Clicking noise when pedaling

[clarousel]

Hi all,

recently when I cycle I hear this clicking noise when my foot goes down on the right pedal. I don't hear the same clicking noise when I turn the crank backwards though. What could this be?

I'm going cycling tomorrow morning at a park and I'm hoping the bike rental shop there may be able to help me with this!

[ny biker]

Are they platform pedals or clipless? If clipless, what kind?

[lph]

Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I've done it myself. Look down when you pedal, and check that you're not just hitting the end of the cable from the front derailleur with your foot as you pedal. That will cause a ticking or pinging sound with every revolution. And to make it more confusing, it can occur only in certain gears.

Otherwise I would check first of all that there's no play in the pedal arm, which could indicate a bad bearing - hold the pedal arm parallell to the lower horisontal bar of the frame, hold them both firmly in one hand and squeeze together. You should not feel any movement.

[ny biker]

I once brought the bike into the LBS to ask them to check a clicking sound when I pedaled, and it turned out my foot was hitting a cadence sensor that had come loose.

This is why I love my LBS -- they overlook my "duh" moments.

[laura*]

Another possibility is a loose chainring. It could be sliding back and forth on a chainring bolt. Under load, it would always move at the same crank position. Without load (i.e. when you pedal backwards) it might not move at all - hence no clicking.

[zoom-zoom]

The bad bearing thing is something I've run into. And the weird thing with that one is that it's often not rhythmic, so it can really make you nuts trying to figure it out when it's random and difficult to pinpoint, since the sound seems to come from everywhere in the bike.

[DebW]

If it might be the pedals, easy way to test is to put on a different pair of pedals, maybe borrow from a friend.