the pedal click

bobsbarricades said:

What does it mean if there is a sort of 'click' that you feel more than hear when pedaling and it always occurs in one spot of the rotation?

It means you should service your pedals. :p Maybe check your cleats also. If the bike still clicks then start tightening and servicing other things until you find the source.

cleats are the actual pedals right? sorry, couldn't be any greener :P

bobsbarricades said:

cleats are the actual pedals right? sorry, couldn't be any greener :P

Nope, the cleat is the bit attached to your shoe. The pedals are the pedals. :p

Windbreaker said:

Nope, the cleat is the bit attached to your shoe. The pedals are the pedals. :p

Which brand of pedal and model are you using?

vascdoc said:

Which brand of pedal and model are you using?

🙂 sorry.

The pedal is an EXAGE 400EX on a narrow chain Biopace

What could I 'tighten?'

bobsbarricades said:

🙂 sorry.

The pedal is an EXAGE 400EX on a narrow chain Biopace

What could I 'tighten?'

Besides just making sure that the pedal is screwed into the crank arm sufficiently tight, there is also a small possibility of worn bearings within the pedal spindle - which, depending on the pedal brand and design, may or may not be easy to adjust.

If the click is always at the same crank position, independent of gear, etc., then the other possibility is in the attachment of the crank arms to the bottom bracket, or, sloppiness or play in the bottom bracket itself. It is also conceivable, but even less likely, that you have a funky tooth on one of the chain rings, but this would only make noise when that chain ring was being used.

Of course, if the noise is not synchronized to crank or pedal position then the first step is to figure out what rotating part it IS synchronized to: wheel rotation (might be a loose spoke, or a wheel bearing issue), or cassette rotation (same as wheel rotation rate when peddling, but stops when you stop peddling, etc.)

I've been getting the same thing recently with my Schimano clips where at one point of the rotation I can feel the slightest pop; to me it feels like a bearing.

rschleicher said:

-snip-

If the click is always at the same crank position, independent of gear, etc., then the other possibility is in the attachment of the crank arms to the bottom bracket, or, sloppiness or play in the bottom bracket itself. It is also conceivable, but even less likely, that you have a funky tooth on one of the chain rings, but this would only make noise when that chain ring was being used.

Of course, if the noise is not synchronized to crank or pedal position then the first step is to figure out what rotating part it IS synchronized to: wheel rotation (might be a loose spoke, or a wheel bearing issue), or cassette rotation (same as wheel rotation rate when peddling, but stops when you stop peddling, etc.)

I had the same problem as the op starting about 2 months ago, and the clicking was driving me batty. Like rschleicher is saying above, it's important to isolate WHERE the actual sound is coming from. In my case, I could have sworn it was the pedal also....but after changing pedals, switching out the saddle, set of wheels....finally figured out it was the bb, as switching the other components didn't silence it. I put some plumber's tape on the bb threads, tightened, and .....bingo! No more click! Heaven!

BikingBrian said:

I had the same problem as the op starting about 2 months ago, and the clicking was driving me batty. Like rschleicher is saying above, it's important to isolate WHERE the actual sound is coming from. In my case, I could have sworn it was the pedal also....but after changing pedals, switching out the saddle, set of wheels....finally figured out it was the bb, as switching the other components didn't silence it. I put some plumber's tape on the bb threads, tightened, and .....bingo! No more click! Heaven!

alright, well I will take it to the local shop and tell him about it - see if he can learn me some maintence tips :P

If I remember correctly, Shimano Exage 400 EX was the precursor to the 105 Series components. They changed the series identifiers in the mid 80's, so your pedals are at least 22 years old. These older pedals needed much more frequent maintenance than the current design pedals. Unless these pedals have been well maintained, you could have a turned or broken bearing causing the noise. The problem with these old Shimano pedals is that it is nearly impossible to get replacement parts for them, most notably the plastic bearing dust caps. These caps get brittle with age and are a bear to remove without them breaking. I refuse to work on any old pedals except for my own for this reason.

kdelong said:

If I remember correctly, Shimano Exage 400 EX was the precursor to the 105 Series components. They changed the series identifiers in the mid 80's, so your pedals are at least 22 years old. These older pedals needed much more frequent maintenance than the current design pedals. Unless these pedals have been well maintained, you could have a turned or broken bearing causing the noise. The problem with these old Shimano pedals is that it is nearly impossible to get replacement parts for them, most notably the plastic bearing dust caps. These caps get brittle with age and are a bear to remove without them breaking. I refuse to work on any old pedals except for my own for this reason.

........gee.....sounds awesome......... wow. do do you think an old bianchi frame with new tires, sun rimms M14 II, new cables, new casette for 225 was a good deal?

The exage stuff really doesn't look that old. It looks maybe 5 years - theres exage derailers and brakes on there - metalic blue sort of color-

bobsbarricades said:

........gee.....sounds awesome......... wow. do do you think an old bianchi frame with new tires, sun rimms M14 II, new cables, new casette for 225 was a good deal?

The exage stuff really doesn't look that old. It looks maybe 5 years - theres exage derailers and brakes on there - metalic blue sort of color-

Check out this link. sheldonbrown.comshimano.htmlOpen ↗ If you read a little in here, it will show you that the Exage Group was replaced by the Alivio prior to 1997, so it is definitely older than 5 years. The only reason that I know this much is that my 1987 Raliegh had Exage 500 EX and the 1988 models had 105 components.

kdelong said:

Check out this link. sheldonbrown.comshimano.htmlOpen ↗ If you read a little in here, it will show you that the Exage Group was replaced by the Alivio prior to 1997, so it is definitely older than 5 years. The only reason that I know this much is that my 1987 Raliegh had Exage 500 EX and the 1988 models had 105 components.

didn't mean to sound defensive in the last post - just reread it and realized the tone. More or less suprised at they hold so long. The exage pictured above look about in the same condition. After 10+ years I guess I just expect more wear, especially the way I use things :P

That crankset was produced from '90-'92, according to Sheldon Brown.

one of my roadies made a very distinct "click" sound when I climb standing. The sound also appeared exactly when the right crank bottomed out. I thought pedal and/or BB.

turned out to be a lightly tightened front wheel skewer allowing the skewer to "click" against the fork-dropouts.

live and learn.
.

Hey guys,

I've also had a problem with pedal click. This problem started about two weeks ago. Just out of the blue I started to get a click on both power strokes. I've tightened the crank nuts as far as I can, but the click is still there. Its always at about three o'clock (straight forward) on each pedal. When I'm off the bike, I can take hold of one of the pedals and move it left and right a few millimeters. The chainrings and the opposite pedal also move with this motion. Is there anything else I can do to try to fix this or will I have to replace some parts? Thanks!

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by cjohns33 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

......... When I'm off the bike, I can take hold of one of the pedals and move it left and right a few millimeters. The chainrings and the opposite pedal also move with this motion. ...........

Sounds like a bottom bracket problem. It may be time for a visit to your LBS's service dept. unless you do your own repairs.