That Clicking Noise

[leostag]

Hi. Know there have been other threads on this subject, but I have got the clicking noise issue and am desperate to sort it out, so any help would be appreciated.

I bought a new Specialised Secteur Sport Triple road bike last December, so approx 4 months old. For the first 8 weeks, everything was great. At that point the bike was taken back to the shop for a free maintenance check, the only issue being a necessary gear adjustment due to the cables stretching. It was soon after this point that I noticed a clicking noise which I initially thought was coming from the drivetrain area, as well as noticing that the chain was rubbing on the front chain guard when in certain gears, and the gears needed further adjustment. Not a happy customer, so back to the shop again, where the gears were adjusted again but they could not hear any clicking noises. Back out on the road and the clicking noise continued and, after a couple of weeks, the chain snapped at the link plate. Very unhappy and back to the shop again where a "stronger" link plate was fitted and the bike was good to go. The shop said this had become a problem with Specialised chains and was probably responsible for the clicking noise. Due to the bad weather and illness, I didn't ride again until recently when I found, to my dismay, the clicking was still there. There is no pattern to the clicking, it is erratic and there when pedalling and freewheeling. It seems to disappear when on a very smooth surface, and is possibly worse when going uphill. One point - I do not hear the clicking when the bike is on the turbo trainer, either riding or just manually turning the pedals. It appears to be a problem when on the road. I have checked every nut, bolt, and screw for tightness. I am constantly checking the chain now, scared that it could snap again. One other adjustment made to the bike by the shop, was to make the handlebars higher for me by turning the handlebar stem? around. Not sure if this is important. Not sure what more to do but it is driving me crazy and spoiling my riding. Not sure now where the clicking is coming from. Dont think I will get anywhere by making another 50 mile round trip and going back to the shop.

[Painkiller]

one mans click could be a creak to another. if you are positive no click in the trainer that would seem to isolate the noise to the moving parts of the front end of the bike. clicks can be caused by a lot of things even the way your cables move against your frame.
I would start by lubing all surface to surface components, i.e. bar to stem, stem to tube, all bolt threads, drop the fork and all race surfaces, bearings etc. inspect clean,relube front wheel bearings
inspect rims for fissures and headtube for fissures. work in segments. test, proceed. do not bounce all over the bike and it will be easier to track.
if you can try to move the steering back and forth in the trainer to see if you can make it click. make sure your wheel reflectors are not the culprit. remove them and go for a ride. scrutinize every part of the bike no matter how trivial it may seem. good luck and keep us posted

[leostag]

thanks for the reply painkiller.

What I dont understand is that everything was great for the first 8 weeks or so until the bike had a maintenance check. What could the shop have done that has changed things?

[Painkiller]

Again that may or may not be the case of the shops fault. these ticks,clicks and creaks can come on at anytime for a multitude of reasons. start with the simple things first, even a water cage bolt loose can make noises. you see your trainer cannot duplicate road vibrations that are absorbed by the bike. particles inside the frame left over from the manufacturing process that are left behind shake loose and end up in such a place to cause strange noises. So if your trips to the shop are done, you will have to trace them down with a methodical process that you can log and rule out one step at a time. yes this can be tough to a newbie or one without tools. try what i stated above, one thing at a time with a test ride after each thing till something changes.
through a forum venue, this is all Ican tell you without seeing the bike in person. it sounds as you describe the work the shop did it would do it in the trainer, except the fact you are not steering or experiencing real world road vibrations

[leostag]

(04-03-2013, 05:25 PM)painkiller Wrote:  Again that may or may not be the case of the shops fault. these ticks,clicks and creaks can come on at anytime for a multitude of reasons. start with the simple things first, even a water cage bolt loose can make noises. you see your trainer cannot duplicate road vibrations that are absorbed by the bike. particles inside the frame left over from the manufacturing process that are left behind shake loose and end up in such a place to cause strange noises. So if your trips to the shop are done, you will have to trace them down with a methodical process that you can log and rule out one step at a time. yes this can be tough to a newbie or one without tools. try what i stated above, one thing at a time with a test ride after each thing till something changes.
through a forum venue, this is all Ican tell you without seeing the bike in person. it sounds as you describe the work the shop did it would do it in the trainer, except the fact you are not steering or experiencing real world road vibrations

Agree that it may have nothing to do with what the shop has done, but still very strange that, other than the whirring of the drivetrain, there was no noises when the bike was new up to the maintenance check. I would agree that road vibration plays a major part in this as when on a smooth surface, the noise disappears. Unfortunately I dont have the confidence/experience to carry out all your checking suggestions. I have checked all screws, nuts, bolts etc, wheel reflectors, cables, and bottle cages. I thought I had found the problem with a loose bottle cage but not the case. Although there appears to be no noise on the trainer, I suppose it could still be a drivetrain issue, as there is no road vibration on the trainer. Other than that, I am stumped unless the problem is inside the frame. Wish I could get someone to ride the bike for a while, not just up and down the pavement for 10 metres like the shop did.

[Painkiller]

its a small world, update your bio as to where you are from and who knows maybe someone on this forum lives nearby