By Aqua Blue Sport - 13 days ago - 1577 Views -
One of the true pleasures of riding a bike is to speed along a quiet country road in complete silence – free from any noise or distraction bar the birdsong in the fields, the hum of tyres on tarmac and the gentle sound of your steady breathing. Which is why it’s so incredibly annoying when an unidentified noise from your bike so rudely interrupts your reverie…
Of course, we’re not talking about bike noise that’s supposed to be there – the deep sonic thrum of a set of aero carbon wheels, or the ratchet of an expensive freewheel (how else would your riding mates know how much you had dropped on new hoops?) – but the creaks, squeaks, clicks and rattles that signal something needs mechanical attention.
A quiet bike is a better bike, and a better bike makes for a happier rider. We’ve put together a guide to six of the most common bike noises, how to pinpoint their cause and how to restore blissful silence. Most of the culprits are fixable at home with a bit of mechanical know-how and some basic bike tools, as well as workshop essentials such as bike cleaner, degreaser, lubricant and grease, but there are some noise issues that may well need the attention of a pro workshop.
Let’s get started, and get you on your way to noise-free riding.
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1. Squeaking
Bothered by a persistent squeaking noise, particularly from the direction of your drivetrain? Nine times out 10 it’s a sign that you’re falling short when it comes to lubrication. Keeping your bike, and particularly your drivetrain, clean and lubed is the first step towards not only eliminating the squeaks and chirps that accompany a dry chain, but also prolonging the life of your components and preventing corrosion. Start out by stocking up on the products you need, and get into the habit of using them.
Read more: Buyers’ guide to lubes and cleaning products
The most common sources of drivetrain squeaks are your chain (with no oil to lubricate the individual links, they will squeak as they rotate) and the jockey wheels on your rear derailleur. Properly cleaning and regularly lubing your chain (a drop of conditions-appropriate lube on each link, not an overall slather) will take care of the former, while a spray of general-purpose lube into the bushings at the centre of the jockey wheels should sort their squeaking – if not, they may need to be replaced.
Keeping your chain properly lubed is the first step to preventing drivetrain squeaks. Picture: Aqua Blue Sport
2. Creaking
You fell deeply in love with the long and meaningful silences between you and your bike when you first met, but six months into the relationship and their incessant and meaningless creaks are starting to bother you something awful. Don’t worry, this is normal for a long-term marriage!
Wait, are we still taking about bikes?
Your bike is not a super-rigid construction – in order to offer some comfort every frame and most components are engineered with a modicum of flex or compliance, most noticeable when you are standing up and putting the power down through the pedals, or when you are hitting top speed on a rough surface. When a bike is newly built, a mechanic will use a little grease between frame and components (e.g on the seat post) to prevent them seizing together, which has the added effect of damping noise from movement. However over time and use this grease will dry out, after which you may start to notice more ‘creaking’ sounds as your frame flexes and components move marginally. If your bike/frame is suffering from multiple ‘creaking’ noises it’s a good idea to strip it down, re-apply grease and re-tighten.
Particular areas to pay attention to include the seat post (remove from seat tube, wipe down with degreaser, re-apply a lick of new grease and re-tighten); saddle (undo binder bolt(s), remove saddle and clean/lightly regrease rails) and stem (remove faceplate bolts, take out handlebars, wipe down, regrease and retighten).
It’s a good idea to periodically go over the bike from top to bottom, paying attention to where components and frame come into contact and performing the strip-clean-regrease-retighten routine. With modern carbon bikes and components, it’s essential to use a torque wrench to prevent over- or under-tightening of bolts, or you could inadvertently cause damage. In the case of carbon frames and components it’s also crucial to use carbon paste instead of bike grease – this is specially formulated to offer grip and protection where carbon meets carbon: normal bike grease could cause slippage.
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We can’t mention bike creaks without special attention to the bottom bracket region, possibly the most common source of annoying creaks on modern bikes as it’s the area which is most prone to flex. If you identify a creak from here your bottom bracket itself is likely the culprit, and how you fix it (and how successful you will be) depends on the type of BB you have. If you have a threaded bottom bracket (either cartridge-type or external bearing) you will need the appropriate bottom bracket tool to disassemble the BB, clean and regrease the threads, and retighten to the manufacturer’s recommended torque. However many modern carbon bikes are specced with press-fit bottom brackets which, owing to the extremely tight tolerances required for their fit into the frame (and to manufacturer’s use of nylon/plastic cups to overcome these tolerances) are just notorious for being the source of annoying creaks. Owing to the specialist tools involved required for the removal and re-fitting of press-fit BBs it’s likely to be a job for a shop mechanic- but be aware that even with professional attention, putting up with BB creaks is for many riders just par for the press-fit course.
Read more: Explainer: Bottom bracket standards
3. Knocking
As grease and oil dries out over time and contributes to squeaks and creaks, bolts can work themselves loose and cause knocking or clicking sounds. Again, it’s worthwhile to periodically inspect your bike and undo any bolts. A wipe with an oily rag to clean them, a touch of threadlock on the threads to prevent them coming loose, and retighten them to the manufacturer’s recommended torque.
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If you are hearing a knocking sound, there are a few bolts that are known for being prone to working themselves loose so start with checking these - the headset top cap, derailleur hanger bolt, and on a full-suspension mountain bike, the suspension pivot/linkage bolts. A knocking from the latter may be down to play in the pivots – if retightening doesn’t fix it, the pivot bearings may need servicing or replacement.
4. Rattling
The jury is out on whether a creak is more annoying than a rattle, but we say they are both equally head-wrecking. Rattling can come from a number of different sources so let’s look at each in turn.
