Felt F75 rattling

[jrarthur]

[COLOR= rgb(75, 74, 44)]I am riding a Felt F75 with Shimano 105 components. Recently I've been noticing a rattling noise when I go over sharp bumps or even slightly bumpy roads, generally at higher speeds. I've checked the headset, tightened water bottle cages, check components for play, removed reflectors and plastic spoke guard, and have still not located the rattling. [/COLOR] [COLOR= rgb(75, 74, 44)]My only ideas are the cables (although I've held the rear brake cable while riding and the rattling persists) or perhaps the inner tube stems, which are not secured to the wheel rims. my friend who used to work as a bike mechanic took a ride and could not figure it out but is convinced it is nothing serious and thinks it could be the cables but, for some reason, I am not convinced that that's the problem.[/COLOR] [COLOR= rgb(75, 74, 44)]Any ideas or suggested fixes/diagnosis tips?[/COLOR] [COLOR= rgb(75, 74, 44)]Thanks![/COLOR]

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Poke a hole in some electrical tape and push it over the inner tube stems, effectively taping them to the rims. Try this first, it's fast and easy.

External rear brake cable? Heve you ridden with the cable removed from the fame? Just roll it up and hold onto it...remembering you have no rear brake! Sufficient cable tension to keep the inner wire from slapping the top tube? Sometimes a loose enough inner wire will allow the brake levers to vibrate in the hoods, but simply gripping them would stop that vibration/noise.

Checked the calipers, themselves, for being mounted securely and the pivot joints being tight (long shot here!)?

Eliminating the obvious...nothing in a bag that might be the source? Sorry, I HAD to ask!

Plucked the spokes? Nothing loose there?

I would double-check the headset preload, but a loose headset can be felt thru the hands as well as heard...sometimes.

Ok...next!

 

[davereo]

Could be the your computer ratlling in the mount. Tube stem is high probability tighten the nuts down by hand if you have threaded valve stems. If not try method previously suggested.

 

[alienator]

I doubt it's the inner tube stems unless you have deep section wheels. I'd look again at the cables and also at your bottle cages to be sure their mounting bolts are tight.

 

[Dave Pace]

I'm a noob, but are you sure it is not a chain slap or even a noise coming from the rear Derailleurs?

 

[jrarthur]

Thanks a ton for all of the suggestions! I put the tape on the tube stems and I think it made a difference but am unsure how much of difference it has made (I haven't done any rough rides yet). Today/this weekend I'm planning on properly tightening the headset, putting o-rings on the cables, and checking some of the other things you all have listed. I'll let y'all know how it all turns out!

 

[jrarthur]

Okay, so I checked out all of the above and none of them worked. I have a new discovery, however. Is it possible that there is something inside the rear axle/hub? When I tilt the bike to either side, I can definitely hear something sliding around inside of the hub. Any ideas whether this is plausible? If so, any ideas what the noise could be? I'm convinced that if there is something inside of there which is loose enough to slide around, it could be loose enough to bounce around and cause the rattling I'm hearing.

Thanks a ton for the help thus far!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

It's possible your cassette cogs are loose. Did you check the lock ring to make sure it's properly tightened (just a guess since you removed the spoke protector)?

Something "inside" the hub? All I can think of are a loose wheel bearing (that would likely result in an un-true condition) or a cassette pawl that has somehow become dislodged or the pawl spring broke. Both are highly unlikely problems.

What brand/model hub? Perhaps you or your LBS can remove the cassette carrier or further strip the hub down to its shell?