Wheel pinging/rattling when braking (solved)

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fixer
Posts: 152
Joined: 14 Jun 2007, 8:00pm

Wheel pinging/rattling when braking (solved)

Post by fixer »

My front wheel is making a rattling sound when I brake.

Wheel is old, it has 36 3 cross spokes with 20mm box section rim (Mavic G40), hub is Campagnolo Nuovo Record. Spokes are chromed plated steel I think and there is some rust/corrsion. Brake is Campagnolo sidepull.

It started a few weeks ago, at first it was making a pinging sound when I applied the front brake. I read that it could be the spoke crossings rubbing, the suggestion was to put some card between the spokes at the crossings to work out which of the crossings were making the noise. I put card at all of them and still got the pinging. After several rides, the sound is now more like rattling.

I have greased the hub and lubed the nipples and the rim sockets. I can't see any other problems with the wheel. I think I will put plastic at the crossings instead of card and see if that would work.

Maybe I need to rebuild with new spokes.
Last edited by fixer on 18 Jun 2023, 5:05pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by Jdsk »

Can you reproduce it with the bike on the stand?

Is there any play at the brake pivot?

Is there a cable end or anything else that could be brought into contact when the brakes are applied?

Jonathan
fixer
Posts: 152
Joined: 14 Jun 2007, 8:00pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by fixer »

The brake is in good condition with nothing loose, the brake blocks are clean. If I spin the wheel with it off the ground, the wheel stops as soon as the brake blocks touch the wheel and there is no noise.

I will put my hand on the brake on my next ride to see if there's any difference.
zenitb
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Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by zenitb »

OK my issue is unlikely to be yours but given I had this failure on an older Mavic rim I will document it anyway.

I was given a Mavic XC717 rim by a friend of mine. This guy is always very terse so it wasnt clear to me why he he didnt want the rim. I suspect the bike shop swapped the rim out but didnt really explain to him why they had done it.

The reason for the rattling was a weird failure. With this box section Mavic rim the hoop was joined by a metal insert. This fitted inside the box section at the point of the join. I am not sure how it was held in place but for whatever reason it had come loose and was sliding round inside the rim!!! Sometimes it would catch on something and not rattle but if you banged the rim around it would start rattling again. Because my rim had no spokes in you could get the "joining piece" to appear at one of the holes. I binned the rim but took some pics before ditching it .. I will edit this post with the pics if I find the pics...

To see if this is the case you could take the wheel off and wave it around... or take the rim tape off around the wheel joint and see if this chunk of metal is showing up through the back of the spoke holes there.

This is super unlikely to be your problem though ... its just too weird a failure !!!!
The dodgy rim.. still looking for the failure pics I took...
The dodgy rim.. still looking for the failure pics I took...
mig
Posts: 2702
Joined: 19 Oct 2011, 9:39pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by mig »

have you squeezed pairs of spokes on both sides of the wheel?

what are the front forks like condition wise?
rareposter
Posts: 1992
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by rareposter »

It can be quite difficult to track down these sorts of noises. Try fitting another front wheel and seeing if you still have the noise, at least that will isolate the source.
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interestedcp
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Joined: 5 Jan 2012, 3:34pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by interestedcp »

Such noises can be hard to track down, but from your description I would check if there is any lateral movement in the front wheel. If the cones have come loose, or if there are wear that allows play, the front wheel can make funny noises when braking. Same with ball bearings that have tiny rust specks on them; they can also make some rather strange noises

Another quick test is to check spoke tension, since to loose spokes also can make some noise.

Some Mavic rims like the old CXP33 had an internal metal insert at the rim joint that could come loose and make a rattling sound, a simple shaking of the rim should reveal if that is the case.
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Jupestar
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Joined: 29 Feb 2020, 3:03pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by Jupestar »

Only on braking? double check the QR is installed correctly. a friend had a funny noise from his bike yesterday under brakeing, something as simple as putting the little spring back on the correct side (it as a bolt up skewer). Seemed to fix it.
iandusud
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Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 1:35pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by iandusud »

I think if the issue was to do with spokes the noise would occur also when not braking. This leads me to think that the noise is more likely to be coming from the bars/stem or the forks/headset, due to weight transference under braking.
peetee
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Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by peetee »

Is there a front mudguard fitted? Perhaps vibration caused by glazed or contaminated brake pads is making the guard rattle - or anything else that is loose.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
rogerzilla
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Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by rogerzilla »

Does it also do it when honking uphill? Corroded rim eyelets make that noise. You can oil them to stop it, for a while.
axel_knutt
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Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by axel_knutt »

Check for loose spokes, and if you find any, check the rim doesn't have any fatigue fractures at the spoke holes.
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axel_knutt
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Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by axel_knutt »

fixer wrote: 25 Sep 2022, 7:44pmI read that it could be the spoke crossings rubbing
I've had this. The spokes wear notches in each other where they cross, then when the wheel flexes under load they jump in and out of the notches with a ping.
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
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Chris Jeggo
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Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking

Post by Chris Jeggo »

axel_knutt wrote: 30 Sep 2022, 3:23pm
fixer wrote: 25 Sep 2022, 7:44pmI read that it could be the spoke crossings rubbing
I've had this. The spokes wear notches in each other where they cross, then when the wheel flexes under load they jump in and out of the notches with a ping.
Yes, I've had this too.
fixer
Posts: 152
Joined: 14 Jun 2007, 8:00pm

Re: Wheel pinging/rattling when braking (solved)

Post by fixer »

It was caused by a bent plastic covered wheel guide on the front brake, which got bent inwards. It's why it started off as pinging, and as the brake blocks wore, it became like rattling.
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