Two rides ago I started hearing this intermittent clicking noise from the front end of my bike. It seems to happen randomly and I can’t isolate it for the life of me.
I can’t replicate it in my garage or riding it around on the street. Only happens on trails. It actually didn’t even start happening again for the first 10 mins of my last ride.
Here’s what I do know:
- It’s not the water bottle or holders
- It doesn’t seem to be cable related
- It doesn’t seem to relate to any particular action or movement. It happens during pedalling or not. Rough terrain or not. Compression or not.
- It seems to happen in bunches and then go away for a bit
The only pattern I’ve noticed is that it seems to happen more often after a patch of rough terrain.
Please help me. It’s driving me crazy and I don’t want to take apart my whole damn bike of I can avoid it.
by free_beer
4 Comments
U sure its not just little rocks hitting the frame… thats kinda the sound. But it does seem to be related to pedaling never seems to happen when u coast just after you pedal. So its either speed related or drive train id say. Make sure its not something stupid like a loose cable or your own shoe lace or something.
Could be seat post or seat, try riding in and out of the saddle and see if it happens. Could also be something with the cockpit or headset so try riding without hands and see if it still does it. Could also be a suspension pivot that’s got a little loose or something so check all the torque specs on those.
Also keep in mind that just because you hear it in the front doesn’t mean that’s where it’s coming from. The acoustics of big hollow tubes can be tricky.
It’s most likely the headset
This must be a thing with modern MTN bikes. I had one from the dropper post that I ID’d by lifting my butt off the seat and the noise went away. I think sand was getting between the dropper post tube. Another one was coming from the headset, brought it in and had it disassembled and greased and it went away. One came from my seat. Drove me nuts, riding for me in nature is supposed to relax me, not drive me nuts.