Almost-random noise



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
 
[email protected] wrote:
> 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 ... ...
>


> 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.
>


- Broken spoke, squeeze all pairs to see if you can find it, they
sometimes break at the elbow and cannot be noticed at first glance.
- Cracked chainring (I had this a while back and eventually found it
when I replaced BB)
 
On Feb 28, 9:43 am, [email protected] wrote:
> 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 ... ...

snip
> It's a steel-framed bike with 36-spoke wheels. I'm a big boy. I
> appreciate your taking the time to read this.
>


You got spoke reflectors?
Wheels true?
Fender clearance good?
Check for gnomes?
 
On Feb 28, 11:19 am, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Feb 28, 9:43 am, [email protected] wrote:
>
> > 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 ... ...

> snip
> > It's a steel-framed bike with 36-spoke wheels.  I'm a big boy.  I
> > appreciate your taking the time to read this.

>
> You got spoke reflectors?
> Wheels true?
> Fender clearance good?
> Check for gnomes?


bash the saddle. hear if its sqwueeks
 
On Feb 28, 9:19 am, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
> You got spoke reflectors?


Yeah... I'm liking this. Last time I re-packed a hub, turned out it
was a reflector.

> Wheels true?


Dead.


> Fender clearance good?


Ridiculously.


> Check for gnomes?


They're still hibernating.
 
On Feb 28, 10:40 am, [email protected] wrote:
> On Feb 28, 9:19 am, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > You got spoke reflectors?

>
> Yeah... I'm liking this. Last time I re-packed a hub, turned out it
> was a reflector.


I've had them mess with my head a few times. They'll look fine, but be
loose enough to catch air and "tink" against a spoke with each
revolution.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> 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.


Spin the front axle, without skewer, in your fingers. My own
salt-encrusted front hub also has road scum in it and makes that noise.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
 
[email protected] wrote:
> On Feb 28, 9:19 am, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
>> You got spoke reflectors?

>
> Yeah... I'm liking this. Last time I re-packed a hub, turned out it
> was a reflector.
>
>> Wheels true?

>
> Dead.
>
>
>> Fender clearance good?

>
> Ridiculously.
>
>
>> Check for gnomes?

>
> They're still hibernating.
>


Swap your front wheel with another one. Is it gone?
Lube the spoke nipple/rim interface.

Lou
 
[email protected] wrote:
>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.


Have you checked the bottom bracket, a.k.a. "where fearful sounds usually dwell"?
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:d9d3fa6c-dd32-4783-adc7-d847d2ce8c52@o77g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
| 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


Its a long shot, but check your front rim - I had a double-walled MTB rim
that had chunks of white chalky gunk in between the walls. Sometimes this
chunks would make a plinking sound as they got tossed around inside the
rim.


Jean
 
On Feb 28, 4:43 pm, [email protected] wrote:
> 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


A good practical joke is to remove the seatpost from a buddy's bike
while they are not looking and toss a spoke down into the frame. Very
hard to diagnose!

I have had difficult to trace click/squeaks which turned out to be:

1. The rear skewer lever grazing the seat-stay.

2. The down-tube cable stops clicking when the steering wiggled the
cables a bit while pedalling.

3. A bottle-cage braze-on that had separated from the frame.

Or it could be just some loose spokes.

Joseph
 
On Feb 28, 1:54 pm, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:
> On Feb 28, 4:43 pm, [email protected] wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > 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

>
> A good practical joke is to remove the seatpost from a buddy's bike
> while they are not looking and toss a spoke down into the frame. Very
> hard to diagnose!
>
> I have had difficult to trace click/squeaks which turned out to be:
>
> 1. The rear skewer lever grazing the seat-stay.
>
> 2. The down-tube cable stops clicking when the steering wiggled the
> cables a bit while pedalling.
>
> 3. A bottle-cage braze-on that had separated from the frame.
>
> Or it could be just some loose spokes.
>
> Joseph- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


most likely bearings are shot; either bb or hub. the tink tink tank
sound is a bb being constantly pinched and shot out by it's
neighbours. do the repack thing and you'll see I'm right
 
In article
<d9d3fa6c-dd32-4783-adc7-d847d2ce8c52@o77g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
[email protected] wrote:

> 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.


Do not neglect the stem and bars. Should one of those
components let go you will hurt.

--
Michael Press
 
Chris Kay wrote:

> 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.


You must have missed the item on such noises recently when ball
bearings were the subject. If water gets into the bearings, (usually
front wheel) unless it got in from transporting the bicycle, exposed
on the roof of a car, to a 70mph water spray. Then both wheels get
wet.

Open the bearing, wipe out the reddish past from the cones and races.
Wipe the bearing balls in a clean cloth and don't worry that they are
no longer silver. Put it all back together with 30W or heavier oil and
be done with it.

If these are "sealed" cartridge bearings, get new ones, an advantage of
cartridge bearings. Random sharp clicking/snapping sounds come from
bearings that got wet.

The item:
======================================================================
Subject: Re: An easy way to tell if your bearings are worn out.
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:50:14 -0000

Aside from all the noise over worn bearings, let's be clear about
this. The only types of wear that affect a bicycle ball bearing is
rust and spalling.

