Shimano Ultegra Middle Chain-ring Noise

[Trek50Saratoga]

I have a 2004 Trek 5200 equipped with an Ultegra 3 ring from chain ring.

From the very first day that I got the bike I noticed a clicking/ticking noise while peddling on the middle chain ring. My dealer says the noise is normal. Shimano said that the noise is due to to the tabs that assist in the shifting from one ring to another. This noise is very irritating and I find it hard to believe that it is normal. The noise is only on the middle ring. I have upgradded the chain to dura ace and if anything it got louder. Does anyone else have this problem with their Ultegra middle chain ring ??? If not I will consider replacing it with another to get rid oif the noise.

Thanks for your consideration.

 

[boudreaux]

I have a 2004 Trek 5200 equipped with an Ultegra 3 ring from chain ring.

From the very first day that I got the bike I noticed a clicking/ticking noise while peddling on the middle chain ring. My dealer says the noise is normal. Shimano said that the noise is due to to the tabs that assist in the shifting from one ring to another. This noise is very irritating and I find it hard to believe that it is normal. The noise is only on the middle ring. I have upgradded the chain to dura ace and if anything it got louder. Does anyone else have this problem with their Ultegra middle chain ring ??? If not I will consider replacing it with another to get rid oif the noise.

Thanks for your consideration.

New on on me.

 

[e_guevara]

I have a 2004 Trek 5200 equipped with an Ultegra 3 ring from chain ring.

From the very first day that I got the bike I noticed a clicking/ticking noise while peddling on the middle chain ring. My dealer says the noise is normal. Shimano said that the noise is due to to the tabs that assist in the shifting from one ring to another. This noise is very irritating and I find it hard to believe that it is normal. The noise is only on the middle ring. I have upgradded the chain to dura ace and if anything it got louder. Does anyone else have this problem with their Ultegra middle chain ring ??? If not I will consider replacing it with another to get rid oif the noise.

Thanks for your consideration.

Have you tried using the 'trim' on your shifters?

 

[Trek50Saratoga]

Have you tried using the 'trim' on your shifters?

No, I have not .... and to be perfectly honest I am not sure how to use the trim on my shifters ? But definitely willing to try anything, especially at no-cost !

 

[nssane]

I have a 2004 Trek 2300 equipped with an Ultegra 3 ring front chain ring...

The only time I got a ticking sound was when the cables had stretched and the front derailer needed adjusting. Even then I only got the sound when using the outer most rear gears either low or high as the chain hit the side of the front derailer. Once adjusted ...no more noise.

Have you spun the cranks with the wheels off the ground to see if the chain is hitting the sides of the derailer or the little bottom bar? Might help in determining what adjustment to make.

 

[Rollo]

i think the problem is obviously just that you are using a triple chainring, that's one more than anyone needs.

JK

Rollo

 

[e_guevara]

No, I have not .... and to be perfectly honest I am not sure how to use the trim on my shifters ? But definitely willing to try anything, especially at no-cost !

There are intermediate 'clicks' between shifts to bigger chainrings. These clicks move the front derailleur slightly to prevent rubbing against the chain. See if the noise goes away before succumbing to more desperate measures

 

[davef]

New on on me.

Thought it was a reasonable common occurence on triples, it has been mentioned on this forum before.. I know of two 105 middle chainrings that make this little clicking noise.

davef

 

[boudreaux]

Thought it was a reasonable common occurence on triples, it has been mentioned on this forum before.. I know of two 105 middle chainrings that make this little clicking noise.

davef

Doesn't happen on any of mine.

 

[e_guevara]

Thought it was a reasonable common occurence on triples, it has been mentioned on this forum before.. I know of two 105 middle chainrings that make this little clicking noise.

davef

If that being the case, then a lot of MTBs should have the same problem as well.

