Finally found the tick....

[R2D2]

Had an annoying tic .
Drove me crazy.
Turned out to be a bearing in Phil BB.
Not too rough but made noise as I pedaled.
Luckily I had a spare and swapped it out.
Now I just need to send back and get new bearings.
That BB has seen a lot of abuse and bunch of foul weather ........

[keevon]

Check for Lyme disease :eek:

[R2D2]

Well after another test ride. It is not the BB.
Wheel swaps etc next I guess...............

[Hindmost]

Which cups, what bottom bracket material?

[oliver1850]

I have it on two bikes. Can hear it going uphill, and it will stop as I crest and pedal stroke smooths out.

[Louis]

Can you hear it when out of the saddle? If not, then it may be the saddle or seatpost / clamp.

[Ralph]

Are stem bolts evenly TQ ed? This was the cause of a tick on a friends bike recently. He changed around his bars and stem, and didn't get the bolts tightened evenly. And when pedaling, just enough weight changed on the bars to make a tick. Who would have thought?

[corky]

Skewers....?

[jeffreng58]

Check for Lyme disease :eek:

touche

[R2D2]

Which cups, what bottom bracket material?

Alloy cups and both a steel and ti/mag.
But the noise is there with either.
So back to searching the whole drive train.
It has a rhythm so something in the drive train.

And thanks for all the suggestions.
I'll post when I find it so it can go down it the big book of "what Caused That Noise".

[GT2R]

I chased a ticking sound that was similar to yours. It didn't seem to rear it's head unless I was really mashing on the pedals. I was convinced it was in the BB... I eventually found it to be grit from riding in the rain that was between my carbon bars and aluminum stem. It drove me nuts for months but no more!

[PaulE]

On my unpainted Legend I have to periodically remove the front derailleur and clean the underside of the clamp and the seat post. Dirt gets in there and causes an annoying creak/tick. Last time I did it I put some plumber's Teflon paste between the two to see if I can seal it.

[Hindmost]

Aluminum cups were notorious with regard to noises.

[R2D2]

EUREKA!

Spoke was making noise.
I put a drop on each rim eyelet and good to go.
Probably a little corrosion from riding in the rain over the years.

Swapped wheels.
Noise went away.
Repacked hubs as they needed it.
Put on old wheels noise back but freewheel was quiet enough to let me hear it when not pedaling.
Squeezed pair of spokes and a pair creaked.

[oliver1850]

I'm going to go oil my nipples. Sounds easy and fun.

[Hindmost]

What rim is it?

[JimmyTango]

my nipples. Sound fun.

:butt:

[R2D2]

What rim is it?

Mavic OpenPro. Silver Record 10 3x.
Quiet now.

[Hindmost]

Good news about the tick.

Had a hunch about the rim. I have used open pros for a bunch of years and like them. At some point in their lifetime the ferrules can crack and ticks ensue.