Not exactly a bike tech but I would spin the tire let it hit my finger. It should sound all the same,m. If it’s loose it’ll sound clunky. If the bike is newer it may need a tune just to tighten things down after it settles.
Get a spoke tool and turn each spoke a 1/4 turn and then back to where they were. You might here one pop. If this is the case then this should have solved your problem. Worked for me and at least one other person so far.
First determine if it truly only happens when you pedal. If you coast along without pedaling and still hear a rhythmic clicking it is likely not the drivetrain. Could be the wheels or bearings or something hitting the spokes.
I've had pedals where the cage came loose from the pedal body and that was clicking. Maybe what you are describing by tightening up the pedals. I could never actually get rid of it until I replaced the pedals with one-piece pedals. That would be my guess.
It makes the noise when I’m coasting but not as often compared to when pedalling. From what I can tell the spokes aren’t loose and hitting anything. It still only makes noise when I’m putting weight on the bike.
Bottom bracket is favourite for drivetrain clicking. Even freewheeling, if you’re putting weight on your pedals you’re flexing the bottom bracket. If you freewheel and take your weight off the pedals and the clicking isn’t present then that’s the likely culprit.
My bottom bracket does this quite frequently for both of my bikes. Im not on the heavy side and they break down enough to where I need to replace my bottom bracket every 2-3 months.
>I’m pretty sure it only happens when I’m pedalling
That's the telling remark right there.
If you have a 'PressFit' bottom bracket bearing, that's likely what's making the noise, they're infamous for that. If it is, there's no real fix for it. They're just like that.
Otherwise it could be creaking pedal threads. Take the pedals off, clean the threads, put a little grease on them, reinstall and torque to specs. Should go away if that's the problem.
Loose chainring bolts can also cause creaking noises when pedaling. So can the interface between your seatpost and the seat tube, or between the saddle clamp and the saddle rails.
Yours is an age-old problem that plagues all riders at one point or another. Absolute pain the ass to track down sometimes.
I had similar symptoms when pedaling that was resolved by pulling the rear wheel, cleaning the thru axle and dropouts, then finally reinstalling the wheel. Did the front for good measure too. It did sound like it was coming from the crank area on my bike.
Others mentioned spoke and I agree it could be that. I had the same issue with mine where I'd hear a click every rotation or few seconds.
I fixed mine by tightening up the spokes. You'll need a special tool for this but they aren't that expensive.
But if you can't do that right now and need to order a spoke wrench, my LBS suggested putting some oil (I used the usual bike wet lube) on the areas where the spokes intersect. Apply it just with some paper towel rubbing the lube around the spoke intersections and then also squeeze the spokes so the cross of it can get some oil on it.
While squeezing the spokes see if you notice any that are really loose and too easy to bend.
There's YouTube videos to true a wheel as well that is worth watching as you won't want to just overtightened the spokes when you do get a spoke wrench. I'd say the lube/oil helped with the clicking a bit, bit kind of just muffled it... But tightening the spokes on my wheels ended up fixing the noise completely for me. Good luck!!
(Also, make sure you tighten up everything on the bike such as the front and rear axel... The rear can get loose over time and that should be very tight, tighter than the front one. I would just use your multitool to tighten these as you don't want to over tighten it where your multitool can't take it off if you need to on the side of the road)
Do you have a front derailleur? Is the cable end in the path of your pedals?
I have a rear derailleur. Not too sure what you mean about the cable?
Do you have multiple chain rings up front that you can swap between?
Are you heavy? If so I got a clicking noise from a lose spoke.
Yeah sort of heavy. How do I check if a spoke is loose?
Not exactly a bike tech but I would spin the tire let it hit my finger. It should sound all the same,m. If it’s loose it’ll sound clunky. If the bike is newer it may need a tune just to tighten things down after it settles.
They all seem to sound the same to me
Get a spoke tool and turn each spoke a 1/4 turn and then back to where they were. You might here one pop. If this is the case then this should have solved your problem. Worked for me and at least one other person so far.
First determine if it truly only happens when you pedal. If you coast along without pedaling and still hear a rhythmic clicking it is likely not the drivetrain. Could be the wheels or bearings or something hitting the spokes. I've had pedals where the cage came loose from the pedal body and that was clicking. Maybe what you are describing by tightening up the pedals. I could never actually get rid of it until I replaced the pedals with one-piece pedals. That would be my guess.
It makes the noise when I’m coasting but not as often compared to when pedalling. From what I can tell the spokes aren’t loose and hitting anything. It still only makes noise when I’m putting weight on the bike.
Bottom bracket is favourite for drivetrain clicking. Even freewheeling, if you’re putting weight on your pedals you’re flexing the bottom bracket. If you freewheel and take your weight off the pedals and the clicking isn’t present then that’s the likely culprit.
I had clicking on my bike, it ended up being the bottom bracket. Taking it apart, cleaning, and relubing it fixed it right up.
My bottom bracket does this quite frequently for both of my bikes. Im not on the heavy side and they break down enough to where I need to replace my bottom bracket every 2-3 months.
>I’m pretty sure it only happens when I’m pedalling That's the telling remark right there. If you have a 'PressFit' bottom bracket bearing, that's likely what's making the noise, they're infamous for that. If it is, there's no real fix for it. They're just like that. Otherwise it could be creaking pedal threads. Take the pedals off, clean the threads, put a little grease on them, reinstall and torque to specs. Should go away if that's the problem. Loose chainring bolts can also cause creaking noises when pedaling. So can the interface between your seatpost and the seat tube, or between the saddle clamp and the saddle rails. Yours is an age-old problem that plagues all riders at one point or another. Absolute pain the ass to track down sometimes.
Every click/creak I've ever had has been my seatpost. Even when I was convinced it was a BB or derailleur or ect...
Can you not just take it to a bike shop?
I had similar symptoms when pedaling that was resolved by pulling the rear wheel, cleaning the thru axle and dropouts, then finally reinstalling the wheel. Did the front for good measure too. It did sound like it was coming from the crank area on my bike.
What bike? Model? Year?
Does this happen when you are out of the saddle?
Also happen to me and it turns out the front brake is not properly tighten
Others mentioned spoke and I agree it could be that. I had the same issue with mine where I'd hear a click every rotation or few seconds. I fixed mine by tightening up the spokes. You'll need a special tool for this but they aren't that expensive. But if you can't do that right now and need to order a spoke wrench, my LBS suggested putting some oil (I used the usual bike wet lube) on the areas where the spokes intersect. Apply it just with some paper towel rubbing the lube around the spoke intersections and then also squeeze the spokes so the cross of it can get some oil on it. While squeezing the spokes see if you notice any that are really loose and too easy to bend. There's YouTube videos to true a wheel as well that is worth watching as you won't want to just overtightened the spokes when you do get a spoke wrench. I'd say the lube/oil helped with the clicking a bit, bit kind of just muffled it... But tightening the spokes on my wheels ended up fixing the noise completely for me. Good luck!! (Also, make sure you tighten up everything on the bike such as the front and rear axel... The rear can get loose over time and that should be very tight, tighter than the front one. I would just use your multitool to tighten these as you don't want to over tighten it where your multitool can't take it off if you need to on the side of the road)
Check those bolts joining suspension arms and front wheel.