# Terrible Grinding Noise ??????



## rollin nolan (Jun 22, 2007)

About 20 miles into my ride today a terrible grinding / rubbing / friction noise start coming from what sounded like my front hub. There was a high frequency vibration in the bars, but I never felt like I was about to lose control. The noise / vibration started at about 22 mph. As I slowed down the noise / vibration stopped and everything went back to normal. I stopped and checked the quick releases, brakes, hubs, everything. All systems seemed fine with the front hub spinning smooth, true and silent. I start riding again and then after a mile or two it happened again and then a few more times as I limped home. Each time it happened I was coasting down a decent or soft pedaling on a flat, never while climbing or accelerating. Each time the noise started at a different speed, but I did get into the mid 20's while riding my breaks down a couple steep grades and the problem did not seem to only start / stop at specific speeds.

So the question is does anyone have any idea what the heck is going on? I've never heard of a bearing grinding / making noise intermittently. Usually once a problem like that starts it persist until the bearing seizes. Could this be another bicycle component? The sound seemed to be coming from the front hub but I'm not positive. 

My bike is a stock 07 Specialized Roubaix Expert with Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels, SRAM Rival and Vredestein Fortezza Tri-comps. The bike has 2,100 miles, tires about 500. 
I already dropped it off at the LBS, but I’d appreciate your opinions. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any ideas of a possible explanation for this problem.


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## capt_phun (Jun 14, 2004)

Could be anything from a bad bearing, to a loose headset, to what I had once, which was a hairline crack in my fork, that was under the crown race (took some searching to find that). Easiest solution is to try a different front wheel, if that cures it, you know it is your wheel, if not, then it is something on the frame/fork.


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## BizkitShooter (Dec 26, 2005)

I'm betting wheel bearings. I wouldn't think it's the headset but I could easily be wrong. I agree with *capt_phun*, replace the front wheel, if the problem goes away it's the hub.


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## rollin nolan (Jun 22, 2007)

I didn't seem like the headset was the problem. There's not enough movement in even the loosest headset to account for that amount of grinding noise.

Swapping the front wheel to isolate that variable is a good idea. Can I borrow a front wheel from someone?


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## Oldteen (Sep 7, 2005)

Try swapping front wheel, as others have said. At speed it can be hard to tell exactly where noise is coming from. A couple years ago I heard an intermittent metallic pinging/grinding noise on my MTB I thought sure was a spoke/wheel problem. Post-ride I found a 2" crack in my seat tube- which scared the crap out of me considering the technical trails I was riding that day.

If your issue is the front wheel, it might well be bearings or the proprietary bearing support Mavic uses. 
Does not sound like a headset issue to me, but I can see how a fork crack might do this (vibration/noise varying with speed or road conditions).


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## rollin nolan (Jun 22, 2007)

Thanks for the input. I just got my bike back from the LBS. They overhauled both hubs and went through the whole bike. No problems found. Definately weird. I guess I'll just ride it and see what happens. Too bad it's supposed to rain here in CA for 4 straight days


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## FrankDL (Oct 8, 2003)

I know this is a late reply, but I just found your thread after searching for an answer to the exact same problem you described. I have a set of 2004 Mavic Kysriums and had new bearings put in at my local bike shop, and after about 10 rides the sound you describe occurred in my front hub. I brought the front wheel in and they checked it out and could find nothing wrong. I rode again and the same horrible sound came back on a decent and then went away at about 15 mph. I took it to another shop and he said that some times when they replace the sealed bearings on the axle that if it doesn't line up just prefectly, you can get that sound. That mechanic didn't want to try to fix it because you need specific Mavic tools for the job and I guess they're not cheap. So I'm trying to find a repair place to send the wheel that works on Mavic Kysyriums. Best of luck to you.


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

If H/S is OK, sounds like bearings.
Try a different wheel to see if it goes away.
John


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## s2ktaxi (Jul 11, 2006)

Does this only happen when you are freewheeling? If so, I think this is what is happening....

The Mavic rear freehub has a rubber flange that is used as a seal. if you use the wrong kind of lube/grease, it starts to "stick" to the hub surface - the effect of which is felt at higher speeds when freewheeling . When this happens, your rear cassette is not freewheels and is rotating just enough to cause your chain to lose tension on the top and rub your tire.

Have someone ride behind you and watch you coming down a hill freewheeling at faster than 25-30 mph and see if this is the case.


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