# Front wheel clicking noise



## 5DII (Aug 5, 2013)

Can't figure out why it is making a clicking sound, roughly once per revolution, which just started today. Only present when putting weight on the front end of the bike when riding, otherwise sound isn't there. present at all riding speeds.

dura ace 9000 c24 clinchers
have a few hundred miles on them
no external signs of damage
wheels are true
good spoke tension
no magnet
no brake rub
dont think its the bike, because other wheels dont make the sound.

any ideas?


----------



## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

Valve stem?
Bearings?


----------



## tvad (Aug 31, 2003)

Tighten the skewer.


----------



## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

You're sure it is in the wheel, and not in the pedals or something?

If the brakes are tight, then it doesn't take much for an out of true wheel tire to tap the brakes. No major hops? Bent rim?

Have you pulled the wheel off, and felt the spindle/bearings. Not too tight, not too loose. No extremely rough spots.

I'd double check your spoke tension quickly, gently squeezing each pair by hand. 

Another point of front road noise might be a loose headset.


----------



## Kirk Pacenti (Mar 18, 2006)

It's most likely the internal sleeves at the weld seem. Sometimes they come loose allowing them to slide back and forth between the seam and the adjacent spoke nipple causing the clicking sound. It's a pretty easy fix, call or email me anytime and I can walk you through it.

Cheers, 
KP


----------



## tvad (Aug 31, 2003)

Kirk Pacenti said:


> It's *most likely* the internal sleeves at the weld seem.


Most likely? Really?

Past five times my wheel has rhythmically clicked under pressure as described by the OP it was fixed by tightening the skewer.

Just sayin'. It's worth a try.

A fix isn't always complicated.


----------



## QuattroCreep (Nov 30, 2009)

My vote is the valve stem clicking.

Poke a small hole in some electrical tape and place it over the valve stem to hold it in place.


----------



## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Could be something on your tire.


----------



## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

I usually try to keep the nuts on my valve stems... at least with aluminum rims. I've never been certain that they really did anything though.


----------



## tvad (Aug 31, 2003)

CliffordK said:


> I usually try to keep the nuts on my valve stems... at least with aluminum rims. I've never been certain that they really did anything though.


+1. It keeps the stem from clicking (although I realize this violates Rule #60).


----------



## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

tvad said:


> +1. It keeps the stem from clicking (although I realize this violates Rule #60).


I also always try to keep the valve stem cap (or one of those screw on converters for emergencies). I very much dislike bent tops to my valve stems.



Jay Strongbow said:


> Could be something on your tire.


I think the OP said he checked the tires., but it never hurts to double check.

We have been getting some road tar that has been coming to the surface of some of the roads around here that can cause a bit of a clicking.


----------



## 5DII (Aug 5, 2013)

Thanks for all your replies. The clicking is still present even though my skewers are properly tight, and my valve stems have the little washer


----------



## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Try turning it around. I'm not sure why I say that but becuase it takes pretty much no effort to do so you may as well see that happens.


----------



## tvad (Aug 31, 2003)

5DII said:


> Thanks for all your replies. The clicking is still present even though my skewers are properly tight, and my valve stems have the little washer


Don't take this the wrong way...I'm just covering the bases.

You say the skewer _is properly tight_. Does this mean you tightened it further from where it had been previously set, and after doing that the click persists?

You state the valve stem _has the little washer._ It the washer tightened down to the rim?

If you've done both these steps and the click persists, then you've tried the easy fixes. Keep them in mind for the future though. They often work to eliminate clicking.


----------



## nsfbr (May 23, 2014)

Not that I am an expert, but clicking at the wheel rpm when loaded sounds like a bearing issues. I know the wheels are new, but infant mortality happens. What happens if you give the wheel a good hard tug back and forth? Can you load it sufficiently while turning it by hand to get it to click? 

I think you have to figure out if it is a bearing thing or a rim thing first. Then figure out the rest.


----------



## 06SpiceRed (Aug 3, 2012)

Drop a little lube where the spokes meet the hub. My DA wheels were clicking and after I did that they havent been back since....


----------



## fronesis (Jan 22, 2014)

I know this is an old thread from the past summer, but if you search for "front wheel clicking" or ticking this thread will come up. And so I thought I'd post here since I had this problem but the solution was not any of the ones listed here.

I had a once or twice per revolution very light tick or click from the front wheel, that never went away. It wasn't the valve stem or the bearings or lubrication.

The problem was undertensioned spokes. The wheel was solid enough not to have any other problems, and it was true. But it was a disc brake wheel and the non-disc side spokes were simply too low on spoke tension. Clearly the wheel was compressing somewhat and something was moving (spoke on spoke; spoke on hub; nipple on rim) to make this noise. 

I retensioned the entire wheel (this time using a tension meter) and was able to bring the non-disc sides spoke tension up considerably, while moving the disc side tension up very close to the rim maximum (about 120 Kgf). I just put 97 miles on the new wheels with no ticking and no other problems.


----------

