Tarheel Trailblazers Message Board - Clicking in Rear Wheel?

03/27/25 at 2:41am

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Clicking in Rear Wheel? (Read 1201 times)

Specialist Little Ring Offline The rider formerly known as "Trekker1" Posts: 694 Location: Charlotte Joined: 05/11/12	Clicking in Rear Wheel? 08/04/15 at 7:16pm	Print Post
	When I spin the rear wheel I hear a metallic "click" as two parts apparently rub together. It only occurs at one point in the wheel's rotation. I turn it slow and can hear "when" it does it but can't discern where the noise is coming from. It seems to be near where the brake and brake rotor are. It has a tinny, metallic sound to it that occasionally becomes worse on the trail. I don't think it's the drive train - I have scrubbed down and lubricated the chain (which is new) and have scrubbed/picked the cassette clean. I also can't see any problem with the spokes, but a loose spoke makes sense. Any ideas?

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Slothzilla Small Cog Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 391 Location: Charlotte, NC Joined: 06/28/11	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #1 - 08/04/15 at 8:01pm	Print Post
	Caliper probably just needs to be realigned on the rotor. This is a common problem and easily remedied! Just loosen the caliper, spin the wheel and grab a handful of brakes. Tighten the bolts and see if it's better. Make small adjustment from there until the noise is gone. If it's a warped/bent rotor making contact with the caliper then you can true the rotor with a truing fork....although my luck with this has been less than good.

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gonzo In The Loop Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 443 Location: plaza/midhood Joined: 07/28/12	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #2 - 08/05/15 at 2:18am	Print Post
	Based on your screen name, I'm assuming you are riding a trek with bontrager wheels. If so, another possibility is the weld tab in the rim has broken free and is spinning inside of the rim itself. I learned this is a somewhat common problem with their rims when it happened to me. It's a minor annoyance, not a mehanical issue if this is the problem. You can check by removing the wheel and just spinning it in your hands to see if you still hear it. If this is the problem, remove the tire, rim strip, tube or tape or whatever you have on there and look inside the spoke nipple holes as you spin the rim. You should be able to see the weld tab. Then just superglue, silicone, or use your preferred sticky substance to hold it in place and reassemble the wheel and ride.

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Specialist Little Ring Offline The rider formerly known as "Trekker1" Posts: 694 Location: Charlotte Joined: 05/11/12	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #3 - 08/05/15 at 3:05am	Print Post
	Good suggestions both. I took a quick look at where the rotor runs through the caliper (they are Shimano SLX) and couldn't "see" any obvious rub - the wheel doesn't slow down (at least not noticeably) when the noise occurs. But it's what seems to make the most sense so I'll take it out in broad daylight and give it another look with fresh eyes in the morning. Gonzo - this is my second Trek (it's a 2013 Fuel EX 8) and it has been a nightmare in terms of noises. I know the issue you are talking about. Had a mystery creak. Took it in, they "pinned" the front rim and said it was fixed. Then it came back. They greased the front wheel, said that was the "new solution" from Trek. Then it came back. They warranteed the wheel and put on a new one (that doesn't perfectly match the colors of the old one, but still matches the bike). Then it came back. I'm pretty sure it's in the saddle, or (more likely) cable creak. I'm also pretty sure I'll never buy another Trek. Guess I'll be changing my screen name eventually But I'll pull the wheel off and spin it in the morning too.
	« Last Edit: 08/05/15 at 3:09am by Specialist »
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sCvHeaVens Small Cog Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 447 Location: Charlotte, NC Joined: 02/12/15	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #4 - 08/05/15 at 1:08pm	Print Post
	Specialist wrote on 08/04/15 at 7:16pm: When I spin the rear wheel I hear a metallic "click" as two parts apparently rub together. It only occurs at one point in the wheel's rotation. I turn it slow and can hear "when" it does it but can't discern where the noise is coming from. It seems to be near where the brake and brake rotor are. It has a tinny, metallic sound to it that occasionally becomes worse on the trail. I don't think it's the drive train - I have scrubbed down and lubricated the chain (which is new) and have scrubbed/picked the cassette clean. I also can't see any problem with the spokes, but a loose spoke makes sense. Any ideas? What about when you rotate the tire by hand (ruling out drive train)... does it happen every rotation? I would pull the rotor off and remove the chain to rule out braking / drivetrain.
	« Last Edit: 08/05/15 at 1:09pm by sCvHeaVens »
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Specialist Little Ring Offline The rider formerly known as "Trekker1" Posts: 694 Location: Charlotte Joined: 05/11/12	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #5 - 08/21/15 at 11:21pm	Print Post
	Sorry for the delayed response. But the solution was the simple one first suggested (it was such an easy fix I figured I'd try it before disassembling everything). Loosened the hex bolts on the caliper; spun the wheel freely; locked up the brake and tightened the bolts while the brake was still depressed; wha-lah! No more noise. Thanks guys - you saved me a trip to the LBS and a week without my ride. Now if only that mystery creak would go away for good...

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Slothzilla Small Cog Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 391 Location: Charlotte, NC Joined: 06/28/11	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #6 - 08/22/15 at 8:15pm	Print Post
	Glad you got it fixed! One less thing to worry about while on the trail.

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sCvHeaVens Small Cog Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 447 Location: Charlotte, NC Joined: 02/12/15	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #7 - 08/27/15 at 2:04pm	Print Post
	Unfortunately sounds like your rotor is probably a tad warped / bent... you may have issues again when you replace your pads... but its very easy (and common to have to) to fix a warped rotor tho now that we know what it is!

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BudLeach Small Cog Offline Posts: 394 Location: Gastonia Joined: 09/09/14	Re: Clicking in Rear Wheel? Reply #8 - 09/02/15 at 6:15pm	Print Post
	I had a similar problem. For me it was the rotor rubbing the caliper body by the bolt mounting flange. Somehow (probably the result of a crash) the pistons had shifted and were no longer centered in the caliper. This meant that when I centered the caliper to have an equal air gap between the rotor and pads, the rotor was actually rubbing on the caliper body. Easy fix, just re-center the pistons in the caliper body. I know the OP already fixed the issue, just adding my experience in case someone has the same issue in the future and happens to stumble across this thread.

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