Pedals keep clicking as I ride...

[EpicFishFingers]

I was reading this thread, but the OP doesn't seem to have the same problem as me. The noise gets more frequent as I change into lower gears (i.e. when I'm turning the pedals faster), and seems to happen when the pedals are at a certain point (when the right pedal is just passing its highest point), and also seems more common when I am putting more force on the pedals.
Today it became a lot more frequent (not just there when I pushed down harder on the pedals each stroke) and now features several cracking noises as I turn the pedals.

I'm hoping it's something trivial like the bearings wearing out in the pedal, or it needing an oil, but I'd rather ask the experts how to fix it than mug myself off by paying for a repairer to fix it for me.

 

[Alan Whicker]

Sounds like a knackered bottom bracket. Routine job for an LBS. I had one replaced under warranty, but I think it was about £40 fitted if I'd had to pay.

 

[JonnyBlade]

Buy the correct tools to make it a routine DIY job

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I just went through a similar click annoyance. At first I even took the pedals and then the cranks off but no joy. For a while I thought it might have been my shorts flicking the top tube at regular points in my pedal stroke.

It turned out to be some grit that had somehow (riding in the rain?) got caught somewhere between the saddle post and the seat tube. I whipped it off, cleaned it up and put a bit of grease on...problem solved.

Well, apart from the fact that, with that bit now silent, I can hear that the gears need a little re-indexing. Next it'll be my shoelaces flapping against the cranks...

 

[EpicFishFingers]

Sounds like a knackered bottom bracket. Routine job for an LBS. I had one replaced under warranty, but I think it was about £40 fitted if I'd had to pay.

Damn, is that the most likely case? No chance of it being something to do with the bearings that connect the pedal to the crank?
It's just that I've only had the bike a year and probably rode it less than 100 miles...

 

[Alan Whicker]

There are a few things you can check before having to get a new BB. Might even just be the bolts that attach the cranks to the BB need adjusting. Unlikely to be the pedals IMHO, though i'm very far from expert.

Have a look at this:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

 

[Aperitif]

You might want to check the tightness of the chainring bolts.

 

[Wankelschrauben]

I'd find a different set of pedals first and try them, could end up being a very cheap fix.

 

[topcat1]

if you've been riding in the rain recently chances are it's grit

check seatpost will need cleaning and a lick of grease

pedals take them off clean them and grease the threads

chainset take off and clean

no joy get beer from fridge/get an ipod to cover noise

 

[Davidc]

BB is a definite possible, but so are a number of others.

Once per pedal rotation clicks, squeaks, and other noises are a major cause of madness in cyclists.

Some I've had in the recent past are:

Bottom Bracket
Pedal bearings worn
Dirt getting into the pedal bearings
Small piece of plastic had got into a clipless pedal's mechanism. (It only made a noise with the pedal one way up and not the other).
The clip on my lock carrying bracket touching the pedal (I hadn't done it up properly)
A faulty shoe
A trouser clip touching a crease in the fabric of my trousers

Good luck in finding it ......

 

[fossyant]

All of the above - unfortunately.

Best option -

1) check nothing is catching, and that includes shoes etc or anything that's not so obvious, but will stop the 'Doh' moments.

2) Wiggle the cranks - can you feel movement ? No - are BB bearings fitted tight (this you can't always check without removing cranks). Hollowtech/BB30 - Are the cranks pre-loaded correctly ? Square Taper - are cranks tightened on sufficiently.

3) Chain ring bolts/pedal/crank bolts - are these all tight.

Sometimes it's worth removing and re-assembling the lot - give it a good clean and re-grease then put together - becomes part of routine maintenance.

 

[al-fresco]

Noises can be so deceptive - the first time I thought that my BB was on the way out it turned out to be a worn pedal, the second time it was the laces of my trainers flicking the toe clips. Hope yours turns out to be equally simple!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

If you are sitting down as you apply the power it could even be the saddle creaking. I have had this a few times and it never sounds as though it it coming from the saddle!!!!

 

[veloman]

Could be cleats !!

 

[chillyuk]

I had a very similar problem the other day. Turned out that a wipe of grease on the pedal threads where the screw into the cranks cured the problem.