Not to sound like my wife, but there's this noise..

[JohnV]

Well, I went riding yesterday and tried to pin down the noise. I also checked the chainrings and all three are straight. The ratcheting sound wasn't as noticeable yesterday as it has been. I'll be going out again today after work and will try again. This is driving me crazy because I have tried all the suggestions and they all come up negative. I put a chainring guard on the crankset last month and I thought it could also be coming from a loose retainer screw, but no such luck. I guess its going to be a trip to the shop on Saturday.