Ticking Noise

[Malts69]

I have a Specialized Allez Elite that is just shy of 2 years old and has developed an annoying ticking noise on each rotation of the crank set.

When this noise developed I took the bike into my local repair shop and came to the conclusion that the Praxis works bottom bracket had given up the ghost after 3000 miles of riding. The bike was booked in for repair and service, and I took the opportunity to upgrade the bottom bracket and crank set to a Shimano 105 to match the rear derailleur and cassette. The bike came back with all the new parts fitted, including break and gear cables, but the first time I rode it the annoying ticking sound was still evident. On arrival at work I spoke with a fellow cyclist and we had a good look over the bike and noticed that when pressure was applied at a certain point of crank rotation the cassette and hub clicked. I therefore removed, and cleaned, the cassette and hub and then refitted. Prior to refitting I turned the hub by hand in the pedal direction and noticed an audible click; great I thought, we have culprit. So, I ordered a new set of wheels, changed everything over and went for a test ride; still got the annoying click on rotation.

So far the following have been replaced:
New wheels and hubs
Crank set and bottom bracket
The Seat post has been re-greased and and refitted

I am now at the conclusion that the back cassette and chain are worn out and need replacing.

Any other ideas?

 

[Ajax Bay]

an annoying ticking noise on each rotation of the crank set.

If the frequency of 'clicking' is that of the crank rotation, then it's not your wheels, nor hubs.
And this is not the symptom of a "worn out" chain and/or cassette (which is 'skating' when force applied to pedals, eg accelerating/climbing).

 

[ianrauk]

I had an annoying tick on one of my bikes that drove me bonkers. I just couldnt find the culprit. I did in the end. It was the end of the cable of the front gear changer being hit by the crank.
I'm not saying yours maybe so simple. But check the simple, silly things as well as what you think it may be.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Clicks and ticks often aren’t coming from where you believe they are. The sound carries well through frames. Check the saddle, and rails, and lube the rails up, another place creaks and ticks come from ( in my experience) is the cable guide under the frame at the BB. Give the cables a good dose of lube going through that, I’d even release the guide slightly, and get some lube behind that.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Wow. Almost everything replaced!

I seriously doubt cassette or chain replacement will solve it.

Anything attached to the frame, which will flex slightly each crank rotation, can cause this.

Eg but not exclusively bottle cages, bars, rack. Pedals or cleats are another obvious potential culprit.

Also, a cracked frame (hopefully not) could manifest in this way.

IME finding a way to cause of the noise whilst stationary can be key to resolving. Try putting weight on pedals whilst stationary, and wrenching the bars (in all three axes) with the front wheel between your knees.

 

[And]

I had an annoying tick on one of my bikes that drove me bonkers. I just couldnt find the culprit. I did in the end. It was the end of the cable of the front gear changer being hit by the crank.
I'm not saying yours maybe so simple. But check the simple, silly things as well as what you think it may be.

I had exactly the same issue last week! quick tweak, soon sorted

 

[roadrash]

plenty of ideas here...
https://jimlangley.net/wrench/keepitquiet.html

 

[ColinJ]

I have a Specialized Allez Elite that is just shy of 2 years old and has developed an annoying ticking noise on each rotation of the crank set.

My Allez is much older, but it has recently developed an annoying ticking sound too!

It is my home-built singlespeed bike and I have had a problem in the past with the lockring not being tight enough. I gave it a little extra torque, but no, not that.

A week later my chain broke. I thought that must have been the culprit. Nope - the bike ticks with the new chain too.

I had an annoying tick on one of my bikes that drove me bonkers. I just couldnt find the culprit. I did in the end. It was the end of the cable of the front gear changer being hit by the crank.

I had that a few years ago on my best bike. It took me weeks to track it down! Definitely not that on the singlespeed because there are no gear cables.

Check the saddle, and rails, and lube the rails up, another place creaks and ticks come from ( in my experience) is the cable guide under the frame at the BB. Give the cables a good dose of lube going through that, I’d even release the guide slightly, and get some lube behind that.

I suspected the saddle but still have the problem standing up so it isn't that.

I think the chainring bolts are tight enough.

The handlebar/stem/headset all seem ok.

I wondered about the bottom bracket. It seems ok, but I found a Chorus BB in my spares box which I decided to swap in. I couldn't find my good crank extractor so I started using a tatty old one that I found in the same box. I gave up after extracting half the crank thread instead - damn!

Another suspect in my case is/are the ancient SPD pedals which I pinched off my mountain bike to build the SS. They are 20 years old and have never had any maintenance so they definitely might be to blame.

I have ignored noises like this in the past and then had something break so I am very reluctant to do the same now.

 

[Malts69]

I had an annoying tick on one of my bikes that drove me bonkers. I just couldnt find the culprit. I did in the end. It was the end of the cable of the front gear changer being hit by the crank.
I'm not saying yours maybe so simple. But check the simple, silly things as well as what you think it may be.

Checked all the cable ends and they're fine with plenty of clearence. The tick seems to happen when pressure is applied to pick up speed, and then dissapears when normal rythmic cadence starts. The bikes now back at the shop for further investigation and replacement of the cassette and chain. The cassette on on close inspection has developed shark fin wear on the lower sprockets, which when engaged appears to be the culprit for the ticking noise.

 

[Ajax Bay]

So the clicking doesn't happen when the chain is on the larger sprockets? See my comment about cassette and chain wear upthread. 3000 miles is a reasonable life distance for a cassette/chain combo. Picture of the 'shark fin' cassette please. What's the chain elongation percentage?

 

[byegad]

I had something similar, it was a loose cleat.