tick..tick..tick..EXPLODE
 

For a few months now, my bike has been a ticking nightmare. Anytime I am riding up a hill or using any extra force whatsoever, my bike makes this annoying "tick" sound. The faster I am going, the faster the sound.

I took apart my headset and lubed it up with triflow. I removed the handlebars and lubed the clamp area.

I am going to lose my mind. I never thought this was possible but I officially hate riding my bike. The sound is that bad. What the hell could it be? Janky bottom bracket?

Shoelaces hitting your cranks?

Loose bottom bracket?

Spoke ping?

Could be a lot of things.

I'd guess bottom bracket, that happened to me once and it really did sound like TICK...TICK...TICK. spoked pinging is probably a one time thing

I had that happen to me once :D

where does the sound seem to come from? If it ticks faster as u're going faster it might be some issues with the drivetrain? Prop not headset. If u put ur bike on a repair stand (or upside down) and rotate the pedal maybe u can hear where the noise is coming from.

The thing is, a loose bottom bracket wouldn't sound at every single crank rotation, even when sitting. When mine was loose, it would only "thunk" whenever I was out of the saddle or climbing a hill, or trackstanding. If I'm riding smoothly along level ground, it doesn't make a peep.

Honestly, I know it sounds silly, but make sure it's not your shoelaces. It's happened to me more than once.

mine didn't sound at every rotation but it did follow an even rhythm and sped up as i pedaled faster. i guess different sounds are possible. Check everything.

Check the rhythm of the ticking- is it timed with every crank rotation, every rotation of the wheel, or absolutely not timed to the rotation of the crank or wheel?

Hmmm. I had this happen the other day when I got off my saddle to climb, and also got me wondering. Didn't really feel like it came from the frame or headset. Sounded like it came from the front rim.

Maybe these wheels need to be broken in a bit further... or it may be a loose spoke. I'm also interested in this. Thoughts?


I think I'll take to a shop next time I'm out, to get the wheels checked out.

It could be the valve stem tapping the rim. Make sure the collar is snug.

If your valve stems don't have screw collar threading or you don't have the collars, try taping the stem to one side and go for a test ride.

Valve with the collar tightened down:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/valveprc.gif

Valves with no collars:
http://www.infinitecycles.com/wp/upl...esta-valve.jpg

One of those damn things drove me absolutely CRAZY for a couple of weeks. My wife eventually said "isn't that loose valve collar making you nuts?", to which I naturally responded, "Yeah...I've been meaning to tighten them down".

:lol:

I was going to suggest the valve-tapping-against-the-rim thing also, except that in my experience this happens continuously with every wheel revolution regardless of effort, and the OP said this only happens when putting out extra effort such as when climbing a hill. Also, I don't use those %$&@# threaded rings, because if you get a flat they can get so tight that you can't get them off to remove the tube. Still, it's certainly worth checking out.

I'm having a similar problem. I'm a total noob with bicycles and I have a Windsor hour that's pretty much stock. I hear some clanking or something coming from my crankset or chains, somewhere around there. I was thinking it might be my bottom bracket since I heard they were notoriously bad on these bikesdirect bikes. Can anyone tell me what I need to fix on the bike to remedy the issue? I flipped it upside down and I spun the rear wheel and all the sound was coming from the center of the rear wheel where the bottom bracket is

Chainring bolts? Mine would make annoying sounds every full rotation or so when I was putting out some force.

I just solved a tick by removing my external bb cups and wrapping teflon tape on the threads. Drove me nuts for a week.

Two things not mentioned yet:
1. Pedals (either the bearings or the spindle). Grease both.
2. Saddle. Grease the rails where they sit in the clamp.

Oh yeah, also check the non-drive cup on your BB. The plastic ones sometimes crack and extra flex can make it creak.

i recently had this same issue; turned out to be the bolts hold my saddle to the seat post had become slightly loose. i lubed up the bolts and reset them tightly - no more clicking!

was in the same situation last week, check your chainring bolts and cranks, some noise was still left after that so i had my lbs check it, turns out it was normal chain noise from riding fixed :( fail chain just needs to be cleaned and lubed

loose chainring bolts are like death. The last time that happened to me I kept thinking my bike was going to explode from those sounds

It ended up being something wrong with my bottom bracket. I'll know in the next couple hours. I can't wait to ditch that ****ing sound!

Stretched chain can cause it. It's happening on mine now and I have my replacement lined up for this weekend...

What if it's not timed to the rotation of the crank or the wheel, and I flipped my bike upside down and rotated the pedals and couldnt hear my ticking anymore.. only when im actually on the bike pedaling

Did you try cleaning it and lubing it?

where should I clean and lube? I lubed the chain and cogs up with bicycle lube, not WD40 because people told me not to
can't really isolate where the noise is coming from because I can only hear it when im pedaling on my bike...

thanks in advance for any help i get... the issues really been bugging me

Hahaha, totally forgot about what you should lube...yea, the chain.

Is your chainline straight? Are your chainring bolts tight?

Lubed the chain, chainline is straight, chainring bolts are already tight and good to go I believe, if the chainring bolt is what I think it is. Like I said, I'm pretty new to this stuff, I'm not that sure what everything is yet hahaha

well if no one here can help, there is a mechanics thread.

But in any case, I get kinda of a clicking noise to, but thats just when I start out from a stop during acceleration.