Clicking and Ratchet Noise when Pedaling

[Jewbacca]

Dunno.... 

I have hubs which have done upwards of 20000km and never undergone any severe maintenance. My old Hope SS hub was probably pulled apart once in roughly 7 years. 

This included riding some helluva inhospitable terrain in some dire conditions, swimming in the baviaans and Mordor on Freedom Challenge, etc...

I reckon the more you tinker, the more you need to tinker.

You guys obsessed with always cleaning, polishing and degreasing your bikes always seem to be the ones with problems.

If the bearings feel notchy, replace them. There is a natural residue and build up of gunk that works in your favour. If you are always stripping that away you are creating problems. 

Anyway, I am currently guilty of my favourite 'pool of 1' peer review study. Without any scientific proof and purely based on anecdotal evidence and 100% bias, I believe if you clean your bike and degrease everything too often you are going to wear through your kit faster than if you just rinsed things off and cleaned things reasonably. 

[Steady Spin]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

Sounds like the perfect opportunity to go for SHIMANO ... 😋

 

 

 

Sorry, just could not resist ...

No microspline driver available for my hub unfortunately. 

[Steady Spin]

24 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Dunno.... 

I have hubs which have done upwards of 20000km and never undergone any severe maintenance. My old Hope SS hub was probably pulled apart once in roughly 7 years. 

This included riding some helluva inhospitable terrain in some dire conditions, swimming in the baviaans and Mordor on Freedom Challenge, etc...

I reckon the more you tinker, the more you need to tinker.

You guys obsessed with always cleaning, polishing and degreasing your bikes always seem to be the ones with problems.

If the bearings feel notchy, replace them. There is a natural residue and build up of gunk that works in your favour. If you are always stripping that away you are creating problems. 

Anyway, I am currently guilty of my favourite 'pool of 1' peer review study. Without any scientific proof and purely based on anecdotal evidence and 100% bias, I believe if you clean your bike and degrease everything too often you are going to wear through your kit faster than if you just rinsed things off and cleaned things reasonably. 

I don’t tinker to the level of causing more headaches though. Keep my bike clean and drivetrain maintained. 

Wheel bearings only done now after about 18 months and 6000km. I blame cheap bearings from the factory  Fiance’s bike eats a set of bearings every 12 months. 

If the seatpost creaks I clean and replace the fibergrip. Same with the bars. 

Headset clean and regrease happens when the fork is serviced. So twice a year basically.  

BB service happens when the chainring gets replaced. I’ve never needed to replace BB bearings in my life. Lucky I guess. 

I really miss Hope hubs though. Never needed maintenance and just kept going and going on my Morewood. The new owner has the same experience I’m sure. 

So yeah. Until recently I mostly just clean the bike twice a month and lube at the same time. 

Edited December 30, 2021 by Steady Spin

[Jewbacca]

Just now, Steady Spin said:

I don’t tinker to the level of causing more headaches though. Keep my bike clean and drivetrain maintained. 

If the seatpost creaks I clean and replace the fibergrip. Same with the bars. 

Headset clean and regrease happens when the fork is serviced. So twice a year basically.  

BB service happens when the chainring gets replaced. I’ve never needed to replace BB bearings in my life. Lucky I guess. 

I really miss Hope hubs though. Never needed maintenance and just kept going and going on my Morewood. The new owner has the same experience I’m sure. 

So yeah. Until recently I mostly just clean the bike twice a month and lube at the same time. 

I wasn't aiming at you specifically. More the comment about how hubs need regular maintenance and how some guys obsess about using paraffin and other degreasers to scrub out their chain and cassette etc...

Some of that is good gunk!

 

[Steady Spin]

3 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I wasn't aiming at you specifically. More the comment about how hubs need regular maintenance and how some guys obsess about using paraffin and other degreasers to scrub out their chain and cassette etc...

Some of that is good gunk!

 

No stress. I’ve been tinkering like a mofo this week though 😂

[tubed]

35 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Dunno.... 

I have hubs which have done upwards of 20000km and never undergone any severe maintenance. My old Hope SS hub was probably pulled apart once in roughly 7 years. 

This included riding some helluva inhospitable terrain in some dire conditions, swimming in the baviaans and Mordor on Freedom Challenge, etc...

I reckon the more you tinker, the more you need to tinker.

You guys obsessed with always cleaning, polishing and degreasing your bikes always seem to be the ones with problems.

If the bearings feel notchy, replace them. There is a natural residue and build up of gunk that works in your favour. If you are always stripping that away you are creating problems. 

Anyway, I am currently guilty of my favourite 'pool of 1' peer review study. Without any scientific proof and purely based on anecdotal evidence and 100% bias, I believe if you clean your bike and degrease everything too often you are going to wear through your kit faster than if you just rinsed things off and cleaned things reasonably. 

Agree with this - there is a fine line between ignoring an obviously degrading part/ problem which will manifest if it doesn't get attention and the need always to always be fiddling.

Best example was a good rider, and bike industry guy (always fiddling) - decides on Freedom Challenge near Baviaans to tighten more, an already perfectly tight quick release, which he strips by overtightening and then spends a day waiting for a new one from PE and another day riding like a madman to catch his mates.

Bike shops love these guys......

[guidodg]

17 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I wasn't aiming at you specifically. More the comment about how hubs need regular maintenance and how some guys obsess about using paraffin and other degreasers to scrub out their chain and cassette etc...

Some of that is good gunk!

 

hence why I shower once a week😁

[Steady Spin]

True story. Don’t fix what isn’t broken. 

[TheoG]

46 minutes ago, Steady Spin said:

No microspline driver available for my hub unfortunately. 

Then get a DT Swiss Star ratchet hub .... 🙈😂

[Steady Spin]

3 minutes ago, TheoG said:

Then get a DT Swiss Star ratchet hub .... 🙈😂

I’m living my best shifting life with the XTR mech and SRAM everything else at the moment. 😂

Definitely sticking to the combo. 

[Steady Spin]

Wheel is back at the shop. I can’t bother with this anymore. Let someone else figure it out. 

Shop suspects the freehub is the problem. They will reset the spring tension and relube it.  

My question… why would a freehub only last 6000km or is that the norm? Lyne components high engagement unit. 

I really miss my Hope hubs. 

[love2fly]

Is it not possibly the disc rotor as the wheel flexexs under pedalling

[Steady Spin]

10 minutes ago, love2fly said:

Is it not possibly the disc rotor as the wheel flexexs under pedalling

Not impossible but it would be more frequent and only under load. I get the noise even under light loads. 

Not sure it would make such a loud noise. What would it get caught on? Rubbing noise would be more likely. 

[love2fly]

I'm only asking as from time to time I've had (new) disc rotors that make a ratcheting sound when I brake. Had it on front and rear. Would be when touching the pads as load is applied....It's probably a stretch...😀

[Frosty]

Let them check your whole wheel, i.e. spoke tension, loose nipples, bearings in the freehub.

I know the bearings in my freehub weren't pressed in incorrectly (insufficiently), and the spacer between the two bearings was moving around inside. Once pressed in place, properly, and the grease applied, the noise stopped. The assembly was also done incorrectly.

[Steady Spin]

55 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Let them check your whole wheel, i.e. spoke tension, loose nipples, bearings in the freehub.

I know the bearings in my freehub weren't pressed in incorrectly (insufficiently), and the spacer between the two bearings was moving around inside. Once pressed in place, properly, and the grease applied, the noise stopped. The assembly was also done incorrectly.

Had the bearings checked and replaced end of December. All good on that front  

Went through each spoke in the last week and cleaned between where they cross and checked tension. Spokes won’t resonate into the pedal axle though.