Crank clicking

[Karlt]

Square taper old fashioned? I must be getting old; square taper is newfangled; old fashioned is cotter pins.

 

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

Sounds like a dirty BB to me... Take it apart if you know how.. Clean it, lube it and put it back together.. I had that in the past as well..

 

[mrwatt]

I'll be spending my Saturday morning going through this nice list of things to rule out and report back what the problem was. Cheers

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I'll be spending my Saturday morning going through this nice list of things to rule out and report back what the problem was. Cheers

I tried nearly everything (Giant TCX) and the click remained. Eventually I tightend the LH crank pre-load cap slightly over the recommended torque before tightening the crank bolt itself.

Voila - no more irritating click (same symptoms as you describe).

700 miles later it hasn't 'exploded' so I assume all is ok.

 

[mrwatt]

Well I found it to be the pedals themselves. Cleaned all the grit and muck from the threads, greased them and re-installed. 75 miles done at the weekend with not a sound coming from the drivetrain.

 

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

Well I found it to be the pedals themselves. Cleaned all the grit and muck from the threads, greased them and re-installed. 75 miles done at the weekend with not a sound coming from the drivetrain.

Glad to hear is all fixed..!

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Is it a BB30 bottom bracket? If so the noise is caused by the 30mm alloy axle flexing microscopically inside the inner bearing races. It's not the bearings in the frame as everybody will tell you. Take it all apart and smear bearing fit compound on the machined bands where the axle sits inside the bearing races; that will stop the noise.

I've been mulling over your statement ever since you first posted it. Help me understand your point of view and say why you believe the movement is between axle and bearing inner race rather than between bearing outer race and frame or, a combination of the two.

 

[Globalti]

I though we'd gone over this a month or two ago?

Study this pic of the BB axle and note the areas of wear and pitting where the machined bands are within the bearing inner races. This is within a couple of hundred miles of fitting the BB brand new. When I greased these areas with green grease, the noise re-started a few miles further on and when I disassembled, the grease had turned black, indicating metal wear. When I reassembled with bearing fit compound the noise went away and hasn't recurred in over two thousand miles. Same story with my cycling buddy's FSA BB30 crankset.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I though we'd gone over this a month or two ago?

Study this pic of the BB axle and note the areas of wear and pitting where the machined bands are within the bearing inner races. This is within a couple of hundred miles of fitting the BB brand new. When I greased these areas with green grease, the noise re-started a few miles further on and when I disassembled, the grease had turned black, indicating metal wear. When I reassembled with bearing fit compound the noise went away and hasn't recurred in over two thousand miles. Same story with my cycling buddy's FSA BB30 crankset.

I don't recall the discussion a month ago. Your observation and conclusion is spot-on but I don't think it is the case for all BB30s. I haven't seen rouge on the crank axle as in yours, but on the bearing/BB interface. The slip-fit has always produced it for me whereas the crank has usually been so tight I've had to remove it with a mallet. How tight did these cranks fit into the bearings? Was there a definite absence of frame rouge on yours. Obviously if it is a PF BB30 then the question is moot.

Further, you seem to think there is no movement between bearing/bearing cup and frame. This is not consistent with the type of wear we are seeing on PFBB30 frames where the BB shell has now become a wear part. This can only be caused by movement between frame and bearing. This is the case for Trek's proprietary BB90 in particular.

 

[Globalti]

The axle is a pretty snug but easy fit in the bearing races. Tapping with a mallet works but I think the heel of a hand would do it without pain. I smear the bearing fit compound on the axle on the drive side and inside the bearing on the non-drive side so as to give it the best chance of not being wiped off as I insert the axle.

Yes I'm prepared to accept that the bearings also move in the alloy sleeves but in my and my buddy's case with FSA cranks the bearing fit compound has cured the creaks and cracks completely.

Not sure what you mean by frame rouge?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

The axle is a pretty snug but easy fit in the bearing races. Tapping with a mallet works but I think the heel of a hand would do it without pain. I smear the bearing fit compound on the axle on the drive side and inside the bearing on the non-drive side so as to give it the best chance of not being wiped off as I insert the axle.

Yes I'm prepared to accept that the bearings also move in the alloy sleeves but in my and my buddy's case with FSA cranks the bearing fit compound has cured the creaks and cracks completely.

Not sure what you mean by frame rouge?

Rouge is the term used for traces of metal (black in the case of aluminium) that we see when two metal parts fret against each other. Just like you describe. Frame rouge would be evident where the bearing sits in the frame and crank rouge, as in your case, on the crank.

One day when you have the crank out and just so happen to have a micrometer in your pocket, measure the crank diameter where the bearing sits. I don't know offhand what the oversize over 30mm should be but I think yours (and many others) may be undersize. It is supposed to sit a bit tighter than what you describe. because we have metal on metal pressfit, the size is critical. On Shimano's metal in plastic, the size is less critical.
I maintain that BB30 is rubbish.

 

[e-rider]

pedals are always the first thing to check in this case

 

[Globalti]

Rouge is the term used for traces of metal (black in the case of aluminium) that we see when two metal parts fret against each other. Just like you describe. Frame rouge would be evident where the bearing sits in the frame and crank rouge, as in your case, on the crank.

One day when you have the crank out and just so happen to have a micrometer in your pocket, measure the crank diameter where the bearing sits. I don't know offhand what the oversize over 30mm should be but I think yours (and many others) may be undersize. It is supposed to sit a bit tighter than what you describe. because we have metal on metal pressfit, the size is critical. On Shimano's metal in plastic, the size is less critical.
I maintain that BB30 is rubbish.

I'll certainly check that diameter and let you know.

 

[Banjo]

The BB on my aluminium Synapse has done about 8000 kms (guess work) only taken the crank and spindle out once recently and didn't look as bad as @Globalti pic

I just cleaned it up and used some waterproof grease which is fine for now.

I didn't know there was a special grease for the job. I also greased the splines under the nds crank so not sure which stopped the annoying click I had when pedalling hard up hill but the click is gone and I am a happy man .(After trying almost every other part of the bike first)

I have never experienced the creaking so many people complain of only the click.

Great to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience on here , probably better if I had read the threads before doing the job though.