Pinging noises from front wheel - spokes or hub?

[maltloaf]

I had this and it was a spoke nipple squeaking against the eyelet of my open pro rims. If I leant heavily on the handlebars and rolled the bike back and forward I could hear it, otherwise it was only evident at speed. A tiny drop of 3 in 1 and tweaking the spoke nipple just slightly solved it.

 

[accountantpete]

A"ping" is often the result of a spoke untwisting itself. In tightening up a spoke you can actually twist the metal and the stressing/unstressing in use will allow it to untwist with audible results.

You can simulate this by taking the wheel off and laying it flat on the ground - then hold the rim at quarter to three and press down.

 

[andrew_s]

A"ping" is often the result of a spoke untwisting itself.

That only happens with new wheels. After a few miles all the untwisting has been done.

It could be that the spokes are much too slack, so the spokes are separating at the outer cross as they go round the bottom of the wheel, then coming back together with a ping as they rise up. You shouldn't be able to move the crossing more than 4 or 5 mm by squeezing with thumb and forefinger just outside.

The other possibility is that there's the end of the brake cable or something getting into the spokes, perhaps under the influence of the wind.

 

[ufkacbln]

Take an old playing card (vinyl backed are best and a clothes peg,

Using the clothes peg, attach the card to the rear down stay, so that the card flicks against the spokes.

You will no longer be able to hear the ping ...... problem solved

 

[berty bassett]

lose the harp out the rucksack !

 

[robjh]

Thanks all for the (sensible) ideas. I spent an evening fiddling with spoke tensions, replaced one cracked nipple, got everything true again and all spokes pinging at about the same note when plucked, but still have the noises this morning. I suspect it is just one spoke, maybe at the spoke-nipple-rim interface, but I've got no nearer locating it.

Once the noise starts, it is mostly one louder pinging followed by 2 or 3 fainter ones occurring every few seconds but not in a regular timing. There are then occasional pings/clunks at a different note but it is mostly as above.

Must be on the wheels as it happens with and without pedaling, and only really gets going at about 20mph. For info they are Mavic Open Pro rims.