C
I'm being driven slowly insane by a noise I have been unable to track
down. It sounds like:
tink... tink TANK... ... ... TANKtink...
tink... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... tink ... ... TANK ... ...
It is almost completely random. It sounds very much like an
automobile cooling off after a long drive. It seems to be coming from
the front end of the bike. The louder TANKs can be felt through the
handlebars (yikes!) or occasionally through the cranks.
- It is not in any way related to pedalling frequency or force; I can
coast or pull up on both pedals (SPD) and there is no effect.
- It happens whether I'm sitting or standing.
- It is not affected by my pulling/pushing/twisting the handlebars,
nor by riding no-hands.
- It is not the fenders; I can be coasting downhill, and muffle the
fenders with a gloved hand, and there is no difference. (This
surprised me; I suspected that the problem was the headset, and that
the front fender was amplifying the sound.)
- It cannot be reproduced on the workstand by rapping on things, or by
sitting on the bike while stationary, or by lifting and dropping the
front or rear end.
I believe the only non-random thing about it is speed; it only seems
to start happening once I get up to 10 miles per hour or so.
I tightened the (threadless) headset. That ain't it. (I doubted
this; if it was the headset, I should have been able to get the noise
to occur in my garage). I replaced the QR skewers, based on something
I read here on r.b.t that turned up in a search. That ain't it
neither.
The total randomness suggests it's an accessories rather than wheels/
headset/etc., and the nature of the sound itself suggest the
(alumin(i)um) fenders (the only accessory I have - no computer, no
nothing), but as I said, muffling the fenders with my hand has no
effect -- I'm not even sure I can feel the "tinks" coming through the
fenders at all.
My only remaining notion is that the headset or wheel bearings have
developed rust. Any votes for this possibility?
It's a steel-framed bike with 36-spoke wheels. I'm a big boy. I
appreciate your taking the time to read this.
Chris
down. It sounds like:
tink... tink TANK... ... ... TANKtink...
tink... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... tink ... ... TANK ... ...
It is almost completely random. It sounds very much like an
automobile cooling off after a long drive. It seems to be coming from
the front end of the bike. The louder TANKs can be felt through the
handlebars (yikes!) or occasionally through the cranks.
- It is not in any way related to pedalling frequency or force; I can
coast or pull up on both pedals (SPD) and there is no effect.
- It happens whether I'm sitting or standing.
- It is not affected by my pulling/pushing/twisting the handlebars,
nor by riding no-hands.
- It is not the fenders; I can be coasting downhill, and muffle the
fenders with a gloved hand, and there is no difference. (This
surprised me; I suspected that the problem was the headset, and that
the front fender was amplifying the sound.)
- It cannot be reproduced on the workstand by rapping on things, or by
sitting on the bike while stationary, or by lifting and dropping the
front or rear end.
I believe the only non-random thing about it is speed; it only seems
to start happening once I get up to 10 miles per hour or so.
I tightened the (threadless) headset. That ain't it. (I doubted
this; if it was the headset, I should have been able to get the noise
to occur in my garage). I replaced the QR skewers, based on something
I read here on r.b.t that turned up in a search. That ain't it
neither.
The total randomness suggests it's an accessories rather than wheels/
headset/etc., and the nature of the sound itself suggest the
(alumin(i)um) fenders (the only accessory I have - no computer, no
nothing), but as I said, muffling the fenders with my hand has no
effect -- I'm not even sure I can feel the "tinks" coming through the
fenders at all.
My only remaining notion is that the headset or wheel bearings have
developed rust. Any votes for this possibility?
It's a steel-framed bike with 36-spoke wheels. I'm a big boy. I
appreciate your taking the time to read this.
Chris