That incessant noise...

[giverdada]

hey all:

happy november. things are slowly turning into winter up here in toronto, which gives me less time on the road and more time to ponder all the 'improvements' i could make to my bike in the off-season. compared to my commuter, there's really not much that my serotta could use to make it any more magical; the thing's a dream. there's just one thing...

i have a serotta ti that i believe is an early-mid-90s edition in size 54 that was not made for me or my weight or riding style. it was a very fortunate ebay purchase that i've been loving since i completed the build two seasons ago. the frame is supple, tracks better than anything i've ever tried through turns, accelerates when needed, and helps me climb things better than ever. the only thing is: when standing and really loading the bottom bracket with force, climbing or sprinting, there is a clicking noise that i can't get rid of. it sounds almost like a crank arm-spindle interface problem, but not as drastic. and i've already taken off the crank arms, greased the spindle, and tightened them back on with an 8mm allen wrench (not a multi-tool like i was using before, as this wouldn't yield sufficient torque). i have tightened all of the chainring bolts. i have greased the cable guide under the BB. the pedals are greased and tight in the crank arms. what gives?

any help is greatly appreciated. also, one more question that is unrelated: i am running old chorus alloy (formerly 8 speed) shifters that i had upgraded to 10-speed and i was just wondering if the newer 10-speed shifters can shift multiple cogs up and down the cassette. thanks.

[WayneJ]

What type of bottom bracket axle?

Square taper
OctaLink
ISIS
etc.

[oldpotatoe]

hey all:

happy november. things are slowly turning into winter up here in toronto, which gives me less time on the road and more time to ponder all the 'improvements' i could make to my bike in the off-season. compared to my commuter, there's really not much that my serotta could use to make it any more magical; the thing's a dream. there's just one thing...

i have a serotta ti that i believe is an early-mid-90s edition in size 54 that was not made for me or my weight or riding style. it was a very fortunate ebay purchase that i've been loving since i completed the build two seasons ago. the frame is supple, tracks better than anything i've ever tried through turns, accelerates when needed, and helps me climb things better than ever. the only thing is: when standing and really loading the bottom bracket with force, climbing or sprinting, there is a clicking noise that i can't get rid of. it sounds almost like a crank arm-spindle interface problem, but not as drastic. and i've already taken off the crank arms, greased the spindle, and tightened them back on with an 8mm allen wrench (not a multi-tool like i was using before, as this wouldn't yield sufficient torque). i have tightened all of the chainring bolts. i have greased the cable guide under the BB. the pedals are greased and tight in the crank arms. what gives?

any help is greatly appreciated. also, one more question that is unrelated: i am running old chorus alloy (formerly 8 speed) shifters that i had upgraded to 10-speed and i was just wondering if the newer 10-speed shifters can shift multiple cogs up and down the cassette. thanks.

I would say grease INSIDE the aluminum BB cups(assuming it's the triple bearing 102mm BB), teflon tape around the BB cup threads and grease inside the BB shell.

This is probably up there with helmet threads but I'd suggest NOT greasing the BB spindle( if square taper) and use a torque wrench. 26-28 ft-lbs onto a dry spindle.

The 2009 10s shifters are like the 2006 shifters and 2007/8 Record/Chorus shifters in that you can shift multiple shifts up and dwn the cogset(unlike the 'QS' Xenon based stuff of 2007/8 Centaur and below) and the LH lever has the ratcheting friction feature of ERGo of 2006.

You converted a old shape ERGO from 8s to 10s? New, custom thru bolts? Since the ERGO for 8s was a different width for the shift guts, wondering how this was done.

[Hardlyrob]

This is a fix from Dave Kirk, but works many times...take off the front derailleur clamp, grease the clamp, reinstall and torque. Doesn't work all the time, but many times.

Good luck.

Rob

[giverdada]

What type of bottom bracket axle?

Square taper
OctaLink
ISIS
etc.

square taper veloce double 39-53, 172.5mm

[giverdada]

thanks very much for the recommendations. time to buy that damn BB tool that i doubt will even fit on any other BB. alas.

and i hear you on the grease on the spindle debate. everyone's got a differing view, i've tried both, and i'm going with jobst brandt. we'll see...

i didn't actually change the guts of the shifter; i had my local specialty shop guy do it, and he said that it was just a matter of changing the notched wheel with the detents, from the 8 speed to the 10 speed (i guess 9 detents for 10 speed?). i'm rather afraid of taking apart the shifters myself, so i left it to the pro and it works great.

I would say grease INSIDE the aluminum BB cups(assuming it's the triple bearing 102mm BB), teflon tape around the BB cup threads and grease inside the BB shell.

This is probably up there with helmet threads but I'd suggest NOT greasing the BB spindle( if square taper) and use a torque wrench. 26-28 ft-lbs onto a dry spindle.

The 2009 10s shifters are like the 2006 shifters and 2007/8 Record/Chorus shifters in that you can shift multiple shifts up and dwn the cogset(unlike the 'QS' Xenon based stuff of 2007/8 Centaur and below) and the LH lever has the ratcheting friction feature of ERGo of 2006.

