the pedal?
Sun Nov 18 05:33:04 EST 2018
I've been getting a strange clicking noise on the bike for a few weeks. It occurs only when I'm pedalling, and it's always at the same point in the stroke, as my right foot reaches maximum extension. It was faint and infrequent at first, but gradually became louder and more consistent, and reached the point that I can sometimes feel the click, too. It sometimes stops when I vary the force. It happens only when I am riding - if I'm off the bike and hand-cranking the drive train, it's gone. I can't see anything hitting something else - no conflicts with the chain, chainrings, or derailleur.
Could it be the crank bearings? The bearings are sealed, and the bike is only a couple of years old.
Pedals can get a hard whack on the curb; I once had a pedal with threads damaged that way, and it could shift a thread in the cranks. No signs of that here. (On a recumbent, the pedals are far from the curb. With a short-wheelbase 'bent, you might smack the pedal on a door frame, but you probably wouldn't do that while riding, with speed and your weight on the bike.)
It occurs to me that the pedals may just be getting old, and going bad. High-end bikes tend to come without pedals; if you want "clipless" pedals (a terrible product name, since your shoes actually do "clip" into them), there's many choices, and you'd just be throwing the stock pedals away. I may have taken these pedals off another bike, and they may have had long stints on several bikes through my past.
We tend to think of the pedals as simple, trouble-free components. They weren't on my list as the possible cause. But they're not entirely simple; they have axles and bearings. They get our full weight on them - possibly more force, on a recumbent, and possibly pulling up too, with toe straps (or clipless pedals). Where they're positioned, they might get smacked hard on passing objects.
Fortunately, testing will be simple: find another right pedal, swap it, and go for a short ride.
Sunday 15:25
I found a pair of old pedals and swapped the right(-foot) pedal. I rode the bike the long block of the nearest side street, a gentle uphill (so I'm applying force) about 1/6 mile (0.3km). No clicking. So the problem is the pedal, not something mysterious elsewhere in the drive train. This means I need to buy a pair of pedals, but that's maybe under $20, and installation is easy. (Just remember the left pedal has left-handed threads.)
Sunday 17:39
After reading a lot of reviews about cheap pedals with bad bearings, I'm planning to open up the clicking pedal. But it's too late and dark to take that on now - maybe Thursday (holiday). I'll be working short days again this week, after another weekend of server patching.
Tuesday 02:30
After taking the clicking pedal off and putting it back Sunday, it was quiet Monday. It began to make a little noise 8mi (12.9km) into my 9mi (14.5km) commute. And it was quiet most of the ride home.
Thursday 04:53
The pedal's been quiet the last 2 days.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/1028846.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
I've been getting a strange clicking noise on the bike for a few weeks. It occurs only when I'm pedalling, and it's always at the same point in the stroke, as my right foot reaches maximum extension. It was faint and infrequent at first, but gradually became louder and more consistent, and reached the point that I can sometimes feel the click, too. It sometimes stops when I vary the force. It happens only when I am riding - if I'm off the bike and hand-cranking the drive train, it's gone. I can't see anything hitting something else - no conflicts with the chain, chainrings, or derailleur.
Could it be the crank bearings? The bearings are sealed, and the bike is only a couple of years old.
Pedals can get a hard whack on the curb; I once had a pedal with threads damaged that way, and it could shift a thread in the cranks. No signs of that here. (On a recumbent, the pedals are far from the curb. With a short-wheelbase 'bent, you might smack the pedal on a door frame, but you probably wouldn't do that while riding, with speed and your weight on the bike.)
It occurs to me that the pedals may just be getting old, and going bad. High-end bikes tend to come without pedals; if you want "clipless" pedals (a terrible product name, since your shoes actually do "clip" into them), there's many choices, and you'd just be throwing the stock pedals away. I may have taken these pedals off another bike, and they may have had long stints on several bikes through my past.
We tend to think of the pedals as simple, trouble-free components. They weren't on my list as the possible cause. But they're not entirely simple; they have axles and bearings. They get our full weight on them - possibly more force, on a recumbent, and possibly pulling up too, with toe straps (or clipless pedals). Where they're positioned, they might get smacked hard on passing objects.
Fortunately, testing will be simple: find another right pedal, swap it, and go for a short ride.
Sunday 15:25
I found a pair of old pedals and swapped the right(-foot) pedal. I rode the bike the long block of the nearest side street, a gentle uphill (so I'm applying force) about 1/6 mile (0.3km). No clicking. So the problem is the pedal, not something mysterious elsewhere in the drive train. This means I need to buy a pair of pedals, but that's maybe under $20, and installation is easy. (Just remember the left pedal has left-handed threads.)
Sunday 17:39
After reading a lot of reviews about cheap pedals with bad bearings, I'm planning to open up the clicking pedal. But it's too late and dark to take that on now - maybe Thursday (holiday). I'll be working short days again this week, after another weekend of server patching.
Tuesday 02:30
After taking the clicking pedal off and putting it back Sunday, it was quiet Monday. It began to make a little noise 8mi (12.9km) into my 9mi (14.5km) commute. And it was quiet most of the ride home.
Thursday 04:53
The pedal's been quiet the last 2 days.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/1028846.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]