jchou701

There's a clicking sound in the rear cog when i ride

I'm thinking it's the chain rubbing against it?

(chainline is straight)

someone help me

p3ntuprage

1: check you've put the chain together right and not mullered a sideplate or a pin in the process. [watch your fingers]

2: if you've got loose ball hubs they might need an overhaul.

that's all i can think of.

fsnl
sparky

dmg

Sure it's the rear cog? Dollars to donuts you've got a loose chainring bolt or two.
Also: new build, or are these parts you were using before (with no click)?

jchou701

This bike was built in SF, AM cyclery - i rode it, and it was fine

i moved to so-cal so they helped me ship the bike down there and now when i'm riding it - it has a clicking sound

everything's brand new

marqueemoon

Is the wheel on straight? Sometimes if the wheel isn't aligned right you'll get some rub. If you still can't narrow it down get off the bike and spin the wheel and see if it stops happening when it's not under load. If it still does it check the chain, cog. etc... If not it might be a hub issue.

barba

Sounds can be from odd places that are different from where they sound like they are coming from. Check all of your bolts (chain rings, seat post, stem, etc.) and your pedals to make sure they are tight.

jchou701

I flipped the bike over and spun the pedals and i still hear the sound

it's not exactly a CLICK - and it's not loud - but it's a constant sound

somewhere when the bike was being shipped, something happened.. i still don't know what it is

jchou701

kind of afraid to skid or anything that would put tension/pressure on rear cog due to the sound... no idea what it can be

seagull_bags

My cog was a hair bent. It was almost so small that you couldn't see it. Man, that thing made the worst sounds ever. Throw it up on a rack and take the chain off and check it to see if its off. Just a thought.

Dan

marqueemoon

So does the click speed up and slow down with the motion of the cranks/wheel? Can you narrow down where it is happening by putting an ear up to the bike (not too close by the cog or chainring. I don't want to see those pictures).

jchou701

the sound doesn't slow/speed up the bike - it's simply just the sound - one small thing i noticed though, is that at a certain part of the pedal revolution, it's slightly louder

possibility that the cog got bent when it was shipped?.... the frame was shipped with the rear wheel and chain in place - that part of the bike wasn't touched/taken apart

kalliergo 

Does it get slightly louder at the same place in *every* pedal revolution?

If so, it probably isn't from the cog, lockring, rear hub, etc., because all those parts rotate at a different rate (faster) than the pedals. Check, pedals, cranks, BB, etc.

Moximitre

flip your steed upside down, pedal slowly, listen REALLY careful, try to determine where EXACYLT the sound is coming from. that would help with diagnosis I'm sure.

btw, don't pay attention to me, I'm drunk.

circlecity

lube

jchou701

umm, sound is coming from rear cog - my description of the pedal at a specific revolution is about the sound at the rear cog

i don't think LUBE will help because it didn't have that sound a week ago when i rode it

humancongereel

your cog and pedal probably aren't perfectly aligned unless you have a perfect 1:1 ratio. otherwise, they'll be at different points in their revolutions at any given time. so the fact that the noise only occurs at one pedal position pretty much cuts out the cog. seems logical to me. must be something with cranks, pedal, bb.

Aeroplane

If it's happening at just one point in the pedal rotation, maybe your chainring offcenter, and at one point it is too tight, and is causing binding in the rear axle. Try loosening up the chain tension and see if it goes away.

keevohn

Here's a new one: have your spoke tension checked in the rear wheel. I had a clicking sound a while back that I was convinced came from my cog or slightly imperfect chainline. Turns out the rear wheel (which was fairly new) relaxed its tension enough that the spokes were clicking together.

I'd say that it's extremely unlikely that a regular clicking sound is coming from a fixed cog, even if you're convinced that's where it's coming from.

fixedpip

Two thoughts (really just reiterating what others said)

1) Relax your chain tension and see if its still there. Either your chain is too tight, too dry (if its a new chain - the procterant on the chain acts a lube for a few days and then you'll have to relube it), chainring bolts are loose or your bb is stressed.

2) I had a clicking sound once where the chain masterlink had bent a little. If you have a masterlink, check that its installed the right way round and is not catching anything. This should be fairly obvious just by looking at the chain though.

Creaks and clicks are annoying so you'll need to be either lucky or systematic to track it down.

joshuastar

tip on listening:

get a short length of garden hose or a piece of stiff rubber hose. hold one end up to your ear with hand 1, and move the other end around the bike like a stethoscope with hand 2. get it close to the bike, but obviously don't touch it. this can help you pinpoint the location of the sound and you have a smaller chance of losing an ear or finger.

visitordesign

clean the cog and check the teeth (front and back) for gashes, gouges or nicks. i had one that was ever so slightly nicked and it clicked. i replaced it and life was quiet once more in the kingdom of me.

Rugen

I'm going to jump on the "it's probably not your rear hub if it's happening at the same point of pedal revolution" bandwagon. I would take the chain off and test the crank for sound and make sure it's not your bottom bracket/crank assembly/pedals. I had a bearing in a jacked up bearing retainer/cage making a quasi-clicking sound. I had thought it was coming from the rear hub. I was wrong. Went away after a bb overhaul.

flipflop

If it doesnt do it when your bike is upside down... make sure your saddle is not loose on the post.

Mine goes loose and starts clicking every revolution of the left leg. Wacky, but it sounds like its coming from the rear wheel.