I hear and feel clicking in my right pedal whenever I start riding faster and putting pressure on the pedal.
My obvious first thought was: oh, it’s the pedal! (Like in this other thread.)
In fact, I did have to remove the pedal because it was wiggling – getting looser and looser around its axis. When I removed it the plastic cap holding in the bearings fell out, and I could see broken bits of metal. So it seemed clear that this must have been the problem (I have written to Strida Europe to ask for a replacement).
However, I now have a regular (non-folding) pedal from another bike on the Strida, and the clicking noise and feeling are still there! I checked the crank arm and various other bolts, and everything seems tight. It isn’t the belt slipping – I am very familiar with what that feels like. I even thought it might be my shoe, but I eliminated that possibility as well.
It is only on the right side that I feel the clicking – popping is another way of describing it. When I pedal backwards it isn’t there. It is only when I pedal forwards and am putting some pressure on the pedal.
What could this be? The performance of the bike doesn’t seem to be affected, but I am worried that something is going to go wrong …
You say the pedal had been unscrewing itself - have the threads been damaged at the end of the crank arm? Is the whole pedal moving under pressure on the arm?
Also, check the BB bearing and the frame that holds it to the bottom tube. Is the BB bearing loose in the frame?
I suppose that you will just have to closely examine and apply force to every part that connects your foot to the frame. Don’t forget to check the bolts that secure the front pulley to the crank spider too.
Thanks for the good suggestions EvilV. I should point out that the pedal wasn’t unscrewing itself, though. I guess I wasn’t clear enough about what I meant by wiggling. I was referring specifically to the folding part of the pedal (the part that flips out when you unfold it). It was this part of the pedal that was wiggling around on the pedal base, that is, the part of the pedal that threads into the crank arm.
I would have thought that if its say the eccentric BB moving microscopically in its housing then the noise would be both sides. Still I’d check all treads in that area, BB lock ring, M8 Screw underneath, left and right crank screws, pedals, Pulley to crank screws.
If you do this and cant see anything strange I doubt that its anything more serious just annoying. My money would be on eccentric BB moving microscopically, so if tightening doesn’t fix … thick grease or copper-ease might work - as used to fix noisy brake pads on cars.
SLO’s with plastic eccentric’s have an advantage here - nylon won’t squeak !
You may have hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the BB lock ring, Human Amp. I had ruled it out before because I had tightened it by hand after replacing the freewheel and, superfically, it felt firm. Furthermore, the screw underneath the BB was very tight. I thought that since this screw was tight enough, the lock ring was insignificant.
But on Saturday I received the c-spanner that I had ordered a couple of weeks ago and tried it out. I used it to tighten up the lock ring some more. Et voila! There has been no more creaking since then.
In the absence of a C spanner, it is usually possible to use a blunt screwdriver to drift the locking ring around to a suitable tightness. You can also remove locking rings that way too. All that is required is that the main body is held firm and that you accurately place the driver or other drifting tool and apply firm taps in a tangential direction. Done carelessly, or with a sharp or badly fitting tool this can cause some damage to the finish, so it needs to be done right.
Glad you solved the problem anyway.
I am wondering how to get the rear wheel off. I loosened the hex screw, took off the magnet and the washers, but the wheel was not prepared to slide off the axle as I expected. I suspect that the bearings are locktighted onto the axle and the outer race likewise to the hub.
I wanted to lubricate the freewheel internals better than they are. It makes a slight clacking sound when I take up the drive after coasting.
You probably already figured this out, but you have to turn the freewheel until one of the cut-out bits on the side |–||–|__ is aligned with the snubber. Otherwise the snubber will block the freewheel and prevent the wheel from sliding off the axle.
To tell the truth, I gave up on the idea of removing the wheel for now, since, there is really no need. It was just a curiosity thing. The little noise I was writing about is so trivial, I don’t even notice it hardly, unless I listen. I was just in ‘break it down’ mode and looking for jobs to do. LOL.
Anyway - when I do have to take it off I will bear the ideas you mention in mind. I think the issue is one of locktite on the stub axle which is holding the bearing inner race. Ringo changed his wheel when he broke a spoke and he mentioned this as an issue he had to overcome. I think he just levered the wheel past the locktite patch and it slid off. I did know to remove the disk brake and belt. The idea of rotating the wheel to get the edges of the pulley past the snubber is a good tip. Thanks.
The bike is still working fine and I had no more trouble with spokes YET… I’ve had this kind of spoke trouble before with an ill-tensioned wheel on a different 16" folder - the Merc. Then, I had a spate of breakages and after half a dozen, it stopped. I’ve done another 3000 miles on that wheel since without any problems. The issue was that some spokes had been fatigued by being slack and they failed one after another shortly after my initial repair. I got pretty good at replacing them, even doing it on the roadside without taking off the tyre. I just peeled it back and threaded ina new one out of my emergency repair kit. It took less than twenty minutes from hearing the click click underneath me to continuing the journey. Following that short period of nuisance, the wheel was stable. On the Strida copy, I noticed some funny noises took a look and their were five broken spokes. I got ten new ones made up and replaced the five and tightened up the rest. Another went a week later, but for the last hundred miles it’s been OK. I won’t consider the problem cured until about another 500 miles - if it is cured that is. The spokes are tight now - hopefully, no more bending and flexing is going on.
The mistery noise you hear doesnt come from the pedals. It comes from the rear union between the upper and bottom tube.
Unfit the bolt, dissasembly the tubes and grease it carefully with white grease.
The noise will dissapear.
