What could be causing the click in my left pedal?

[XRHYSX]

I had a 'click' on my bike when powering through on the down stroke I replaced the BB but it didn't cure the 'click'
I took them apart in situ, cleaned and re-greased, but the clicking was still there....
I have the 'old skool' clip style pedals, so tried swapping with some standard ones I had laying around
and it cured the clicking,
I put the clip pedals back on till I got round to getting some new ones but the clicking has not returned

 

[uclown2002]

Do have another shoe you can try?

 

[themosquitoking]

It's not something stupid like keys in your pocket is it. Had a similar thing on my first few commutes in until i realised i don't normally cycle in trousers with keys and money.

 

[ceejayh]

[QUOTE 2726914, member: 45"]Have you tried varying your foot angle when you pedal? I've done this with clicks in the past and they've gone away.[/quote]

I was going to suggest this. I slightly changed the angle of my cleats and found that my shoe was catching ever so slightly on the crank arm causing an annoying click.

 

[themosquitoking]

Also once my left pedal was hitting the cadence sensor on the way around too, that made an annoying click.

 

[PpPete]

WD-40 and toothbrush on the release mechanism and spring, then smear with grease.
Take care not to get WD-40 anywhere the pedal bearings (or any other rotating bearing for that matter)

 

[Danny]

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.

Thanks for the detailed response. Was wondering how you get the collar off.

 

[Danny]

It's not something stupid like keys in your pocket is it. Had a similar thing on my first few commutes in until i realised i don't normally cycle in trousers with keys and money.

No

 

[Danny]

WD-40 and toothbrush on the release mechanism and spring, then smear with grease.
Take care not to get WD-40 anywhere the pedal bearings (or any other rotating bearing for that matter)

Will try that and report back. If it doesn't work I'll try taking apart the pedal.

 

[srw]

The last time I had a click in a pedal (Brompton folding) it developed into an annoying stickiness. Then I tightened the pedal in the crank and both issues went away - the pedal had begun to work itself loose.

The last time I had a click in an SPD pedal it was grit in the mechanism. Eventually (a few hundred miles) it ground itself away.

 

[Smurfy]

Thanks for the detailed response. Was wondering how you get the collar off.

The tool you need (TL-PD40) is fairly cheap (compared to most specialist tools), it's just that not many people sell it.

I put the tool in a bench vice upside down, inserted the collar splines into the tool, then turned the pedal body to remove the collar. The collars are right and left hand threaded to prevent them unscrewing during use, but this is marked on the collar if you look closely.

 

[Davidc]

I've been having pedal click issues recently. (From flat type pedals). One bike had he problem srw describes in post #26 so I can endorse what he says about that.

The other bike still has the jury out, so I'll be watching how you get on.

Clicks are one of the most infuriating things so good luck.

 

[ayceejay]

Aren't these pedals sealed as an attempt at no maintenance? If they click then there is a fault that taking them apart is unlikely to fix, so return them if you can. When you say that you may have cracked the sole of your shoe that could also make a clicking sound. You don't say what shoes you have but a click or creak could come from the buckles.

 

[LimeBurn]

I had a click which I thought was pedals, but as others have said turned out to be the cleats themselves.

 

[Danny]

The last time I had a click in a pedal (Brompton folding) it developed into an annoying stickiness. Then I tightened the pedal in the crank and both issues went away - the pedal had begun to work itself loose.

The last time I had a click in an SPD pedal it was grit in the mechanism. Eventually (a few hundred miles) it ground itself away.

I had to exert considerable force to get the pedal off so doubt it was loose.