Crack in frame

[huttster]

Hi all,Just recently the love of my life has developed a clicking sound when power down on right pedal only,i have tried loads to find the source including new bb,chain that had stretched,different pedals,pedalling with trainers on to eliminate cleats,saddle out and carbon pasted,rear hub removed,free hub re-lubed,chainrings removed and bolts greased,stem and handlebars checked,front derailler clamp removed and greased(thought i had solved it with this one as it made a loud click when loosened)but still clicking ,decided to have a closer look at frame and found this crack,does it look like a cracked frame or could it be just the paint?Not too hot at uploading pics so bear with me,any advice on what to do next would be fantastic .

 

[Zoiders]

Thats an overfilled weld that has been smoothed with a di-grinder and then painted over to give a better cosmetic apearance.

As to if that little dint is a crack or not I can't tell, it could just be a line created by the slot in the seat stay that recieves the drop out plate, the image is a bit tiny and this monitor is not very hi-rez. Take the wheel out and stress the rear triangle by trying to pull the chain stays apart (not too hard mind you), a crack will open up if it's there.

 

[screenman]

I would say if the paint is not cracked, you would see a black line if it was then the frame is not cracked.

 

[huttster]

Have tried putting a bit of stress on with wheel off but cannot replicate noise at all or get any movement,tried with saddle out and front derailleur clamp off this morning but still clicking,am running out of ideas,maybe need to take to lbs and let them have a look to swap some parts out to eliminate them,looked at warranty last night,frame has a five year one,manufacturers defects etc. as long as only parts recommended by the manufacturer have been replaced,does this mean chain,seatpost and stem as they have all been changed?

 

[fossyant]

Clicking.

Can be bars and stem, chainring bolts, cranks, BB, pedals. Also something catching (obvious but does happen).

 

[Globalti]

Relax, it's just a witness crack. Have a look at this one on my carbon frame where the ali lug enters the tube: the problem is that bike manufacturers paint their frames with thick layers of extremely inflexible hard paint.

This crack on my Roubaix hasn't changed in over 1000 miles of banging over cattle grids, worn out top dressing and bunny-hopping potholes.

Also, I don't know much about the physics of brittle materials but from over 30 years of trying to spot underlying crevasses on glaciers I am about to cross on skis or on foot I would say that both your and my crack have the characteristics of a dense surface layer that is responding to slight movement under the surface but not complete separation - the crack is not continuous as you would expect if there was definite separation into two parts.

 

[huttster]

That's what i thought when i first saw the crack but after sooo many tries to find the source of the click desperation has set in,lovely and silent with no power through pedals and cannot replicate noise no matter what flexing or road i'm riding,maybe something to do with rear wheel,freewheel body maybe,seems to be just after power off,has the freewheel body got bearings inside,think i may pay a visit to lbs which will really grate but not as much as this noise

 

[Globalti]

Ignoring the crack for a minute, that chain and cassette are super clean!

I had just given the whole bike a good clean, which is when I spotted the crack. You can even see lint on the derailleur bolt!

That paint is so hard and brittle it is flaking away from the dropouts and still looks as shiny as new.

 

[the_mikey]

Clicks when pedalling could be down to the pedals, bottom bracket or even the crank arms. A simple experiment could be to try some different pedals, and pedal with the same force as before see if the noise changes or is the same.

 

[huttster]

Tried the pedal thing with some new pedals i have but no difference,new bb too ,could only check crank arms by swapping out,prob take to lbs in the end,bit like surrendering though

New clue-on my way to work this morning click seems to occur just after power down so tried less power and then pedalled backwards resulting in a click every time in both legs,after a few goes at this went back to give it some and pedals just spun making a ratchety noise and then caught,mmmmmmmm?

 

[bad boy]

Free hub if after freewheeling ?

 

[huttster]

That's what i'm thinking,got one on order now,this is the last thing i'm trying then it's lbs time

 

[bad boy]

That's what i'm thinking,got one on order now,this is the last thing i'm trying then it's lbs time

I know how you feel Ive recently had a nightmare of a job finding a rattle type noise.

Fortunately for me my LBS know me well I took a day off work and we spent 3 hours removing everything. Then We tried a new wheel and noise gone !!, so we re-tensioned the wheel took the freehub out etc etc.... still the noise persisted.

We thought it might be spoke rub as a last resort but I put little bits of inner tube in between the cross over sections, so basically we gave up to a certain extent for that day.

Following day I get it out the shed had a TT in the evening oiled the chain and can you believe the noise was gone !!, only realised half way there.

I think in my case the chain was running dry and in certain extremes on the back creating a little bounce through the jockey wheels bringing them in contact with the sprockets. Thing is the first place we checked was the hanger and B screw but combined with the chain under load it made this noise.

Anyway thats my little story so I feel for you, although sounds like your getting there !.

good luck

 

[3narf]

I think if that was a crack you probably wouldn't have made it home.

Aluminium frames go with a bang (catastrophic failure) rather than crack & gradually propagate...

Apologies if it's not ally; I can't really tell from the pic.

 

[huttster]

I know how you feel Ive recently had a nightmare of a job finding a rattle type noise.

Fortunately for me my LBS know me well I took a day off work and we spent 3 hours removing everything. Then We tried a new wheel and noise gone !!, so we re-tensioned the wheel took the freehub out etc etc.... still the noise persisted.

We thought it might be spoke rub as a last resort but I put little bits of inner tube in between the cross over sections, so basically we gave up to a certain extent for that day.

Following day I get it out the shed had a TT in the evening oiled the chain and can you believe the noise was gone !!, only realised half way there.

I think in my case the chain was running dry and in certain extremes on the back creating a little bounce through the jockey wheels bringing them in contact with the sprockets. Thing is the first place we checked was the hanger and B screw but combined with the chain under load it made this noise.

Anyway thats my little story so I feel for you, although sounds like your getting there !.

good luck

Thanks Bad Boy,amazing how much a little noise can spoil a ride,on the plus side where i have been greasing and oiling and re-tensioning the bike is running beautifully silent and smooth now apart from the click,only downside of that is it sounds louder now ,but i will find it