another bike noise thread!

[Vladimir]

Hi gang,

I was wondering if you could give me some idea as to what could be causing some rather annoying noise from my bike.

It's kind of a whining noise, appears to be coming from the rear hub, and varies directly with pedalling intensity. It also appears to be gear independent, ruling out casette issues.

At first I thought it was the rear hub, and so I took it out and serviced it, with the help of an experienced friend.

At the same time, I cleaned and degreased the transmission. The noise persists, and I've no idea what it could be. I also unhooked the brake to rule it out; and that didnt have an effect on the noise either.

Any ideas?

thanks

Vlad

[meic]

Does it happen if you spin the wheel with the bike on its back or only if actually riding it?

[thirdcrank]

When you say varies with pedalling intensity, dow that mean that it gets louder if you pedal harder or it gets more freqent if you pedal quicker?

[Vladimir]

Does it happen if you spin the wheel with the bike on its back or only if actually riding it?

It happens if you spin the wheel on the bike. There seems no difference in the noise between riding the bike and having it on its back.

[Vladimir]

When you say varies with pedalling intensity, dow that mean that it gets louder if you pedal harder or it gets more freqent if you pedal quicker?

it gets more frequent if you pedal quicker.

the noise is kind of like:

spin .... .... ....spin .... .... ....spin .... .... ....spin .... .... ....
.... zZzz.... ........ zZzz.... ........ zZzz.... ........ zZzz.... ........ .... ....

spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....spin ....
zzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZzzzzzZZ


if that makes sense?

[tatanab]

it gets more frequent if you pedal quicker.

Then it cannot be related to hub or cassette if spinning a lower gear (I assume this is what you mean) increases frequency. Take a look at your jockey wheels, inboard of the cranks etc - anywhere a bit of grass or other crud could have collected.

If however you mean the frequency increases with road speed, have you recently changed the tyre? Tyres can have little spikes of rubber from the mould and these could be touching a brake block or mudguard. I found this with a Michelin Krylion which had feathery spikes several mm long - I checked for the tyre touching the mudguard and so on before I twigged what was going on.

editted for typos.

[reohn2]

Something rubbing on the tyre?

[Brucey]

could it be the tyre rubbing on the mudguard, debris trapped in the mudguard, or the frame, or something?

cheers

[IanMSpencer]

Not a lot to go on! Bound to be something simple, they always are when you've stripped the whole bike down and found nothing!

Is the front derailleur cable rubbing on the tyre?

Is there something stuck between the cassette and the wheel?

Do you mean that as you go faster, it changes, or simply if you pedal it happens, and if you don't pedal it doesn't?

Have you got a bike stand? It sounds like you need it up on a stand and if you can reproduce the noise (which is not always the case!) then it is simply a case of hoping it is not echoing around the frame as you try and pin it down. If you haven't got a stand, you can jury rig something so you can move the pedals and listen.

[Mick F]

Something rubbing on the tyre?

Perhaps leaves/debris on the inside of a mudguard rubbing on the tyre.

I often get this - and it's damned annoying!

[531colin]

Got a seal running dry on hub, BB, pedal ?....dry jockey wheel?
between cassette and hub if its freewheeling?

[Vladimir]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

There is no mudguard. the tyre is a modest 37mm wide, so plenty of sunshine between it and the nearest object/stay/etc...

I do apologise about misleading you all, it has nothing to do with pedal frequency, and all to do with speed. The faster it goes, the buzzier it gets. After I spin it up, and the wheel is freehweeling, the noise persists until the wheel slows down.

As I say, I disconnected the brake in order to eliminate that, to no avail.

I may try to take the tyre off and see how it goes... or is that a step too far?

[Vladimir]

Which one is the jockey wheel? Or are they both called jockey wheels?

I did take the bottom one out last night, washed it, and lubricated it - and then put it back. it appeared that whoever put it together tightened it far too hard in the first place.

Maybe I should do the same with the other wheel (although that one seems to be running smoothly).

But then again, this doesnt explain why the noise persists upon freewheeling...

[531colin]

Put a drop of oil on the hub seals....the left one is easy, you can almost see it. The right one is up inside the cassette, also put a drop of oil between the cassette and the spokes to maybe hit the freewheel body seal.

[Brucey]

I would try removing the chain (by refitting the wheel the other side of it) and spin the wheel in the frame. If the noise stops, you know it is something to do with the freewheel.

cheers