Cranks creek. Pedals click.

DanO

So what do I get for my flippant broad brushing? I go out for a spin for some tacos at lunch and my drive train begins CLICKING! Did I mention I overhauled my pedals and torqued my cranks and chain ring bolts LAST NIGHT?! I suspect the chain. I haven't replaced it in a couple years and who knows how many thousand miles. It kind of pops up and down when I spin it on the work stand. So there you go. I'll not generalize again.

DanO

Does it click when you are sitting and when you are standing? Check the seatpost out. Regrease and retighten.

Not to thread jack, but how about if your bb is making an awful creaking sound when you crank on it? Is it the bb itself? This on my 80's Norco SS conversion that I bought used and I'm pretty sure has the original BB in it.
Thanks.

see absntr's advice up at the the start of the thread.

it worked!!! i opened up the right pedal and bam! dirt and lots of it. cleaned that sucker up, regreased, tightened appropriately and then cleaned and regreased the chain. problem solved. thank you all for helping.

I'm having the same mysterious drivetrain problem. My pedals are less than two months old and were brand new when purchased, but the sound I'm getting is the clicking at several points in pedal rotation while I'm pushing hard. It's gotten more pronounced over time and especially when I retension the chain after it gets a little loose. I don't think it's the crank arms and the bottom bracket is sealed, so it's probably not that. What should I be looking for if I disassmble the pedals? Would MKS Sylvans be made so poorly that they sound like death after riding them for two months?

i had the same kind. the mks pedals are bunk. my current pedals are better but not marked. with a triagular shape, i tightened the two inner side by side bolts, rather loosened the inside one and tightened the outside one. the axle (?) was too tight and dirty, so i cleaned and greased it up again. worked.

before you disassemble the pedals remove them from the cranks, regrease the spindles then reinstall them. half the time problems that seem to be the bb are in fact pedal/crank interface related (or even as has been stated seatpost related)

yeah, i've had several clicking issues that were the result of loose/ungreased pedals.

I just switched pedals with another pair I had lying around and there is still a pronounced clicking/creaking sound coming from the drivetrain, so I think the pedals can be counted out of the equation for now. I'm replacing both the bottom bracket and crankset whenever my bottom bracket comes in the mail (should be the middle of next week). I'll update this thread when I get the parts installed.

so i'm having the clicking and i can't get the pedals off for the life of me
tips?

I had a clicking for a few days that I couldn't figure out. Eventually, I took off the cranks and checked the cups on the BB. Sure enough, one side tightened down most of a turn. The loose cup was making the click.

make sure you're turning them the correct way. get a longer wrench (or make it longer by slipping a pipe on the end to give you more leverage).

https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=83 - images not working, but might be worth the read if you haven't

I had a similar issue, but rather than the crank arm, it was the chainring bolts.

My best advice for getting pedals off is to straddle the bike and stand on the pedal to hold everything still. If you have a good wrench, extend the handle with a piece of pipe for more leverage. If you suspect corrosion, chemicals are fun.

When you said it was cleaned but you will check the bearings does that mean you took out all the old bearings, and cleaned out the grease and put in the old bearings? If that's the case you're about to need a whole new BB as that will rip your races up.

the guy at my lbs said it wasn't a big deal and that some teflon tape inside the bb might help but trying to cure it is like going on a wild goose chase or what ever it is they say

i took off the pedals and cleaned the threads and tightened the bb and yet it persists
the bike is new