# Bottom bracket clicking



## CBS78

Hello, 

I have a new Z5 with about 300 miles on it. On my group ride yesterday I noticed a clicking from the cranks every so often. Today I put the bike on the rollers and within 10 minutes the cranks were clicking at the same point in every revolution that had any pressure at all. 

Any tips on what this may be and what the fix could be? I will be talking to my LBS tomorrow and I'm sure that will take care of it but I would get some opinions on what I could check. 

Chainring bolts are tight and crank arms are tight. I have already checked those. 

Thanks!


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## PJ352

I don't have a reliable, long term fix for you, but FWIW here's a related thread:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/felt/crank-changeout-question-280418.html


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## Superdave3T

CBS78 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have a new Z5 with about 300 miles on it. On my group ride yesterday I noticed a clicking from the cranks every so often. Today I put the bike on the rollers and within 10 minutes the cranks were clicking at the same point in every revolution that had any pressure at all.
> 
> Any tips on what this may be and what the fix could be? I will be talking to my LBS tomorrow and I'm sure that will take care of it but I would get some opinions on what I could check.
> 
> Chainring bolts are tight and crank arms are tight. I have already checked those.
> 
> Thanks!


Remove everything on the drivetrain, lubricate or prep all surfaces and reassemble to torque spec.

Dry chainring bolts are often the culprit along with pedal cleats, bodies, and binding mechanism.

Seatpost clamp and cradle surfaces are another area to check.

Good luck,
-SD


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## CBS78

Thanks for the input everyone. My LBS took good care of me as usual. The removed, relubed, & retorqued the BB and cranks. The noise seems to be gone now. Hopefully it stays that way. 

They did say things seems a little dry in the BB so that was likely the issue. They did confirm/agree the noise was definitly Crank/BB related.


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## chudak

CBS78 said:


> Thanks for the input everyone. My LBS took good care of me as usual. The removed, relubed, & retorqued the BB and cranks. The noise seems to be gone now. Hopefully it stays that way.
> 
> They did say things seems a little dry in the BB so that was likely the issue. They did confirm/agree the noise was definitly Crank/BB related.


My first Z4 developed a clicking as well. The LBS disassembled the entire BB and loctited in the bearings, which were loose, and relubricated everything. The click came back but in a different form over the next few hundred miles. It became more of a creaking/popping happening twice per pedal stroke versus the single pop I initially had. I was about to take it back into the shop when it got stolen.

My new Z4 was silent for the first 100 miles then over the next 50 miles progressively got worse until it sounded like a firecracker going off on every pedal stroke and I could hear the click vibrating the sole of my left shoe. Again, they disassembled the BB (they had already loctited in the bearings when they built the bike) and regreased the axle and bearing surfaces and the noise went away.

After another 70 miles I have my fingers crossed....hopefully that will resolve it permanently. I don't want to have to be taking apart the BB every couple hundred miles. I have to say, the BB30 change was the biggest thing about this new model that worried me and I haven't been disappointed.

I love everything about this bike except the noise it makes :mad2:


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## mberthia

I have a 2012 Z4 with the same clicking noise. I have had the BB disassembled and cleaned at the LBS but it did not last very long. Noise is back, not sure what to do.


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## Dray3573

2011 Felt F5 (love it), but my clicking noise is re-emerging. On my bike it was coming from the BB. Shop disassembled, lubed, and it was gone for awhile.


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## BGS4MVP

Unfortunately, this seems to be an issue with the BB30/FSA Gossamer crank combo.

My 2011 F5 was so bad, my shop had it for a month before sending it in to Felt and had them fix it. So far, so good, but I was without my bike for two months this summer - pretty depressing...


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## Dray3573

Well I upgraded my crank to SRAM Force, and it still clicks under hard efforts.


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## bwbishop

Apply grease to the crank axle. I threw in a new bottom bracket and had the same issue. When I took it to the shop for a tune up they liberally applied grease and I have had no issues. I am not sure what the interaction is in there that makes the noise, but it works. 

And use a thick grease, not oil like your chain lube.


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## PJ352

bwbishop said:


> Apply grease to the crank axle. I threw in a new bottom bracket and had the same issue. When I took it to the shop for a tune up they liberally applied grease and I have had no issues. I am not sure what the interaction is in there that makes the noise, but it works.
> 
> And use a thick grease, not oil like your chain lube.


I wish you luck, but what you describe generally serves as a short term fix, with the clicking returning in fairly short order. 

Sometimes loctiting the bearings in place helps, assuming they're the source of the noise and not the crankset itself.


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## Sierra36

F85, same clicking. Started as a click, then made grinding noises like the BB was coming apart inside. Removed left crank and applied teflon grease to the splines, reassembled/torqued, and the noise is gone. Easy enough to do if the sound comes back.


