Total new guy to biking. Ok, I'm getting a clicking noise from my right pedal area during downstroke. This only happens when working uphills or working the pedals hard. Nothing on the flats or downhills. I'm going to attach a short video where you can clearly hear the clicking noise. Thank you very much! Also....just had it in for a tuneup and crank inspection.
https://vimeo.com/67688369
It is fairly common to have clicking noises, but ticks and clicks are very hard to eliminate sometimes. What seems like it is tied to the pedals may be coming from the seat post, etc. Sometimes things like temperature and humidity can affect noises as well. Also, things like the front derailleur cage just hitting the crank, loose bottle cage bolts, or the front derailleur cable sticking out and hitting your shoe can seem like they are clicks but really aren't. Another thing to consider is that the frame and components are flexing from pedaling forces, and so you can get a click or creak sound where you think it couldn’t be – for example the seat post & clamp can make noise even when you are standing and pedaling due the frame flexing. Here’s a link if you don’t like reading the rest of this post:
Bicycle Touring Tips, Lessons Learned, and Tricks of the Trade
Clicks tied to your pedaling can come from
- BB (grease all threads in contact with the frame and BB, all metal to metal contact surfaces, and torque to the recommended settings, which can be quite high), the faces of tapered BB axles if they have a little corrosion
- bolt holding the BB cable guide onto the frame (grease threads and make sure the bolt is not touching the BB shell inside the frame)
- crank bolts (grease threads and washers)
- chain ring bolts (take them all out and grease the threads, the faces where they contact the CRs, and the CRs where they contact the crank spider arms)
- a dirty chain, inadequately lubed chain, stiff link in a chain or a burr on one of the "break off" special links used to assemble the chain
- front derailleur clamp (clean and put a light film of grease on the inside of the clamp where it touches the seat tube)
- the pedals (grease the threads and the shoulders of the axle where it butts against the crank arm, get some wax, silicone etc. on the cleats, check for play in the bearings, squirt some lube into the guts of the pedal machinery if possible)
- shoes/cleats - loose cleat nut rattling around in the shoe sole, shoe/cleat interface, cleat bolts, cleats touching pedals (wax lube, silicone, or furniture polish)
- seat post and saddle (grease the post, seat post bolts, saddle rails, and add some oil to where the rails go into the saddle body)
- bars and stem (grease the stem where it clamps to steerer or goes into the steerer if quill type, top cap, stem bolts at both ends, h'bar bolt if quill stem, and h'bar where it goes through the stem)
- grease/tighten QRs and where the hub axle contacts the frame
- tighten cassette lock ring, grease cassette hub body and cassette spacers
- grease steerer tube spacers (if threadless)
- replaceable derailleur hangers (remove, clean, grease all parts and threads, reassemble)
- any other bolt (bottle cages, derailleur clamps, derailleur bolts, shift cable casing stops, etc.)
- cables hitting the frame (cable donuts), or shifting in their end ferrules (lube contact points).
Wheels can make noises when pedaling or coasting (check for spoke tension, particularly on the rear non drive side, put a drop of lube where each pair of spokes cross and where each spoke enters the rim and the hub flange, check for loose metal bits or spoke nipples in the body of the rim and cracks in the rim at spoke holes.).
