[Barety]

The other day I was riding just to get around because I was bored just staying inside. It was cold out, so I got my jacket and headed out. Every now and then I kept hearing a clicking sound. It sounded pretty close, almost in front of me, so I thought, maybe its just a little bit of play in the headset. I got so stressed because it was so quiet out, and the only thing I can hear was that clicking. But then I realized, it was the damn zipper handle on my jacket, hitting the zipper back and forth. I was so relieved, you have no idea😂. Anyway, just wanted to share this experience to see if anybody has had some stupid noise that you thought was on your bike that ended up being not big of a deal.

 

[EatsDirt]

I've had packaged food in my shorts pocket that I could have sworn was causing the dreaded linkage/BB crackle... more than once.

 

[Gasp4Air]

Testicles knocking together.

 

[BadgerOne]

Testicles knocking together.

...but did lightning shoot out of your butt too?

 

[rockcrusher]

I had a click on my commuter that absolutely sounded like the BB/Hub noise. Enough so that I ended up buying a new BB and putting it in thinking that would solve the problem. Get back on my bike and click, click, click. I of course had done the seated, standing, pedal with one leg then the other, pedal with the brakes on, etc. It made the noise under power so it must be associated with the BB or hub or chain or maybe the frame is broken.

Take it all apart, grease and lube everything, chainrings, pedals, freehub, nipples, cleats. Still makes the sound. Finally I am just standing there with the bike, I grab my rack to move the bike and it makes the creak. ended up I had a loose bolt on my rack for my panniers. When I was pedaling it was flexing the frame enough to make that one connection creak. Hours of lubing, disassembly, reassembly, and a new BB all for a loose bolt on my seat stay.

 

[202cycle]

Years ago a buddy had a ticking sound. Every pedal rotation. He pulled the cranks, lubed the chainring bolts, put in a new bb, still ticking. He installed different pedals and searched his frame for cracks. Nothing stopped the tick. Until I pointed out to him that his shift cable was sticking out and hitting the crank arm.

 

[dir-T]

I was once resting at the top of a steep climb when I heard and felt a dull "thump, thump, thump, thump, THUMP" sound. My immediate thought was, "oh sh*t, I'm about to have a heart attack".

Turned out it was just a grouse in a nearby bush but it really did feel like it was my heart beating out of control.

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

I got nothing.

 

[DrDon]

I’ve had creaks in multiple places but the two recently that got me was a thinner cable entering the frame and the stem and spacers. I have a creak under load now but my drivetrain is so old it look likes it needs to be replaced.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[bdamschen]

I had the same, except it was the plastic tip of a shoe lace bouncing off the crank arm. Thought my bottom bracket or pedal was dying.

 

[Notthatbryan]

Go nuts, save your sanity for later.

 

[BadgerOne]

I had the same, except it was the plastic tip of a shoe lace bouncing off the crank arm. Thought my bottom bracket or pedal was dying.

Had this happen except the lace tip was hitting the downtube of my frame (though I knew what it was). Things you can barely hear through carbon or aluminum are quite loud and pronounced through Ti, it's like an amplifier. A healthy ping on every rotation.

 

[noapathy]

What?

 

[Mike Aswell]

This morning I couldn't sleep so I did 20 miles on my spin bike. At about mile 0.7 my right shoe came untied and on every pedal stroke the hard end of the lace hit the frame and ticked. I made the decision that I wasn't disrupting my flow and that it didn't bother me. By mile 20, I realized that I had made a poor choice.

 

[Curveball]

I was once resting at the top of a steep climb when I heard and felt a dull "thump, thump, thump, thump, THUMP" sound. My immediate thought was, "oh sh*t, I'm about to have a heart attack".

Turned out it was just a grouse in a nearby bush but it really did feel like it was my heart beating out of control.

I've had grouse flush in front of me which sent my heart out of control.

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

I've had grouse flush in front of me which sent my heart out of control.

Ssme with pheasants. So many flushed pheasants just 5’ away, 👀

 

[schnee]

Lockdown's been hard on us all, man.

Let it out, we're here for you.

 

[Kevin Matherne]

...but did lightning shoot out of your butt too?

Current topic here is the ride under some high voltage lines where with the right sweaty conditions the jewels are at high risk for a static discharge. Might be visible at night so thats close enough to a yes in regards to lightning and the nether regions. Y’all be safe out there. 😂

 

[hkmeup]

My worst issue was with an old Santa Cruz Superlight (2003). I damn near tore apart the entire bike looking for the creeeeak! Turned out it was the metal derailleur cable ferrule rubbing on the braze on cable stop located underneath the water bottle mount. When the rear triangle would cycle the cable would compress and that ferrule would make hideous noises. Nowadays, I just don't worry about random clicks and creaks simply because if I ride my bike long enough, I know it's just a matter of time before something starts making noise.

 

[benjpi]

Today: Fuji gravel bike in the stand, needed a new rear derailleur cable. So.... pull the old one out through the hole up by the head tube. Then... look to see that the entry and exit holes are about 3mm in diameter. Not a single internal cable tool fits. Made a few frustrating attempts with the Park Tool stuff, tried the magnet, walked around the shop cursing at the walls. I got one tool in from the bottom bracket end to come out by the head tube, finally, but couldn't attach the new cable to the old one. Tried electrical tape (more cursing) - tried painters tape (louder cursing). Finally, got the bright idea to try heat-shrink tubing from the hardware store. 2" on each end, just touching in the middle.

Burn myself with the MAPP torch, wondering how many bike tools are designed for Zaphrod Beeblebrox. (three arms, right? Or was it just two heads?). Finally fished the cable through. 15 minute job, hours gone.

Internal cable routing MUST have been designed by the same guys that came up with "New Way of Working."