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## jerrayy

F95 here, have the clicking as well
annoying as hell when riding


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## easyridernyc

not necessarily to the op, whose problems seem to have been resolved, but in general, 

be careful chasing noise down in the bracket. the saddle is one of the worst places from which to judge noise coming from the bike. sure it could be in the bracket. could also be the crank, the headset, the fork, or even loose spokes in the wheelset. problem is it could be anything, only a skilled, motivated, and hopefully, warrantied wrench is available to diagnose and repair. otherwise watch out, that's why you have noise, they "fix" it, but then the noise comes back. newsflash. they might not be fixing the problem....


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## chudak

easyridernyc said:


> not necessarily to the op, whose problems seem to have been resolved, but in general,
> 
> be careful chasing noise down in the bracket. the saddle is one of the worst places from which to judge noise coming from the bike. sure it could be in the bracket. could also be the crank, the headset, the fork, or even loose spokes in the wheelset. problem is it could be anything, only a skilled, motivated, and hopefully, warrantied wrench is available to diagnose and repair. otherwise watch out, that's why you have noise, they "fix" it, but then the noise comes back. newsflash. they might not be fixing the problem....


In my case it's definitely the BB. Everytime the shop has taken apart the BB and put everything back together the noise has disappeared...for about 100 miles and then it has always come back.


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## easyridernyc

chudak said:


> In my case it's definitely the BB. Everytime the shop has taken apart the BB and put everything back together the noise has disappeared...for about 100 miles and then it has always come back.


was the bracket the only thing they looked at/repaired?


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## chudak

easyridernyc said:


> was the bracket the only thing they looked at/repaired?


Yes. Same issue on two brand new bikes in a row. 

Starts clicking. Take BB apart and reassemble. Problem goes away for 100-150 miles and then returns. Rinse, repeat...ad nauseum.

Last time they replaced the bearings. 100 miles later it's clicking again.


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## easyridernyc

chudak said:


> Yes. Same issue on two brand new bikes in a row.
> 
> Starts clicking. Take BB apart and reassemble. Problem goes away for 100-150 miles and then returns. Rinse, repeat...ad nauseum.
> 
> Last time they replaced the bearings. 100 miles later it's clicking again.


then obviously its not repaired. 

bb30? syht...that sucks, man...


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## PJ352

easyridernyc said:


> be careful chasing noise down in the bracket...


You make a valid point re: sound traveling through a frame and it's certainly worth a mention, but if you go back and read through the posts, some members are saying that the clicking occurs at the same point in the pedal stroke and sometimes can be felt through the pedals - and/ or there's play evident in the BB assembly/ crankset. 

When (as chudak) states, the crankset/ BB is disassembled, cleaned, lubed and reassembled, all is quiet for a time, then the problem returns. 

I've been following this since around '08 with the introduction of the new Madone. There's a history here and it happens with other brands (Trek, Specialized, IME) as well. Sad to say, but it appears the customer base is being used to field test the OSBB variants, so I'd wait on jumping in until a true reliable standard is established.


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## easyridernyc

PJ352 said:


> You make a valid point re: sound traveling through a frame and it's certainly worth a mention, but if you go back and read through the posts, some members are saying that the clicking occurs at the same point in the pedal stroke and sometimes can be felt through the pedals - and/ or there's play evident in the BB assembly/ crankset.
> 
> When (as chudak) states, the crankset/ BB is disassembled, cleaned, lubed and reassembled, all is quiet for a time, then the problem returns.
> 
> I've been following this since around '08 with the introduction of the new Madone. There's a history here and it happens with other brands (Trek, Specialized, IME) as well. Sad to say, but it appears the customer base is being used to field test the OSBB variants, so I'd wait on jumping in until a true reliable standard is established.


so you think there might be system wide design flaws marketed in the cranks? interesting..


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## PJ352

easyridernyc said:


> so you think there might be system wide design flaws marketed in the cranks? interesting..


Given that there are number of 'systems' out there (BB86/90, BB30, PF30) that mate to different cranksets (many of which are problematic), I'd say collectively, the OSBB advantages (slight weight loss/ slight increase in stiffness) aren't worth the durability issues that come with it. 

FWIW my Shimano 5600 and 6600 cranksets with Hollowtech ll BB's don't flex and are running as smooth after 17k miles as the day I installed them. That matters more to me than the above stated 'advantages' of OSBB's.


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## Rainer

My 2013 Z85 is now at the shop for this same issue (clicking/knocking noise coming from, what sounds to be, the bottom bracket). Really hoping they're able to get it sorted. Picking up the bike on Sunday.


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## bwbishop

Turns out my issue was actually with my rear wheel (custom wheel, not the stock one.) Moral of the story is make sure you check for issues through the entire drive train. I could swear that it was the bottom bracket, especially considering the sound happened at almost the same time in the pedal stroke.


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## Rashadabd

That's good to hear since I am looking at the new Z5 after selling my Cervelo R3 (sold it to be able to afford both a road bike and a cross bike) and this is the only thing that has given me pause. Did everyone else get their issues solved? I love this frame and feel like it could be competitive against any endurance bike if you upgrade the components over time (so long as there aren't any serious bb issues).


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## CBS78

I have about 500 miles on since mine was disassembled and lubed. So far noise free.


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