bottom bracket noise returns again

The funny thing about noises on the bicycle is that no matter where they are located on the bike, they almost always sound like they are coming from the bottom bracket. If the click is always heard in the same spot in the rotation of the cranks, then it is probably something in that area....pedals, crank, BB. If it is, pull your pedals and put a little grease on the pedal threads. If the click persists, pull the BB cartridge and reinstall it with plumbers tape wrapped around it.

If the click is not in the same spot on each rotation, you should probably start looking for it at some other location than around the BB.

also check, chainring bolts (steel ones should have light grease on their threads), pedals (for play in the spindle) in fact if you can swap out the pedals for another pair it can be really helpful in diagnosing...

also, do you ride in the rain? on square taper crank/spindles sometimes the taper between the crank arms and spindle isnt a perfect match and oxidation develops in the gaps and after cleaning that off and reinstalling the crank a noise will go away... when I install cranks on square taper spindles I clean both with very dry degreaser and let it dry completely before reinstalling...

good luck

curby

I’ve had this problem too. Also consider the pedals. Take them off and clean and grease the threads. In a state of frustrated rage I once fixed a click like yours by taking a can of spray lube and soaking the pedals and cleats all over. Making a big mess like this can be a good emotional release, in addition to sometimes working. I just read another poster somewhere suggesting the rear wheel as a source of the once per crank rotation click. Maybe tighten the rear skewer, clean the dropouts, check the rim, spokes. Good luck. That click can just ruin the pleasure of riding.

I agree it could be a lot of places. It is possibel it could even be in the drop bars or headset since your generally apply pressure at the same points in a rotation but that is not the first place I would look.

This happens to me all the time with my 2006 Cannondale CAAD8 and my Record Sq taper bb and the click is always the bb. Thin walled aluminum is like an echo chamber, and the bb cups are so light that eventually the grease brakes down, and the click returns. If I regrease with anti-seize compound I get about half a season without the click. When I first bought the frame, I used loctite blue and got about a year and a half click free. The only problem with loctite is it wears down too, and then removing the bb becomes a bear (and those Record bb cups are pretty light and can strip if you look at them wrong).

The problem always occurs after a long rainy ride. Next time it clicks, I'm trying plumber's (teflon) tape.