Click while Peddling

[Morton]

My bike is (again) making a clicking noise when I peddle. Where on earth do I start?

Here are the details as I see them.

1. It clicks at the 6 o'clock position and happend on each revolution. The lower peddle (right) is the one clicking.

2. It seems to start after an hour or so. Then is gone the next morning.

3. When I peddle backwards or stand up it temporarily stops.

4. I bought the bike new last year and it started after a couple of months. Then it mysteriously disappeared. I didn't ride during the winter. This year I've used my bike at least weekly (I normally go about 100k) and have had no problem until coming back today.

5. The bike shop checked it out last year but the click still persisted.

6. Changing gears/cadence makes no difference.

7. Could it be dirt/grease?

Any insight?

 

[Yamabushi]

Possibly the bearings in your bottom bracket have gone on you?

 

[onm]

Might not actually be the pedal.

From personal experience, the perceived location of the click is not always where the problem actually is.

Is the click happening even when sitting down on the saddle and pedals very gently in the easiest gear, or does it only happen when you are giving it some welly?

 

[snoogly]

It's happened to me three times.

1
Shoe lace!

2
Seat post seized in seat tube.

3
Knackered BB.

It can be very hard to pin the sound down.

 

[Edogawakikkoman]

Set your bike to summer time and see if it clicks at 7 o'clock.

 

[onm]

Haha

 

[StuInTokyo]

I once had a clicking sound that drove me nuts, turned out to be one steel wrench clicking against another in the under saddle bag I had that also holds my spare tube and patch kit.

 

[Morton]

Might not actually be the pedal.

From personal experience, the perceived location of the click is not always where the problem actually is.

Is the click happening even when sitting down on the saddle and pedals very gently in the easiest gear, or does it only happen when you are giving it some welly?

When it starts it clicks regardless of the speed or gear.

 

[snoogly]

Try on and out of the saddle, that can help you rule out saddle/seat post clicks. Also, have someone ride next to you and see if they can hear exactly where the sound is coming from.

 

[Morton]

Ended up back at the bike shop and luckily on the way it started clicking. This time the guy could hear it and managed to suss it out quickly. It was the peddle and the opposite one from what I thought.

Feels like having a new bike.


As a novice I really appreciate all the advice.

 

[Sikochi]

It was the peddle.

Even more reason to switch to clipped pedals! If you want to try them, ask at your LBS, as I saw the local one here set up some wee lassie on the rollers so she could try them out. There really is no downside to them (though some newbies seem to have a habit of falling over in them as they forget to unclip - saw one the other month ) but once you try them, you will wonder why you spent so long in cycling`s dark ages.

 

[Morton]

Even more reason to switch to clipped pedals!

Have you been talking to my bike shop bloke?

 

[Sikochi]

Have you been talking to my bike shop bloke?

I`m on commission