'popping' at cranks/BB??
 

lately i've noticed that when i first apply back pressure...or then when i apply forward pressure after backpressure...or when track standing (you get the picture) i get a sort of 'popping' feel in my cranks. i tightened up the allen bolts (which didn't seem loose), but since i dont have a crank puller, i couldnt do much of anything else. any idea what it might be? they're budget truvativ cranks, but they shouldn't be going bad already.

Have you checked your cog and lockring?

yeah. i've tightened the hell out of both. could i have possibly over tightened them, thus stripping them? brand new formula hub.

the thing is, it 'feel's' and sounds like its coming from the cranks, not the rear. the rear makes it's own set of noises, but these are different.

Your chain could be too tight.

nope. if anything, i thought possibly too slack, since at one point it's got maybe a 1/2 inch of play or so, but theres no sag so i figured i'd be fine. i've ridden with it too tight before, definitely a different feeling.

Does the pop occur in the same spot in your rotation of the cranks or does it change? Is your chainring perfectly centered?

you running a master link? those usually stretch out faster than the rest of the chain links.

Try this: If you jump on the pedals (both pedals) with the right pedal forward, and then the left pedal forward, do you feel the play there? That would verify that it's in the crank/bb area, anyways.

i've had this before.
check your BB. my NDS cup had backed out.

is it a cartridge BB?

if so dont worry about it (as long as there is no sticking or play) i see catridge BBs that make little clicks all the time, my canondale does too. they seem to do it after water gets in or they get a little old.
just keep an eye out for it starting to get rough or sloppy.

if its a loose ball, rebuild it.

If you are running unseald bearings, you probably need to have them serviced (removed, cleaned, re-packed with grease).

Not hard to do if you have proper tools.

Won't cost much to have your LBS do it.

check your chainring. make sure your bolts are all tight. i switched by chainring the other day and noticed at one point that i could shift the cranks a bit while trackstanding and have the chainring not move. it made the popping feeling when i did it.

When this happens on my bikes - It is usually because the bottom bracket or the crank arms are loose, sometimes they have to be taken off and cleaned up.

On my SS MTB, I have problems with the ISIS BB and Shimano XTR they loosen up every couple of hundred miles. SS MTB's really put a lot of pressure on the BB and Crank. This just happened on my Roadie also. I have never had a problem on my FG.

You say it's a feeling? Not necessarily making sound? Could be your pedals if you're running clipless.. my eggbeaters are feeling all mushy and make nice little popping noises all the time.. I just need to work on them with external oil and sanding down my soles.

And you said you tightened up the allen bolts (crank bolts I presume?).. you may have not tightened them enough, use a torque wrench and look up the reccomendations for your set because I was surprised how tight I had to make mine..

damn, i just wrote a giant reply to this and it got eaten.

no clue what kind of BB i have. stock khs/mercier.

it really feels like the cranks are just a tiny bit loose. how are the cranks attached to the BB? i know its not just crank bolts, since ive pulled those before (and then tightened the !@#$ out of them.

Shimano made ISIS splined cranks?



I would pull the cranks and the BB (after getting the tools) and regrease every metal to metal mating point. That's standard procedure at the shop for all things creaky in the BB area.

Get that crank puller, take the crank arms off, apply grease, put crank arms back on, tighten them on really tight. Worked for me.

edit: or what AfterThisNap said. Somehow I missed his thread.

if all else fails, do check that there isn't play in the pedal spindle.

You're talking about greasing the BB, right? You don't want any grease on the spindle flats or in the cranks, beside on the bolt threads.

sure sounds like chainring bolts to me. do you have the proper tool to hold 'em tight from behind while you crank them down?

You are right, my Shimano XTR is an "ISIS like non-square taper splined crank"....... I have had problems with them since I put them on the MTB.

Have the bearings checked and repacked. It should be maybe $20 at the shop.

Are you a clydesdale? I had the same problem and it was the chainring coming loose. I eventually had to use blue loc-tite on all the chainring bolts to keep them tight enough.

Hmm. That is part of what what my LBS did and it solved my problem. Sounds like AfterThisNap was saying the same thing, but maybe he can clarify.

Funny you should ask... I have the same cranks, and had the same exact problem over the last two days. It turned out that all I needed to do was tighten my right side pedal. No more popping, and it took 2 seconds.