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Clicking ticking noise

I need help before I go crazy. I have a Cube road bike about 3 years old which has developed an odd metallic clicking, ticking sort of noise when I pedal. There isn't a predictable rhythm to the noise and it's difficult to predict where it appears on the pedal stroke. The noise disappears when I freewheel or when I pedal at a low cadence.

So far I've changed the pedals, changed my cleats, had the bike serviced and as a result had a new bottom bracket. I've removed the handlebars and stem gave them a clean and refitted them. I've checked the wheels and there don't appear to be any problems that I can see and just to be thorough I removed and re-fitted the tyres and tubes.

Despite all of this the damn clicking ticking noise remains. Does anyone have any ideas as to what else I could do to sort this out?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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17 comments

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giff77 | 9 years ago
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Similar to Cantab, after trying to source a clicking I eventually narrowed it down to the freewheel mechanism. Once that was replaced clicking was gone. It turned out that the ratchets were slipping when a put the power down in the higher gears.

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Cantab | 9 years ago
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I had an intermittent ticking noise, which was worse when I pedalled harder, couldn't for the life of me work it out until, in the natural course of things, I changed the cassette - noise gone! Might be worth stripping, cleaning, greasing and refitting yours if the seat/seatpost turns out to be innocent!

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Lavaman | 9 years ago
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A long shot perhaps, but I had a similar noise some time back on a race lite rear wheel. Was at it's worst when climbing, which suggested flex in the wheel. Tried everything and eventually resorted to a very small drop of oil on each spoke nipple and at each point that spokes crossed over. Sorted.

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FMOAB | 9 years ago
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I'll second the amount of cable pulled through your front derailleur and your foot pinging it as it goes past. That one had me going nuts  102

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marc_j_w | 9 years ago
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone. The next step will definitely be to have a very close look at the seat post, clamp and saddle. I'll keep you all posted.

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craig749 | 9 years ago
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I had this problem not long ago and it was driving me mad. After trying almost everything I could think of, I was told by a friend who is a cycle mechanic to grease the screws in my cleats. As soon as I done this and went back on the bike the noise had gone. If you've not tried it then id recommend giving it a try  3

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bashthebox | 9 years ago
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Pedals was my first suggestion, but you've ruled that out.
Could be your headset/stem interface with bars or seatpost.

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jollygoodvelo | 9 years ago
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I had a noise that only happened when in the small ring. Turned out it was the cable end for the front derailleur tapping against my shoe  4

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farrell | 9 years ago
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I had a buzzing noise when riding the other day which seemed to be coming from my front wheel or handlebars, perhaps the stem, or so I thought.

I ended up riding along, desperately unseating myself to try and get an ear nearer to the source of the sound as it disappeared when I slowed down.

Turned out to be the label sticking out of my mitt that was buzzing as it flapped in the wind.

 14

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Frannybobs | 9 years ago
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I had that and it turned out to be the magnet on my wheel catching the cadence sensor...it stopped when I freewheeled and was worse if I had my right leg down. But after all you've done I'm sure you'd have noticed if it was that...

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TheFatAndTheFurious | 9 years ago
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Absolutely on the saddle/seatpost.

I had the exact same problem on a 2010 Cube Agree SL (alu frame). I found this after I had:

* stripped and repacked the BB races
* stripped and regreased hollowtech crank
* removed pedals, cleaned and regreased pedal threads
* cleaned front chainrings and bolts and regreased.

I didn't pin down whether it was the seatpost collar or the saddle clamp, but a thorough stripping down and teflon greasing of:

* seat post
* seat tube
* collar
* saddle rails
* clamp

finally silenced the problem.

Work through these one at a time, and let us know?

I'm wondering if mine came about by overtightening the collar, thus exceeding the grease's threshold.

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Super Domestique | 9 years ago
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I know you've had a new one but is it a PF BB ?

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Hensteeth | 9 years ago
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All of the above. I get this from the seat tube and seatpost every few months, usually after a wet ride. Remove, clean, regrease. Also had a clicking from the pedals once which was fixed by removing and greasing the threads on the axles before refitting.

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therevokid | 9 years ago
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or bottles moving in the cage ... I used Elite cages with the "gels" in them and
certain bottles would "click" and "tick" as they moved against the cage ....

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chiv30 | 9 years ago
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If u use alu or steel bottle cages remove them go for a ride see if it's still there .....I had the same issue and it was a cracked cage ...

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Some Fella | 9 years ago
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I had a similar sound which 'ticked' on every revolution of the pedal.
I presumed it was the drivetrain. Drove me insane. Stripped everything down.
No joy.

Turns out it was grit inside the seattube. I think it was just the pressure of my buttock pushing down on every revolution that caused it.
Just cleaned out seattube and seatpost - lithium greased the lot - ticking gone.

Might be worth ruling it out.

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Jack Osbourne snr | 9 years ago
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Saddle and seatpost next.

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