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Rubbing soundI did a metric century on the P-38 Saturday. I have a very annoying rubbing sound. It is a cyclical sound when the wheels are turning. It is only when I am riding (coasting or pedaling). On the work stand when I turn the wheels there is no sound. When I turn the cranks on work stand there is no sound. I have loosened and tightened the seat bolts (with grease on them). They made a similar (creaking sound) again, only when I rode, not on the work stand. The tightened bolts with grease fixed the creaking sound. Do you have any idea what can be causing it? I only have 260 road miles on the new bike! Getting very frustrated. First, there was the creaking, then the crank arm came off while riding, then the thumping in pedal (a very big allen wrench fixed that at the LBS). I cannot afford an 8 hour drive back and forth to the shop. I would appreciate any advice you can give.
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Irritating sound from new bike
It is hard to diagnose the problem with the description you have given. If you have a friend with a trainer, try putting the bike on the trainer. Have someone move around the bike while you pedal, attempting to listen carefully for the sound in order to pinpoint it.
Figuring out exactly where the sound is coming from is the first step. It is hard for you to do this when you are riding down the street. Like the thumping crank problem before, you may have to visit a bike shop for help.
I think that there is a guide to finding (and curing) annoying sounds on bikes at the website of the late lamented Sheldon Brown:
www.sheldonbrown.com
Good luck tracking down the source of the sound, and congrats on the century ride.
Safe riding,
Joel
Rubbing Sound
Just an update on the problem. The front wheel was stressed. It had to be rebuilt. The 20" wheel came with 16 spokes missing. I thought this unusual and was told it would not matter as long as was not going to be riding up curbs. Well, apparently that is not the case. I sent the wheel back to the dealer and he rebuilt it for me. The guy at the LBS took the front wheel off and leaned on boths sides of the hub with his hands simulating rider weight and rolled the wheel on the ground. You could hear the rubbing (stress) sound as he did it. No charge from the LBS and no charge from dealer to fix. Great service from all concerned. I should back on the road this weekend.
Bill
Found the Sound!
Hey Bill-
Good on you for finding the source of the sound. Actually it is OK to lace a small front wheel - like a 20" or 16" recumbent wheel - with half the normal number of spokes. So a 36 hole rim gets 18 spokes, and a 32h rim gets 16. Going down to 14 spokes on a 28h rim may be pushing your luck. Though you could probably get away with even this on the front of a long wheelbase bike like a Tour Easy, which is very lightly loaded.
The half spoking is OK because the wheel gets MUCH stronger as it gets smaller. But the building of the wheel has to be done more carefully, and it seems that your front wheel was not built properly. A wheel with more spokes has a greater margin for error in the build process. In any case, it is nice to be rid of the annoying sound.
Safe riding,
Joel Dickman