You converted a old shape ERGO from 8s to 10s? New, custom thru bolts? Since the ERGO for 8s was a different width for the shift guts, wondering how this was done.

[OtayBW]

.... there is a clicking noise that i can't get rid of. it sounds almost like a crank arm-spindle interface problem, but not as drastic. and i've already taken off the crank arms, greased the spindle, and tightened them back on with an 8mm allen wrench (not a multi-tool like i was using before, as this wouldn't yield sufficient torque). i have tightened all of the chainring bolts. i have greased the cable guide under the BB. the pedals are greased and tight in the crank arms. what gives?

That kind of noise, IMO, can reverberate from many places on the bike and sound like it's coming from the BB. Something like that happened to me recently. I went through all that you did, and it went away after changing out the cassette.

[wasfast]

Yet another vote to check out things besides the crank/bb. One of the most common one's I get is creaky skewers. Some light oil on the cam and axle interfaces to the dropouts can be life changing.

Test this idea by switching wheels or even just skewers.

[aaronf]

and i hear you on the grease on the spindle debate. everyone's got a differing view, i've tried both, and i'm going with jobst brandt. we'll see...



I know there seems to be some debate on this, but for whatever it is worth, Campagnolo has always officially recommended/required NO grease on the spindle/crank interface for square-taper systems.
Do use a little grease on the shoulder of the bolt and the washer. And 26-28 lb-ft is perfect.

Aaron

[jhat]

I second the skewer suggestions. Amazing how far the noise travels and sounds like it is anything BUT the skewer. Very quick solution to at least eliminate from consideration.

[benji]

Could your bottom bracket flex be causing your crank arm to hit the front derailleur? It has happened to me.

[Ginger]

hey all:

happy november. things are slowly turning into winter up here in toronto, which gives me less time on the road and more time to ponder all the 'improvements' i could make to my bike in the off-season. compared to my commuter, there's really not much that my serotta could use to make it any more magical; the thing's a dream. there's just one thing...

i have a serotta ti that i believe is an early-mid-90s edition in size 54 that was not made for me or my weight or riding style. it was a very fortunate ebay purchase that i've been loving since i completed the build two seasons ago. the frame is supple, tracks better than anything i've ever tried through turns, accelerates when needed, and helps me climb things better than ever. the only thing is: when standing and really loading the bottom bracket with force, climbing or sprinting, there is a clicking noise that i can't get rid of. it sounds almost like a crank arm-spindle interface problem, but not as drastic. and i've already taken off the crank arms, greased the spindle, and tightened them back on with an 8mm allen wrench (not a multi-tool like i was using before, as this wouldn't yield sufficient torque). i have tightened all of the chainring bolts. i have greased the cable guide under the BB. the pedals are greased and tight in the crank arms. what gives?

any help is greatly appreciated. also, one more question that is unrelated: i am running old chorus alloy (formerly 8 speed) shifters that i had upgraded to 10-speed and i was just wondering if the newer 10-speed shifters can shift multiple cogs up and down the cassette. thanks.


Oil your spoke nipples. (just a shot in the dark...mine are clicking at the moment and I haven't paid them any attention. BAD GINGER)

[cfox]

ti BB's are notorious for clicking. The explanation I was given is that ti has a high surface hardness, and the soft aluminum threads on the BB cups can move within tiny gaps within the ti BB shell threads. This movement can be enough to make a click. I have a Merlin, and was dogged by this same problem. Any increase in pressure on the pedals produced a click.

Try this; remove your BB, clean the threads in the BB shell and on the BB, and coat the threads with a thin layer of blue threadlock, then reinstall. After doing this, I have not heard a single click in 10 years. In that time, I have removed/replaced the BB several times. When the threadlock hardens, it fills in any tiny gaps between the threads of the shell and the BB. With no gaps, no clicks. Also, the threadlock acts as an effective anti-seize between the ti shell and aluminum bb cups. That said, like the other post mentioned, it is important to make sure your front derailleur is tourqed properly.

[Lifelover]

Oil your spoke nipples. (just a shot in the dark...mine are clicking at the moment and I haven't paid them any attention. BAD GINGER)

Also oil anywhere that the spokes cross each other.

[dnades]

I had a ticking sound that was driving me nuts coming from the front wheel area on a Campy proton wheel. It would only happen when you rode it. Turned out to be the presta valve smacking the rim. That little nut you put on the valve got rid of the ticking. Kinda crazy but all is quiet now.

[oldpotatoe]

thanks very much for the recommendations. time to buy that damn BB tool that i doubt will even fit on any other BB. alas.

and i hear you on the grease on the spindle debate. everyone's got a differing view, i've tried both, and i'm going with jobst brandt. we'll see...

i didn't actually change the guts of the shifter; i had my local specialty shop guy do it, and he said that it was just a matter of changing the notched wheel with the detents, from the 8 speed to the 10 speed (i guess 9 detents for 10 speed?). i'm rather afraid of taking apart the shifters myself, so i left it to the pro and it works great.

The reason I asked is the shift disc, the thing that makes it 10s, has a different center section dimension than the 8s one. I'm thinking he would have to modify the flats of the shift disc to conform to the 10s one. Not impossible, just time consuming.