clicking bottom bracket

[ají]

Hi all,
ive seen a few old posts on this topic, so i thought i might reboot it.
has anyone had this problem? every down pedal (particularly LHS) a click, click, click, especially when applying more force (eg standing up).
ive swapped over the pedals, cleaned out the S&S, changed the cartridge, tightened, cleaned regreased just about everything, but still clicking.
im riding a 2015 nomad.


i'd appreciate any feedback/thoughts!
Andrew

[Danneaux]

Bicycle sounds can telegraph, Andrew. My suggestion would be to next check the seatpost collar bolt and the saddle clamp bolt. If those don't fix it, then -- if you're running a Brooks saddle -- check the saddle rivets and nosepiece for creaks. If that is the culprit, then a small spot of oil on the underside of the rivet can do the trick.

I suggest the saddle/seatpost to you despite the noise continuing when you stand because on mine, it was my inner thigh brushing against the saddle when standing that propagated the noise. I had thought sure it was caused by something down below...BB, chainring sleeve bolts,  pedals, cleats, etc.

Hope this helps. Such noises can be maddening!

All the best,

Dan.

[ají]

thanks Dan,
i've checked all those, i should stress its a definite click as opposed to a creak.
I can recreate the noise when stationary by pressing my foot down on the left pedal, the click happens as i take the pressure off.
I removed the Eccentric screws and noticed play in the EBB when rocking the crank up and down by hand, but not sideways (has anyone else with an EBB noticed this, or do your EBBs fit perfectly snug when screws loosened?). tighten the screws on mine, and no movement. obviously the foot with the body behind it can exert more force than the hand.
cheers,

[Danneaux]

Andrew,

I've been searching my memory and found my notes on a similar problem with my tandem's eccentric. I finally solved it by coating the contact surfaces with Honda Pro-Link Moly 60 paste, a grease with a high molybdenum-disulfide content. Problem solved.

It seemed the noise might have been caused by microfretting between the eccentric insert and some portion of the BB shell or grub screws. I never found exactly where, only that a change in grease solved it. It's been 24 years since I used the Moly 60 and the noise never returned. Same pedals, BB cartridge insert, cranks, chainrings, etc.

It also worked very nicely on clutch throwout bearings when I had my own Honda car repair business back in the day, back in another life as I was earning money for Uni.

Might be worth a try.

All the best,

Dan.

[ají]

Hi  Dan,
interesting, how does that stuff work? Loctite has also been suggested to me as well.
Im figuring that the EBB shell or probably less likely the EBB itself are misshapen, oval rather than circular.
another suggestion has been to insert shims in the shell. but the difficulty here is that the EBB is rather tricky to insert, so even the thinnest extra layer there could be difficult to put in.
cheers
Andrew

[jags]

i had the exact same problem on my road bike Look kx light.i completely stripped the bike regreased everything ,  took her for a test ride  still click click click ended up it was the bottom bracket cups outer bearings .

jags

[ají]

did you replace the bearings jags? my bottom bracket cartridge shimano UN55 was the first thing i replaced alas the clicking continues...

[geocycle]

Hi,
You are doing all the right things in trying to narrow the noise down.  My guess would be either the cranks (remove grease, replace) chain ring bolts or possibly some movement on the EBB if the bolts aren't tight enough or have created a groove. I've had all three at one time or another.  I've just started to noticing a click under load again which I am pretty certain will be the crank. Good luck!

[ají]

yep, these are some of the things on my list. this wednesday I'll try another 175 crank. funny enough i just tightened the EBB bolts and clicking continued.

does anyone know if the EBB should rock about in the shell when the bolts are loose?

[jags]

nothing to rock aji except the pilot  of course 

i had to get the bottom bracket shell faced but your system is different id safely say you bottom bracket if at fault .if you have cleats in your shoes check them also.
man it can be a right pain trying to figure out a noise but im putting my money on the BB .

jags.

[ají]

Aye too true jags, too true. no cleats, ratcages.

[jags]

be sure to let us know if you get it sorted have fun.


jags.

[mickeg]

Twice on my Nomad I had a clicking bottom bracket area sound that really infuriated me with how hard it was to find.

The first one I figured out, I had panniers on the rear rack.  I was off the bike and with rear brake applied, I pushed down hard on the pedal with my foot, and heard the click.  It sounded like it was coming from the rear of the bike and repeating the push on alternate pedals this way I figured out that it was at the rear dropout area.  It was a rear lower rack bolt.  It was tight, but not tight enough.  When you pedal, you flex the frame a bit.  With panniers and weight on the rear rack, mixing the frame flex with a rack that was under a load, that allowed the rack position to shift against the dropout as I pedaled.  Tightened bolt, no more clicking.

Second time the clicking slowly got worse over more than a thousand miles.  Tried lots of things many times.  Finally decided to change bottom bracket to see if there was something in it that made the click.  Pulled off the crank arms and when I went to remove the left (non-drive) side part of the UN-55 cartridge unit, it unthreaded much easier than I expected.  It was tighter than loose but it was not as tight as it should have been.  So, I just tightened that and put the crank arms back on and tried the bike, no more clicking sound.  The bottom bracket cartridge must have been shifting position slightly against the left side bushing causing the click.

In both of these cases I had one or two clicks with each pedal rotation, each click corresponded to one pedal push. Sometimes I got a click with each pedal push, but sometimes only got a click with one side but not the other side.

Good luck, figuring these things out can be quite frustrating at times.

[John Saxby]

anyone know if the EBB should rock about in the shell when the bolts are loose?

I had that problem a couple of years ago on my Raven. There was a slight notchiness in my right crank-arm (it seemed). The signal was barely audible, not a 'click'. I thought it might be the BB wearing, but on closer inspection, it was not the crank arm which was moving, but the EBB on the right side. Reason was that the right-side fixing screw was not snugged up.  When I tightened it to the proper torque spec (10-17Nm), the problem disappeared & hasn't returned since.

[ají]

theres been a few times Ive seen the crank coming loose and i think: this'll fix it! but no ... still, i will fit out a new LH crank tomorrow and see how that goes.
i checked my rack fittings and they're all tight.
i've had the UN55 cartridge out a number of times (i even replaced it) but despite all the attention, still clicking.

in my opinion, everything seems to point to the eccentric and the BB shell. has anyone ever puts shims in their BBs?
I may need a new eccentric, this one is looking a bit holey now. i think the SJS website sells 2 sizes: one for the mercury, and another one (which is the one i think i need).
i may have found some relief just by digging in those BB screws even deeper. i dont have a torque tool to measure how tight, but what i do notice is they go in and in.

incidentally i had another problem with this bike-  which i probably should talk about in another post, but i will discuss it here. the slipping and crunching rohloff hub.
so i'd be riding along, and slip! crunch! grind! nasty!
I would "slip" out of gear. it was ahorrible sensation of loosing transmission and cogs grinding over each other. this created a lot of drama, and rohloff agreed to swap out the internals of the hub. all well and good, but it still happens. I wonder if anyone else reading here has had this problem? other people i spoke to said no. all a big mystery. i thought that maybe my clickstand brakeband was messing with the gear selector, but no. then, just a couple of nights back, i was riding uphill and it happened again, although at the very time the gears slipped, the clicking BB started (shortly before i had tightened the BB bolts). so i thought maybe something different is occurring- perhaps the eccentric is slipping with the pedalling (screws slipping along a furrow or hole in the eccentric), causing a sudden loss of chain tension (small, but significant) which could be creating mayhem with the hub. the only thing that tells me this isnt happening is that chain tension is not drastically reduced after a "hub slip".