Comments on: What is that noise?

Question: What is that noise?

poweredbybeard — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:52:00 -0800

Bicyclefilter: A pronounced grinding/scraping from my rear wheel. Is this potentially unsafe, or simply embarrassing, to ride?

When I say pronounced, I mean passersby chuckle. The wheel sounds really old, really sad and really grumpy. When I spin the wheel freely, the gears wobble a bit, leading me to think the threads on the gears or the axle are close to stripped (?? I can still pedal just fine, so I don't know).

What's the worst that can happen, realistically? The wheel falls apart? Or I just suddenly find I'm pedalling but not moving?

By: poweredbybeard

poweredbybeard — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:53:08 -0800

Oh and if it's relevant, the wheel seriously needs to be trued. (It's a shit bike on life support, and I have no time to attend to it for a couple of days)

By: unSane

unSane — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:21:45 -0800

Probably the hub bearings are shot. It may grind on like that for a while but it is time for either new bearings or a new hub. Usually the bearings are quite easy to replace but if they are really gnarly they may have destroyed the bearing races too.

Worst that can happen is not much really.

Check the nuts that hold the wheel on for tightness. If they're tight, you're probably completely OK until the wheel stops turning round.

By: M.C. Lo-Carb!

M.C. Lo-Carb! — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:42:38 -0800

Yeah, i'm going with the hub bearing diagnosis too.

But you'd be surprised how cheap bicycle services are at your local bike shop. I just had a bottom bracket (the bearing set that the pedals turn in) rebuilt on my old Schwinn for less than $25.00.

Don't put a DNR on 'er yet!

By: Big_B

Big_B — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:22:39 -0800

Could also be the freewheel. If it does it pedaling or not, then it is the hub. If it only does it when you coast then it is the freewheel.

Eventually it will just lock up, either way. Freewheel lockup = always pedaling. Hub lockup = no moving, bike carried on shoulder to destination.

By: entropone

entropone — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:54:38 -0800

a seriously dry chain will always always make awful noises, especially going through a derailleur (which i assume you have - it's the device that changes gears, physically moving the chain from one cog to another).

www.sheldonbrown.com and www.parktool.com are good resources.

By: nakedsushi

nakedsushi — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:04:57 -0800

Don't fix it. You might be riding a genuine scraper bike!

By: edtut

edtut — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 21:33:10 -0800

just do it yourself, it is easy to fix. open the wheel and replace the bearings, will cost you less than $10