Snap/Crackle/Popping Bottom Bracket?

So a week ago I did the One Day Ride Across Michigan...about 147 miles. Maybe a third of those miles were in the rain or one wet roads. MI is one big sand dune, so much of the puddles and potholes on our roads are filled with sand after hard rains.

After a couple of hours of riding on these roads I started noticing random clicking, cracking, and popping noises, but only when I pedaled and without any particular rhythm or pattern.

I washed my bike earlier in the week, then DH re-lubed the chain. But the noise continues.

Today DH went with me on a short ride and I'm glad he did--the noise started getting more frequent and VERY loud. At first he thought I was exaggerating what I was hearing, but now he's just as perplexed and wary of the sounds as I am. Sometimes it sounds like something is sliding or rolling inside the bottom bracket.

Hubby's out in the garage and suspects (as do I) that it's coming from the non-drive/left side. He's still not certain what could cause the noises, though.

Anyone have any knowledge or experience that would explain this? The bike has just shy of 3000 miles on it, so it's still pretty new. Fortunately it's also under warranty (purchased new in early Dec.), since I suspect our LBS is going to be doing some work on it this week.

So after some poking around DH is pretty certain that the left bearing is trashed. I gots skills. About this time last year I broke a drive-side spoke, which is apparently not that easy to do.

Did you dump the water out of the frame after your ride? (Not to say that it's necessarily related...just a good idea.)

Generally speaking, I never assume that a noise is coming from the BB, although it's sometimes the case. I start by greasing and tightening the easy stuff (pedals, seatpost in frame, saddle rails in seatpost, stem bolts) and then, if that doesn't solve it, I move on to pulling the crankset and removing the bottom bracket.

Stuff, including bottom brackets, can loosen over time. It never hurts to periodically double check things.

ETA: Ugh! Bummer about the BB! Remind me again....what kind of BB do you have? Some are, IME, easier to wreck than others.

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Originally Posted by Becky

ETA: Ugh! Bummer about the BB! Remind me again....what kind of BB do you have? Some are, IME, easier to wreck than others.

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BB30. I did a little reading and it appears that issues with this BB are not at all uncommon, even on bikes with relatively low mileage. Poo.

Tomorrow I'll be doing a 75 mile JDRF team ride on my Redline CX bike with my road wheels/tires. Gah, I hate aluminum on chip-seal...it's gonna be a long, buzzy day! :p

Just as a side note - how difficult did you find it to remove the cranks to inspect the bottom bracket? I'm learning to do some mechanicking myself by rebuilding an old bike and I would like a heads up on how challenging this can be. I've got the Zinn manual, but any tips would be nice :)

Ha, I don't personally know, since DH does most of the wrenching around here (I think it's relaxing for him, since he is always eager to putter around on the bikes). He said most manufacturers will have technical documents on their websites to walk you through it, though.

I've not used BB30, but my experiences with FSA BBs have been terrible. Never again.

Removing a crankset and BB isn't hard, provided that nothing's seized up, but a) you need the right tools for your style (internal vs. external) and b) you want to make sure to be careful with the threads in your frame.

I had that happen earlier this summer. And it had far fewer miles on it than yours did (~600). It did get caught in the rain a few times, which probably didn't help.

That sounds exactly like what my bottom bracket sounded like when it was starting to go. And I knew what was happening because I had ridden with a friend whose bb was going and that's what his sounded like. That randomness is particularly telling. Although I guess that can be anything with bearings, like a hub.

zoom-zoom...what perfect timing for you to post this!!! About 3 weeks ago, I started to experience some mysterious creaking noises. Naturally, the first thing that I thought was it had to be my seatpost, because that is where it sounded like it was coming from. The noise would come and go, randomly...no set pattern, but ALWAYS on a pedal stroke, whether in or out of the saddle...but especially OUT of the saddle. Sometimes it would last for hours during a ride, and then suddenly disappear for a while, only to return usually within a few miles from home. This all started after we had ridden 2 consecutive weekends in heavy rain...4 out of 6 of our rides, were either partially or completely in a steady rain. The creaking got so annoying, that I decided to take the bike in to an independent mechanic (not my dealer, cuz they suck and I won't go there anymore...but that's another story). I explained to the mechanic that I was pretty sure it was my seatpost, and he promptly told me that it most likely was NOT my seatpost, but probably my bottom bracket bearings. I too, have the FSA pressfit BB30 BB, and he said they are known to have issues with the bearings going prematurely. Got the call that my bike was all fixed, so when I went to pick it up he said the one side was definitely trashed and the other side was on the verge of being trashed...so he replaced both. Rode the bike (85 miles) today for the first time since getting it back, and NO CREAKING. He was right...and I think I've found my new permanent mechanic. ;)

ETA - my mechanic did replace my original FSA BB30 bearings with SRAM BB30 bearings...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that new ones will survive longer.

Linda

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Originally Posted by Becky

I've not used BB30, but my experiences with FSA BBs have been terrible. Never again.

Removing a crankset and BB isn't hard, provided that nothing's seized up, but a) you need the right tools for your style (internal vs. external) and b) you want to make sure to be careful with the threads in your frame.

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Mine is SRAM. It's apparently not something DH can fix on his own, since it requires some special tool to press it into place. Plus it's under warranty (we think...unless it's considered a wear item like brake pads and tires, though I would hope bearings would still be warranted for more than 7 months), so we'll let our LBS do the work, then they will bill it to Cannondale, I would guess.

Sure glad to have my little Redline cyclocross bike for backup, though. :)

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

zoom-zoom...what perfect timing for you to post this!!! About 3 weeks ago, I started to experience some mysterious creaking noises. Naturally, the first thing that I thought was it had to be my seatpost, because that is where it sounded like it was coming from. The noise would come and go, randomly...no set pattern, but ALWAYS on a pedal stroke, whether in or out of the saddle...but especially OUT of the saddle. Sometimes it would last for hours during a ride, and then suddenly disappear for a while, only to return usually within a few miles from home. This all started after we had ridden 2 consecutive weekends in heavy rain...4 out of 6 of our rides, were either partially or completely in a steady rain. The creaking got so annoying, that I decided to take the bike in to an independent mechanic (not my dealer, cuz they suck and I won't go there anymore...but that's another story). I explained to the mechanic that I was pretty sure it was my seatpost, and he promptly told me that it most likely was NOT my seatpost, but probably my bottom bracket bearings. I too, have an FSA BB30, and he said they are known to have issues with the bearings going prematurely. Got the call that my bike was all fixed, so when I went to pick it up he said the one side was definitely trashed and the other side was on the verge of being trashed...so he replaced both. Rode the bike (85 miles) today for the first time since getting it back, and NO CREAKING. He was right...and I think I've found my new permanent mechanic. ;)

Linda

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Yup! Funny thing is, at first I thought maybe it was coming from the front half of my bike. And my frame's carbon, so then I started feeling paranoid that maybe my frame was cracking, since there is sort of a plastic-y cracking sound.

Glad you found a good mechanic out of this! We love our LBS mechanics. We buy them beer. :D

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

Mine is SRAM. It's apparently not something DH can fix on his own, since it requires some special tool to press it into place.

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Oh yeah....pressfit....I'm a bit of a bicycle luddite and tend to forget about those. Oops :o

I sincerely hope that SRAM BBs are better than FSA as I've just installed one on my carbon bike!