 

[Trek50Saratoga]

There are intermediate 'clicks' between shifts to bigger chainrings. These clicks move the front derailleur slightly to prevent rubbing against the chain. See if the noise goes away before succumbing to more desperate measures

Thanks, but it appears that the noise is not coming from rubbing with the front derailer, it is not touch the derailer at all, when I hear the clicking/ticking, it appears to be from the chain ring teeth or the tabs on the chain ring that assist in the shifting process ... this is very aggrivating

 

[sfcommuter]

I have a 2004 Trek 5200 equipped with an Ultegra 3 ring from chain ring.

From the very first day that I got the bike I noticed a clicking/ticking noise while peddling on the middle chain ring. My dealer says the noise is normal. Shimano said that the noise is due to to the tabs that assist in the shifting from one ring to another. This noise is very irritating and I find it hard to believe that it is normal. The noise is only on the middle ring. I have upgradded the chain to dura ace and if anything it got louder. Does anyone else have this problem with their Ultegra middle chain ring ??? If not I will consider replacing it with another to get rid oif the noise.

Thanks for your consideration.

I had the exact same problem with an Ultegra triple on a road bike I built-up myself several months ago. It is NOT normal. There have actually been several posts in forums about the same problem. I finally called Shimano tech. and they said that likely I needed to replace the middle chainring because it might have a slight defect that caused the clicking noise. I sent Shimano the middle chainring, they sent back a replacement, I installed it and the clicking went away. Now you just need to convince your LBS to do the same thing... Good luck!

 

[Trek50Saratoga]

I had the exact same problem with an Ultegra triple on a road bike I built-up myself several months ago. It is NOT normal. There have actually been several posts in forums about the same problem. I finally called Shimano tech. and they said that likely I needed to replace the middle chainring because it might have a slight defect that caused the clicking noise. I sent Shimano the middle chainring, they sent back a replacement, I installed it and the clicking went away. Now you just need to convince your LBS to do the same thing... Good luck!

Thank you very much for the information. I am glad to hear that someone else had a similar experience ... because the chain ring is somewhat reasonably priced, I am will to purchase another to install, rather than go through the down-time and hassle of sending it back to shimano and or dealing with my LBS.
Now my only question is .... how do I know that the one that I am going to purchase is not of the same batch having a defect ???? is there any way to tell the difference ???

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

TRE in Saratoga, CA

 

[sfcommuter]

Thank you very much for the information. I am glad to hear that someone else had a similar experience ... because the chain ring is somewhat reasonably priced, I am will to purchase another to install, rather than go through the down-time and hassle of sending it back to shimano and or dealing with my LBS.
Now my only question is .... how do I know that the one that I am going to purchase is not of the same batch having a defect ???? is there any way to tell the difference ???

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

TRE in Saratoga, CA

It's true that I suppose there is a risk. That was one advantage of getting a replacment directly through Shimano. You have to a wait a few days without a chainring because you have to send the old one in, but it's free and the one they sent me did fix the problem.

 

[gixser11]

I have a 2004 Trek 5200 equipped with an Ultegra 3 ring from chain ring.

From the very first day that I got the bike I noticed a clicking/ticking noise while peddling on the middle chain ring. My dealer says the noise is normal. Shimano said that the noise is due to to the tabs that assist in the shifting from one ring to another. This noise is very irritating and I find it hard to believe that it is normal. The noise is only on the middle ring. I have upgradded the chain to dura ace and if anything it got louder. Does anyone else have this problem with their Ultegra middle chain ring ??? If not I will consider replacing it with another to get rid oif the noise.

Thanks for your consideration.

I had the same problem on my big ring on my Lemond Zurich. Took it to the dealer to fix it. They fixed the noise but now I have a very delayed shift and it is almost impossible to get into the big ring. Wish I would have stuck with the annoying noise.

 

[sfcommuter]

I had the same problem on my big ring on my Lemond Zurich. Took it to the dealer to fix it. They fixed the noise but now I have a very delayed shift and it is almost impossible to get into the big ring. Wish I would have stuck with the annoying noise.

Did they tell what they actually did to fix the problem? Sounds like it was a front derailleur adjustment problem and they messed it up.

If you feel comfortable with it you could try adjusting it yourself:
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/howfix_frontderailleur.shtml