Clicking noise in FSA BB

WINGNUTT said:

I've been running an FSA crankset with Mega Exo BB for around 1000 miles. Recently it's started to develop a clicking that I can feel through the left crank arm whenever the crankarm passes through top dead center (just past this point actually). Has anyone experienced this clicking phenomenon before? I've checked to make sure the bolt is tight, and it is, so I'm thinking there might be a bearing going south on me. It's bugging the living [censored] out of me that my $300+ crankset is acting up already.

Everyone has experienced this in one way or another. Dont single out the crankset/bb, as this noise could be anything from skewers, handlebars, stems, etc. Believe me, you'll be surprised to find out its not where you think it is. Good luck! 🙂

tanggoman said:

Everyone has experienced this in one way or another. Dont single out the crankset/bb, as this noise could be anything from skewers, handlebars, stems, etc. Believe me, you'll be surprised to find out its not where you think it is. Good luck! 🙂

The thing is that it clicks exactly when my crank is in a certiain position. Pkus I can feel the clicking in my left foot. This pretty much eliminates everything except the crankset, I would think.

WINGNUTT said:

The thing is that it clicks exactly when my crank is in a certiain position. Pkus I can feel the clicking in my left foot. This pretty much eliminates everything except the crankset, I would think.

Pedal bearing, loose cleat, derailleur pulley, loose casette. Check those too, they all feel similar.

i had a similar clicking (i know the driving me crazy part) turned out to be the lock ring on the cassette.

jimmer23 said:

Pedal bearing, loose cleat, derailleur pulley, loose casette. Check those too, they all feel similar.

Swapped pedals, checked cleats, inspected derailleur pulley, swapped wheels, still clicks. BB puller on the way - I'm going to take out the BB and spin the bearing in my hand and replace the stupid thing if necessary.

i also had a clicking once that came from my headset. twas a tad too tight.

Had the same thing. FSA Mega BB with Alu frame. Squirted a bunch of Tri-flow into the bottom bracket shaft and threads. 😄 No more clicking. Alternative method is to take the bottom bracket out and grease the threads.

TheWheel said:

Had the same thing. FSA Mega BB with Alu frame. Squirted a bunch of Tri-flow into the bottom bracket shaft and threads. 😄 No more clicking. Alternative method is to take the bottom bracket out and grease the threads.

Hmmmmmmmmm... sounds like this might be worth a shot. BB tool will be here in a day or two, so I'll try this.

I've had this before on one crank near the top where you get a clicking/pinging sound and was the bottom bracket cups were not tight enough. I found you had to take out the left cup, re-tighten the right with a torque wrench, then put in and re-tighten the left cup to the correct torque. This cured it for me. If the bottom bracket thread on the frame starts to wear you may also get the same noise.

I had the exact same problem with my FSA's. Drove me and my mechanic nuts for 2 days. Swapped bottom brackets twice....same problem. Turns out that the bond between the aluminum and carbon on the arm came undone.

Had them warranted, installed the new set and everything was cool. For about 500 miles! Same damn problem again.

Great looking cranks...if looking is all you want to do with them.

Wet Pave said:

I had the exact same problem with my FSA's. Drove me and my mechanic nuts for 2 days. Swapped bottom brackets twice....same problem. Turns out that the bond between the aluminum and carbon on the arm came undone.

Had them warranted, installed the new set and everything was cool. For about 500 miles! Same damn problem again.

Great looking cranks...if looking is all you want to do with them.

You know, I think I've got the same thing going on. It comes and goes; sounds like a loose crankarm, but doesn't respond to all the usual cures. I've pulled the arms, reapplied the anti-sieze, carefully covering all the splines, but no cure. The click/ticking doesn't occur under heavy load of standing climbing, but under moderate seated cruising or slight hill loads. The right crankarm seems to be making the noise. I've thought it could be the "composite" crankarm, since I've tried everything else.

My bike has the Megatech OS BB, with pressed-in cartridge bearings, so no threads to make any sounds. Also have eliminated the wheels, pedals/cleats, seat, and bottle cages by changing them out, with no relief.

I was disappointed to learn from a trusted LBS friend that the FSA crankset is "composite", meaning an alloy core with a CF overwrap. He had installed an FSA Team Carbon on a Look frame which I was admiring when we started discussing "carbon" cranksets. He said he likes the FSA, but saw one cut open at Interbike show, revealing the alloy skeleton. (He said the Campy is all-carbon). Also, when I took off the chainrings recently to grease and retorque bolts, I noticed the mounting pads are alloy.

I'm going to contact FSA tech support right away and see what they say...you may have solved the mystery here.

ps: I got my FSA Team Carbon triple in Dec of 03, as part of a build-kit. (It was ordered by the framebuilder at OEM price). Wonder if they had a bad lot then?

Thanks everyone for you input. I finally figured out what the problem was - the BB was loose, but only very slightly. I'm not talking about the bolt that holds the cranks on, I'm talking about the actual fatty mega exo bearing that requires the special tool. I got the tool to tighten it from some guy on ebay ($20), took off the crank arms, then tightened the bearings down. Now the clicking has stopped and my BB is no longer mad at me.