akkando

So I rode maybe 10 miles today and I noticed there was a weird click that I could hear and feel when I pedal that happened maybe about every 2 minutes or so about 5 miles through the ride.

I could not tell if it felt like a lock ring slipping, nothing like the cranks going from 12 o'clock to 6 or anything....

My chain tension is a bit looser than it should be and I will try and fix that tomorrow. Also I rode through some dirt and small almost sand like pebbles and it was damp/wet. I don't think I felt any weird click until after I road a small amount in that area... but could coincidence.

Also I can't seem to force it to happen. It doesn't seem to matter if I pedal with just one foot or the other apply a lot of pressure or a little to the drive train. I do NOT notice it if I just hop off the bike and spin the wheel. I feel it more in the cranks than in the pedal when I am riding.

What do you think it is?

beeftech

Loose chainring bolt is my first guess.
Second is a stiff link in the chain. (not much you can do about this)
Possibly a third could be the bottom bracket, depending on how old it is.

akkando

It's all new. Kind of felt like it was in the BB to me, but I really don't know what I am talking about.

dudezor

My first thought was a stiff link too, and you can do something about that. You have to take the chain off, bend all of the links until you find the culprit/s (if any), then you can bend the chain back and forth laterally on the pin of the stiff link to loosen it up.

Otherwise it could be the classic "cog and lockring aren't tightened down properly".

akkando

Well I think it's sand and and crap from my last ride stuck to the chain, crank, cog, and between the crank and the bottom bracket. I think that is mostly what I feel when I pedal is a piece of crap in or around the BB.

I unfortunately do not have a tool to take the cranks off to get at the bottom bracket to attempt to look at it and clean it, but I can see with a flashlight there is some junk down between crank and BB. Are small rocks and sand really that dangerous to a bike?

meangreen

if it is a stiff link, cant you use a chain tool and change out the link or pin?

veganwar

You don't actually have to remove the chain from the bike to find stiff link but at least get it off the cog and chain. And then do what dudeazor said about flexing the chain.

beeftech

My first bet is still a loose chainring bolt. take it to your lbs and have them check the bolts.
They should be able to go over on the spot, and there is a chance the wont even charge you for it, because of how quick it is to check and fix.

diamandgeezer

I found out another way - instead of putting the chain on the sticking-out bit of the chain tool furthest away from the 'pusher', as you would normally to put a link in (I need to brush up my terminology a bit here, but bear with me ), put it on the next on along (the one nearest to the pusher). This means that instead of pushing all the bits of the chain together, it pushes them apart (because the force is applied to the pusher side of the chain).

You still need to do it the normal way if you're actually connecting two links, but if they are stuck then push the link apart by half a turn or so, and it should be fine.

I generally find that cheap chains (BMX ones in particular) need this treatment, while more expensive 9 and 8 speed ones don't.

I hope that helps, and that it was clear enough (it really needs a diagram).

jpdesjar

clean your drivetrain well and check your pedal threads too...remove pedals grease threads and then reinstall