What could be causing the click in my left pedal?

[Danny]

I have a pair of Shimano A520 pedals, and the left one has developed an annoying click.

One solution is obviously to dismantle the things and grease/replace all the bearings, but I am wondering if this is the actual cause of the problem. Could it be something to do with the cleat mechanism instead?

The reason I ask is there is no play in the pedal, and when you rotate it by hand, no obvious grunginess in the bearings. Also if I ride without my left foot clipped in I don't getting the clicking sound (though I realise I am not exerting the same amount of force).

NB I am sure it is the pedal and not the bottom bracket as I have temporarily replaced it with a different pedal off another bike, and the clicking has disappeared.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I had what I thought was a click in the pedal or BB but it turned out to be a very worn chain and rear cassette. Might be worth checking for chain wear.

 

[slowmotion]

Is it a loud click? I have the same problem with a very gentle "tic" at the bottom of the pedal stroke. It goes away if I don't put any pressure on when the crank is at the bottom of it's circle.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

My experience of ticking pedals has been lack of grease. End up stripping,degreasing and rebuilding mine every so often

 

[Paul99]

Tighten the cleats on your shoes?

 

[Profpointy]

i had similar symptoms and it was indeed the pedal - but i did have noticable axial play in it. could conceivably be shoes or loose cleats

 

[Danny]

I had what I thought was a click in the pedal or BB but it turned out to be a very worn chain and rear cassette. Might be worth checking for chain wear.

Chain has been changed recently, and cassette is Ok.

 

[Danny]

Is it a loud click? I have the same problem with a very gentle "tic" at the bottom of the pedal stroke. It goes away if I don't put any pressure on when the crank is at the bottom of it's circle.

More of a tic than a loud click. You can't hear it in traffic or when it is windy.

 

[uclown2002]

Sounds like the cleat. Take it off and smear some grease on the threads.

 

[Danny]

Tighten the cleats on your shoes?

Thanks - done that already. In fact I tightened it so much that I think I may have cracked the sole of my shoe

Also changed the cleat as it was quite worn and I thought that might be the problem

 

[Danny]

Sounds like the cleat. Take it off and smear some grease on the threads.

Also tried that - assuming you mean the threads of the cleat bolts.

 

[Paul.G.]

As said above by Paul99, check your shoe cleats, I had exactly the same problem and it was the little plate inside the shoe, not the actual cleat that was loose.

 

[RedRider]

Try taking the pedal off, cleaning the thread where it attaches to the crank and then greasing the thread before screwing back in. It's worked for me a couple of times and is quite easy todo

 

[Smurfy]

I also have Shimano 520s, and have encountered a mystery 'click'. So far it hasn't annoyed me quite enough to try and work out what it is. I might try swapping out the pedals with another pair of identical pedals from another bike to see if it goes away.

 

[Smurfy]

dismantle the things and grease/replace all the bearings

I visited something like 6 shops before I found anyone selling the special tool that fits the splines on the collar. Quite a few mechanics told me 'they're so cheap, people just bin them and buy new' which I thought was a rather depressing, consumerist attitude. It's perfectly possible to service them, you just need the correct tool for the collar, a couple of spanners for the bearing, plenty of grease, and a lot of patience and good eyesight to put all the tiny balls back. If the bearings are fairly clean, a lot of people just wipe them down, adjust the bearings (without removing the balls), fill the pedal body with grease, then just plunge the spindle/bearing assembly into the pedal body and tighten the collar.