Thread started by trickmilla at 02.6.08 - 10:27 am

I raised my seat post at the kitchen the other day. According to the "slightly bent knee" rule. Its in a better position than before.

But as soon as i started riding i started to hear this clicking sound when i pedal.

It seemed to be coming from the bike at first, then i realized that it seems to be emanating the base of my skull. its kind of a maddening sound when it gets loud, kind of like a spark from range or a lighter with an electric pilot.

The sound only happens when i pedal forward and my strokes are pushing the bike. If I pedal backward or spin slower than the force needed to push the bike the sound goes away.

As it does if i ride upright with no hands or if i adjust my position slightly by moving (uncomfortably) back on my seat.

Is it possible my body is just adjusting to the new position or is something horribly wrong?

I am assuming this is a bad sign. And probably the easiest way to fix it is to lower the seat-post back.

Still I'd love to hear any insights or recommendations to this issue.

iI can elaborate more, but right now i gotta run to work.

thanks,
Patrick

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knee?



DAYLO
02.6.08 - 10:33 am

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It sounds like you might be turning into a pigeon. That the reason they push their head forward with every step, like you have to do with every pedal. Don't worry. They've always said "get a pigeon" and now we've got one. Welcome to the team!



richtotheie
02.6.08 - 11:05 am

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That doesn't sound good. Maybe you should get it checked out! Is this still happening?



NEWB310
02.6.08 - 11:14 am

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+1 on the pigeon theory.



City Hobgoblin
02.6.08 - 11:26 am

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Change the pedals. If you still have the click, it's probably the bottom bracket. If you don't, it's the pedals.

If you change the bottom bracket and pedals and still have the click? Then yes, you are at that point hopelessly turning into a pigeon.





User1
02.6.08 - 11:53 am

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ounce for ounce, pigeon food goes much farther than beer (weight, cheaper, and volume), hmmm, maybe i should readjust my seat post.



eddieboyinla
02.6.08 - 12:02 pm

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someone came in to the bike oven about 2 weeks ago .complaining about what they thought was a clicking sound coming from their bottom bracket.the sound was still there after they took the BB off and checked it out ,but later found out it had to do with the seat post.maybe try a little longer seatpost before spending any money on bird feed.



mandingo
02.6.08 - 12:45 pm

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your spine isnt fucked yet, but it will be. my spine is so bad its like a dashed non-uniform rational bezier line on crack. see a specialist if you can afford it.



SKIDMARCUS
02.6.08 - 1:16 pm

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Oh yeah Dingo is right!

For once!

Try lubing that seat post.



User1
02.6.08 - 1:32 pm

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coo roo-c'too-coo



SPOOK
02.6.08 - 5:24 pm

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Try a different bike. Then we can start to sort out if it's your bike or your body.

Someone mentioned this I think, but dirt and what not will get in the threading of the pedal causing them to click. So that periodically pulling off your pedals, cleaning the threads, and throwing them back on will eliminate those clicks if they're from the pedals. I have to do it to my bike about every two months.



Alex Thompson
02.6.08 - 5:28 pm

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Thanks for all the feedback.

I'm almost positive It is NOT the bike, the pedals or bottom bracket. The sound is literally coming from inside my head. I can make a similar sound sometimes by tilting my head left to right. aka popping joints type of sound except if the join is in the neck you hear it more from inside your head.

The sound has never happened until I raised my seat. And I don't think raised it too high .. in fact I think I might even need to raise it another cm.

The ride I took after raising my seat i was carrying about 5 or 6 lbs on my back ... they may have been part of it. The sound was much quieter today without the weight (and or my body adjusting?).

@ Marcus ... thanks for the advice. But I don't think I can see a specialist I can't even afford a non-specialist. I hope my back isn't fucked or doomed to be fucked.



trickmilla
02.6.08 - 9:41 pm

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It sounds like it has something to do with the fitting of the bike-- something that was changed as a result of raising the seat.

I really can't get into it anymore because I'm not particularly knowledgeable in bike fitting. Try to take the seat back down to where it was and see if you still hear the clicking.



kyber
02.6.08 - 10:05 pm

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Assuming that you're correct and that clicking is coming from your neck, here's my theory: raising your seat has caused you to lean over further (unless of course your raised your handlebars too) so you're having to tilt your head back a little more to see where your going. This is putting an unfamiliar stress on your neck. Make sense?

I'm not a medical expert so I can't say if it's a problem - maybe your neck will get used to the new position and the noise will go away. You didn't mention any pain; if you had I'd take that as a sign you should get it looked at for sure, but otherwise you could take the wait & see approach.



mr rollers
02.6.08 - 10:10 pm

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Rollers was able to articulate what I was trying to say. I think it makes sense, too.



kyber
02.6.08 - 10:12 pm

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Makes sense to me. good one.



eddieboyinla
02.6.08 - 10:14 pm

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cheers mr. rollers.





trickmilla
02.7.08 - 12:46 am

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but do you concur?



Joe Borfo
02.7.08 - 1:42 am

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If the sound is not coming from your body, the most likely culprit would be the small springs inside your clip-in pedals.

As you put your weight onto the pedal, the small spring scrapes against the inside of the pedal.

This happens a lot on Shimano SPD pedals (I rock those on two of my bikes and I have the same awesome clicking feature when I push down on the pedals).

If the noise is definitely not coming from your pedals, it could be your (steel?) handlebars adjusting slightly in the stem as you apply downward pressure with your hands while standing up to pedal.

Or you are crazy.



ubrayj02
02.7.08 - 3:05 am

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