Chirping Gears

the cranks are loose

VeloJon said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike
with about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence,
not wheel revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur
adjustment seems to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e.
not reproduceable on the repair stand. Ideas?

Cleats.

On 20 Dec 2005 14:22:50 -0800, "VeloJon" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike with
about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence, not wheel
revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur adjustment seems
to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e. not reproduceable
on the repair stand. Ideas?

If it's in synch with the pedals, I doubt your chirp with be found on
the cassette. Look at the pedals, cranks, bottom bracket, or even the
frame around the BB.

Pat

Email address works as is.

Bill Sornson said:

VeloJon said:

... The chirps synch with pedal cadence,
not wheel revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur
adjustment seems to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e.
not reproduceable on the repair stand. Ideas?

Cleats.

Or the BB, seat, seatpost, or pedals.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

VeloJon said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike
with about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence,
not wheel revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur
adjustment seems to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e.
not reproduceable on the repair stand. Ideas?

Birds, duh! Just enjoy their music and try not to fiddle with them too
much.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

VeloJon said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike with
about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence, not wheel
revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur adjustment seems
to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e. not reproduceable
on the repair stand. Ideas?

Take the pulleys off, clean, lube with grease insides(?)

"VeloJon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike with
about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence, not wheel
revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur adjustment seems
to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e. not reproduceable
on the repair stand. Ideas?

Is this a cassette with the lower gears (largest sprockets) riveted? In
that case try a drop of oil on the rivets. Put some grease/oil on every
metal to metal contact in the cassette and torque the lockring to spec.

Lou

"VeloJon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike with
about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence, not wheel
revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur adjustment seems
to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e. not reproduceable
on the repair stand. Ideas?

If you have a clamp-on type front der (especially if frame is bare aluminum
or titanium), either tighten the clamp bolt or remove it, put a wrap of
electrical tape on the seat tube, then replace the der and clamp with proper
force.

I once overhauled, removed, cleaned, lubed, or replaced virtually EVERYTHING
on a Vitus trying to kill a "squeak". . . and still it persisted. And
purely by chance as I was just doing other routine maintenance and adjusting
ders did I discover a barely snug front der clamp bolt. . . NO WAY!!! So
out I went for a test and the noise was gone! The most frustrating noise
kill ever, but front der clamp bolt is now one of the first things I check
with alum or ti frames with a clamp type front der. . .

VeloJon said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike with
about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence, not wheel
revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur adjustment seems
to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e. not reproduceable
on the repair stand. Ideas?

I once had a chirp come from the heel of my shoes rubbing the crank
arms. This happened when I changed to new shoes with a wider heel. Of
course this would not be restricted to happen only in certain gears,
unless you slightly change your foot angle as the resistance force
increases. Check for rub marks on your crank arms. Remedy would be to
change the angle of the cleat mounting slightly.

Quoted message said:

"VeloJon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike with
about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence, not wheel
revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur adjustment seems
to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e. not reproduceable
on the repair stand. Ideas?

Wheels by BFWG said:

If you have a clamp-on type front der (especially if frame is bare aluminum
or titanium), either tighten the clamp bolt or remove it, put a wrap of
electrical tape on the seat tube, then replace the der and clamp with proper
force.
I once overhauled, removed, cleaned, lubed, or replaced virtually EVERYTHING
on a Vitus trying to kill a "squeak". . . and still it persisted. And
purely by chance as I was just doing other routine maintenance and adjusting
ders did I discover a barely snug front der clamp bolt. . . NO WAY!!! So
out I went for a test and the noise was gone! The most frustrating noise
kill ever, but front der clamp bolt is now one of the first things I check
with alum or ti frames with a clamp type front der. . .

You're right to the extent that Vitus tubes are 28.0mm while
most front changers are designed for a 28.6 ( 1-1/8 inch)
tube. That problem is unique to metric frames with standard
changers.
(You _could_ have acquired a 28.0mm vintage French changer!)

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Patrick Lamb said:

If it's in synch with the pedals, I doubt your chirp with be found on
the cassette. Look at the pedals, cranks, bottom bracket, or even the
frame around the BB.

Since it only happens under load and in the lower 4 gears, I expect
crank/chainring flex causing the chain to hit something.

Jasper

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 22:35:13 -0600, Patrick Lamb

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If it's in synch with the pedals, I doubt your chirp with be found on
the cassette. Look at the pedals, cranks, bottom bracket, or even the
frame around the BB.

I wouldn't discount the problem being at the rear of the bike just
because the noise is in sync with the pedals. Maybe it's caused by the
load imposed at certain positions during the pedal stroke but the noise
occurs at the other end of the chain.

Jasper Janssen said:

Since it only happens under load and in the lower 4 gears, I expect
crank/chainring flex causing the chain to hit something.

On my bikes, I sometimes get chirping under load in the lower gears and
I believe it's due to the rear derailleur pulley wheels (Tiagra on one
bike, Deore LX on the other, both long cages). If I squirt some lube on
their axles, the chirping goes away. I've disassembled those a couple
of timesand there's not much there, mainly a bushing and pair of
cap/washer thingies. I haven't had the same problem with my 105 rear
long cage derailleur, but I don't know if its wheels are constructed any
differently, or has better tolerances or what.

--
I do not accept unsolicited commercial e-mail. Remove NO_UCE for
legitimate replies.

"A Muzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"VeloJon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know there have been numerous posts about many mystery chirping
noises, but I am well & truly stumped. I believe my mystery chirp
emanates from the lower 4 gears on the cassette of a new road bike with
about 1000 miles on it. The chirps synch with pedal cadence, not wheel
revolutions, and no amount of chain lube or derailleur adjustment seems
to cure it. The chirp only occurs under load, i.e. not reproduceable
on the repair stand. Ideas?

Wheels by BFWG said:

If you have a clamp-on type front der (especially if frame is bare
aluminum or titanium), either tighten the clamp bolt or remove it, put a
wrap of electrical tape on the seat tube, then replace the der and clamp
with proper force.
I once overhauled, removed, cleaned, lubed, or replaced virtually
EVERYTHING on a Vitus trying to kill a "squeak". . . and still it
persisted. And purely by chance as I was just doing other routine
maintenance and adjusting ders did I discover a barely snug front der
clamp bolt. . . NO WAY!!! So out I went for a test and the noise was
gone! The most frustrating noise kill ever, but front der clamp bolt is
now one of the first things I check with alum or ti frames with a clamp
type front der. . .

You're right to the extent that Vitus tubes are 28.0mm while most front
changers are designed for a 28.6 ( 1-1/8 inch) tube. That problem is
unique to metric frames with standard changers.
(You _could_ have acquired a 28.0mm vintage French changer!)

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

I have had the same ailment on both ti and bare aluminum frames (other than
Vitus) too.