Rythmic "whispering" sound

[Flatlander]

This noise is driving me crazy. I have a rythmic "whispering" sound that i hear when I ride. At first I thought maybe my brakes were rubbing, but I tried opening the quick release while riding, alternately on both the front and back brakes, so they couldn't possibly be rubbing and the noise was still there. To make it even more aggravating, when I put the bike on my repair stand, I can't duplicate the noise.

Any ideas?

[spazzdog]

'tis the sound of lycra on saddle grasshopper

or some cyclist is trying to contact you from the 'other side'

spazz

[Veronica]

Do you hear it all the time or only when you pedal?

V.

[DebW]

It happens while coasting too, so it's not you or your shorts, right? The rhythm is related to tire rotation speed, not crank speed, right? If you were riding sewups, I'd say it could be a loose rimstrip edge touching the brake pad (right kind of noise). Maybe it's something silly like a leaf stuck on the bike somewhere, or a glob of something sticky on the tire/road surface. I'm liking the sticky tire tread theory - that would give no sound on the stand. I had a similar sound this weekend (but more chunk-chunk sounding). Put on a new tire and got a noise from the front wheel. It went away after about 10 miles and I decided it was probably a spot of glue or something on the tire tread. But I still get it if I'm pedaling standing up, because the bike is swinging side-to-side more than if I'm seated so I'm riding on a wider amount of tread. It will wear off eventually.

[Flatlander]

Yes, I hear it even when I'm not pedaling. Hmm, I hadn't thought about it being on the tire itself--I'll check for that. Besides, I just got new tires; I'll go ahead and switch the out the old ones and see if the sound goes away. Thanks for the suggestions!

It's making me crazy! Arrgh!

In fact, I'm going to go replace those tires RIGHT NOW!

[spazzdog]

maybe your wheel is just out of "true", so a out of line spoke is whispering...

[Flatlander]

maybe your wheel is just out of "true", so a out of line spoke is whispering...

Hmm, I've been wondering if the back wheel is out of true. Does a spoke whisper when that happens?

I have access to a wheel struing stand, so I might just take it down there tomorrow and tweak it anyway to see what happens...

That said, I switched out my tires and the whisper is still there. I've also wondered if it's the reflectors on the wheels. Is that a possibility?

[DebW]

Hmm, I've been wondering if the back wheel is out of true. Does a spoke whisper when that happens?

I have access to a wheel struing stand, so I might just take it down there tomorrow and tweak it anyway to see what happens...

That said, I switched out my tires and the whisper is still there. I've also wondered if it's the reflectors on the wheels. Is that a possibility?

I'm not aware that spokes can whisper. They can ping. If there is a spoke that you can wiggle by hand it would be worth truing the wheel, but I doubt that's it. Do make sure the reflectors in the wheels are tight, and tighten every other bolt on the bike. Can you swap wheels with someone as a test?

[bike4ever]

Take a look at your hubs. Is there a black, rubber seal around the hubs? These can often create a slight whispering sound. If they are there, drop a thin layer of Triflow around this dust cover.

[Trek420]

It's saying

"ride me, c'mon another mile, let's do that hill again, aw c'mon, let's go ride again..."

[Flatlander]

It's saying

"ride me, c'mon another mile, let's do that hill again, aw c'mon, let's go ride again..."

LOL!!! Okay, maybe if I can't find the source, I'll try to re-frame my thinking about it...

I went out to the shop and put some lube on the hub dust covers. I alos took off the reflectors--they were plenty tight; I just suspect that they might be "catching air" and making the whisper noise. I don't ride at night (too chicken) so I'm ot too worried aobut not havin ghtem on my wheels.

Tomorrow I'll take the bike out and see if either of those fixes work...

[Flatlander]

Woohoo! The whisper is gone! I think it was the reflectors...

I can always stick them back on if I ever go for a ride at twlight/dark/etc, but that isn't really very likely.

Thanks for everyone's help!