Rig for isolating rattles etc

[RichardB]

Anyone made or even seen a rig which simulates road vibration while the bike is on a workstand? It would be brilliant for isolating and eliminating those annoying squeaks, rattles and buzzes which are out of sight and out of reach when you are actually riding (which is the only time they happen).

I'm sure that the big manufacturers have something like this for product testing and development, but has anyone made a home-brewed version? I've tapped the tyres with a hammer in the past to try to track down a mystery buzz, but it's awkward and most of your attention is on NOT damaging your bike and not on the source of the noise.

Yes, I'm probably overthinking this. Blame lockdown.

 

[FrankCrank]

Yeah, them pesky rattles and squeaks sure are a nuisance. Often the last place you think of turns out to be the culprit. Aly frames in particular seem to act as a sound box. A super-duper rattle detection device would be a nice piece of kit to have

 

[the snail]

I think the problem with that rig would be that a lot of noises won't appear without you sat on the bike, pedalling and pulling on the bars etc.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Wouldn't a resistance trainer do the job?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

A set of rollers with bumps on, then have a friend with good hearing to go around your bike, they can always be there to be able to retell the story of how you fell off as well

 

[ColinJ]

Hopefully hard-to-trace noises are so rare that it wouldn't be worth buying/making specialised equipment to find the source.

Having said that... I'm having a problem with a ticking noise from my singlespeed bike which only appears when under load. I can't make it happen on my bike stand. Maybe putting the bike on my turbo trainer and getting my ex-mechanic mate to kneel down and listen carefully would do the trick. (Or get him to walk beside the bike as I grovel up a steep climb.)

 

[RichardB]

I think the problem with that rig would be that a lot of noises won't appear without you sat on the bike, pedalling and pulling on the bars etc.

I wasn't really meaning those kind of noises. I find they are relatively easy to track down by sitting on the bike at a standstill and doing the pulling and heaving. You soon isolate it to stem, BB etc. The noises I am talking about are the trivial but irritating buzzes and rattles that come with loose fasteners, resonant mudguards, etc, which can be a nightmare to track down. I once cured a buzz which DEFINITELY came from the front hub area by removing and carefully refitting the rear mudguard.

I imagine that the easiest way is to run the bike on rollers, as suggested above, perhaps with 'bumps' taped or glued to the roller surfaces, and then get a savvy friend to bend down and listen. Easier and cheaper than inventing a whole new device.

In mny defence, it was a long night shift with not much going on.