Bottle cage bolts can be prone to working loose over time. Picture: Karen M. Edwards
Frame rattles: Start with checking your bottle cage bolts, these are prone to working loose over time. A dab of threadlock and a quick tighten with an Allen key make this a quick fix for one of the most common bike rattles.
Drivetrain rattles: An incessant rattling from your chain/cassette/chainwheels can be a sign of wear. These are consumable parts and as the chain stretches and the sprocket/chainring teeth wear down, they will make more noise. Check your drivetrain for signs of wear and replace if needed.
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If the rattling noise is coming from the front of the drivetrain, this is often down to the chain rubbing off the inside surface of the front derailleur cage when in extreme gears (highest or lowest gears on the sprocket). One common culprit for this is cross-chaining (where you are using a gear ratio that is not recommended, e.g. the largest chainring with the largest sprocket) so if this is a habit, it’s one to get out of. Some modern drivetrains offer the ability to ‘trim’ the front derailleur – essentially, a click on the gear lever moves the cage just enough to stop the rubbing, but not so far as to change gear. A kind of ‘half-shift’ that is specifically intended to eliminate cage rub. If you’re not cross-chaining, and trimming doesn’t work (or you don’t have the option on your groupset) you’ll have to adjust your front derailleur using the limit screws (marked ‘L’ and ‘H’) to modify the inward and outward movement of the cage when you shift. When adjusted correctly there should be a gap of about 1mm between the chain and the inner surface of the cage. If you are not sure how to do this, ask a mechanic for a tune-up.
There should be a gap of about 1mm between the chain and the inner surface of the derailleur cage. Picture: David Hunter via Flickr
Chain slap: Particularly problematic with MTBs, chain slap is that irritating rattle cause by the chain whacking off the chainstays when the bike goes over rough terrain. Modern clutch derailleurs reduce chain slap somewhat by using a clutch mechanism to keep the chain under constant tension no matter what gear you are in, but if you don’t have one you can still use a padded chainstay protector to dampen the sound.
Cable rattles: Cables can be a source of annoying rattles, especially if they are internally routed in the frame. To fix external rattles you may need to shorten your cable housing (big loops of cable flapping around the frame will naturally make noise), or use a simple zip tie to bunch all your cables together for a tighter, neater arrangement that won’t move around so much. However if your noise comes from internal routing – with the cable housing rattling against the inside of the frame (especially the downtube) the fix can be a little trickier. Many mechanics, when internally routing cables, slide some uncut zip ties onto the housing as the trailing ‘tails’ will keep the cable away from the internal tube walls. This is an option if you want to strip and re-route your cables, but if not you can try dropping out your forks and pushing a cut-to-size section of sponge or foam into the downtube to limit the cable’s ability to move around in there.
5. Squealing
The number one source of squealing noises on the bike is your brakes and brake pads, with the fix being dependent on whether you are running rim or disc brakes.
Rim brakes: Squealing rim brakes are often a sign of the pads or braking surfaces (wheel rims) being contaminated, usually with oil or something similar. If your brakes squeal or rub when not pulled, first things first you need to adjust them to allow a gap between rim and pad when the wheel rotates (if you can’t rotate the wheel without the brake pad rubbing, this means your wheel may be out of true. A mechanic can readjust spoke tension). When adjusting your pads you also need to ‘toe in’ your brakes – when the brakes are pulled the pads shouldn’t hit the rims evenly but the front should just marginally arrive first. This can often eliminate annoying brake squeals.
If you have adjusted and toed-in your breaks and they still squeak, try cleaning your rims with degreaser to decontaminate, and try giving your brake pads a rub with 100-grit sandpaper. If this still doesn’t fix it, it might be time to consider new pads.
Watch now: How to replace your brake pads
Disc brakes: Disc brake surfaces dislike contamination even more than rim brakes, so any drop of oil on pads or rotors can cause an infernal howling noise and impair performance. If your discs are squealing you can start by cleaning down the pads thoroughly with degreaser (some mechanics swear by putting rotors in the dishwasher – the heat helps to break down and disperse contaminants). Sanding the rotor/pads can also help (as long as you properly bed in the brakes afterwards), but if this doesn’t work consider a switch from metallic to organic pads. The latter tend to wear faster but are generally the quieter option and offer improved modulation.
Swapping metallic pads for organic can help cut down on disc brake noise. Picture: Glory Cycles via Flickr
6. Clicking
Much like knocking or creaking, annoying clicks are a sign that something needs to be tightened. Repeat offenders in this area are often the cranks, chainrings and pedals – if your pedal rotations are marred by clickety-clickety noises start by checking, greasing and tightening your crank arms (pinch bolts), chainring bolts and pedal spindles (these can sometimes work loose in the crank arms). If you are convinced that the pedals are the source of the noise, but tightening doesn’t fix it, you may need to strip and regrease the pedal bearings. If you can, ride with a second set of pedals to see if this nails down the cause of the unwanted noise.
Make sure your pedal spindles are tightened in the crank arms. Picture: Karen M. Edwards
Worn cleats can also be a source of clicking, usually sorted with a spray of general purpose lube or, if they are too far gone, a replacement set.
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Another common source of a clicking noise is a stiff link in your chain – if you suspect this to be the cause, rotate the links to find the one which isn’t moving as freely as it should. Flexing it back and forth is usually enough to fix it, but if not you may need to replace.
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7. Wheezing/muttering
Finally, if the peace and quiet of your bike ride is spoiled by incessant wheezing, coughing and choking noises, interspersed with doom-laden mutterings – the source is you, and the fix is to get fitter.
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