Rust in a wet ball bearing being ridden will dry out and leave fine
rust that causes intermittent and random sharp cracking sounds. Such
bearings can be cleaned by wiping traces of rust from the races and
balls with a clean cloth before re-installing and oiling them. They
will work fine.

Bearings that have rusted at rest from water are another matter
because that causes eroded rust grooves at the edge of the wet
meniscus. The balls and probably their races are shot if this
condition developed over a few days.

The most common failing is spalling, in which the highly polished
surface of bearing balls and even races, flake off much like a pot
--
Jobst Brandt
 
On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:43:35 -0800 (PST), [email protected] may
have said:

>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.


Got a different seat post and seat assembly you can swap on for a
while? I've seen seats do this, and been amazed at where the noises
have seemed to be coming from.

Also, check the rims, spoke hole by spoke hole, for cracks and
under-tensioned spokes. Then check the welds on the head tube and the
entire fork crown. (These last two are extremely long shots, but when
you're chasing a creak, it pays to be meticulous and thorough.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Chris Kay wrote:
>
>> 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.

>
> You must have missed the item on such noises recently when ball
> bearings were the subject. If water gets into the bearings, (usually
> front wheel) unless it got in from transporting the bicycle, exposed
> on the roof of a car, to a 70mph water spray. Then both wheels get
> wet.
>
> Open the bearing, wipe out the reddish past from the cones and races.
> Wipe the bearing balls in a clean cloth and don't worry that they are
> no longer silver. Put it all back together with 30W or heavier oil and
> be done with it.
>
> If these are "sealed" cartridge bearings, get new ones, an advantage of
> cartridge bearings. Random sharp clicking/snapping sounds come from
> bearings that got wet.
>
> The item:
> ======================================================================
> Subject: Re: An easy way to tell if your bearings are worn out.
> Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:50:14 -0000
>
> Aside from all the noise over worn bearings, let's be clear about
> this. The only types of wear that affect a bicycle ball bearing is
> rust and spalling.
>
> Rust in a wet ball bearing being ridden will dry out and leave fine
> rust


not with stainless bearings - that's why stainless bearings are both
sold and used.



> that causes intermittent and random sharp cracking sounds. Such
> bearings can be cleaned by wiping traces of rust from the races and
> balls with a clean cloth before re-installing and oiling them. They
> will work fine.
>
> Bearings that have rusted at rest from water are another matter
> because that causes eroded rust grooves at the edge of the wet
> meniscus. The balls and probably their races are shot if this
> condition developed over a few days.
>
> The most common failing is spalling, in which the highly polished
> surface of bearing balls and even races, flake off much like a pot


http://www.tfot.info/news/1094/some-people-never-learn.html
 
[email protected] wrote:
> 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


check the front wheel bearings. noise like this is often loose bearing
balls "falling over the top" of the cone as they rotate. packed with
fresh grease and correctly adjusted, they will run silent.
 
On Feb 28, 11:33 pm, jim beam <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> not with stainless bearings - that's why stainless bearings are both
> sold and used.
>


bs. take one apart and look at it. stainless does not mean corrision-
proof; if you think so, do some research....like google!
 
On Feb 28, 8:43 am, [email protected] wrote:
> tink... tink TANK... ... ... TANKtink...
> tink... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
> ... tink ... ... TANK ... ...


The prize goes to Messrs. Muzi, Brandt and Beam, with a nod to the
fellow I ride home from work with, who was starting to complain about
the noise himself. He suggested swapping in a different front wheel;
this fixed everything and made my target clear. Starting simple, I
greased the spoke crossings of the "bad" wheel to no effect. Spinning
the wheel in a truing stand, I heard rumble; twisting the axle in my
fingers, I felt it. I stripped, cleaned and reassembled the front hub
with new bearings and lo, I am once again able to surprise raccoons.

J. Brandt notes that I must have missed a recent topic. In fact, I
had read that topic in my searches, although I somehow missed it
during my daily morning coffee-and-rbt perusal. Perhaps one or two
non-bicycle-technology-related threads pushed it off the front page.
Hard to believe.

And, that topic did place a seed in my mind (hence my "rusty wheel
bearing" conjecture), but (A) I wasn't sure that the "cracking" sound
it described was the same as my "tinking" sound, and (B) I'm still
surprised that that sort of problem can cause that kind of sound, with
a vibration so vigorous that I can feel it in the handlebars, pedals
and (sometimes) my sprung leather saddle. Also (C), the wheel was
bought new a couple years ago and couldn't have had 2,000 miles on
it. (Accurate figures are not available because I had to remove the
cyclocomputer for mental health reasons.) Oh, also, (D), as I
alluded, so far, whenever I've had a weird noise, it's been hopelessly
mundane. Only after I reinstall the headset do I notice the brake
cable endcap tapping against the fender.

Be all that as it may, I consider myself to have been significantly
educated by these events, and humbly thank the group.

(To those concerned with possible creeping handlebar/seatpost/frame
damage, I can only thank you for your concern, and assure you that I
am completely neurotic.)
 
[email protected] wrote:
> On Feb 28, 11:33�pm, jim beam <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> not with stainless bearings - that's why stainless bearings are both
>> sold and used.
>>

>
> bs. take one apart and look at it. stainless does not mean corrision-
> proof; if you think so, do some research....like google!


440c. look it up.
 

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