Originally posted by bcsst26
I have a noisy back wheel. I like to keep my bike quit as possible. It sounds like somthing is loose in it. I was wandering what it was. I took the tire off and couldn't find anything in the rim. Is it a bearing or something else. Any suggestions?
From Chain Reactions website:
"Wheels. We had a customer recently who was absolutely, positively certain that the creaking noises he was getting were from his bottom bracket (especially since he'd had some trouble there before). Turned out it was from his front quick release skewer! Took awhile to isolate it, but sure enough, that was the source of the noise...it just had to be reinstalled a bit tighter and the noise went away! We had another customer who'd been complaining about noises on her bike for some time, and we just couldn't run them down, even after pretty much tearing her bike apart and reassembling it. And then, on one of my Tuesday/Thursday rides up King's Mountain Road, I just happened to catch up to her riding up the hill and, thankfully, the noise was there, quite audibly so, and it was quickly apparent it was from the spokes in the rear wheel. They were "unloading" as they approached the ground as they rotated, and then regained tension as they moved away. We added just a bit more tension and all seems to be fine now (and Laura, if you're reading this and hearing noises again, please let me know!).
Spoke reflectors can be another cause of wheel noise, especially if it comes and goes as you go through corners. Make sure the reflector is solidly wedged into the spokes (which usually requires sliding it up towards the rim as far as it will go). "
Mike makes a very important statement there as well:
" The first thing you have to do is realize that there may be multiple noise sources, and if you bring in your bike to have a mechanic check it out, don't get too annoyed when he/she starts finding various things that you're positively sure are not the noises you were hearing. You've gotta take things one step at a time and rule out everything you can."
See his fine article at:
http://www.chainreaction.com/noises.htm
Park Tool also has an article that covers noise issues:
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/creaking_and_squeaking.shtml
Park addresses wheels in this article.
My experiences with noises that actually come from the wheel are loose/broken spokes, "junk" that is inside the rim, a loose rim joint splice, hub issues, freehub issues, etc.
I agree with wanting a quiet bicycle. I ride using all my senses. If I detect a "new" noise I want to track down and eliminate it.