Spin bike with a continous clicking noise. Could it be rust on the chain? any ideas? Thanks?

Question

I have a Spin bike, & it makes a continous clicking noise as I pedal. I thought it was rust on the chain, so I lubed the chain and it still makes the awlful clicking noise. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestion what could be causing the noise? Probably need a new chain? The condition of the bike is OK it shows some rust, but the flywheel spins very smooth.

Answer 1

Get down near the bottom bracket (the part of the bike that the crank arms go through) and grab each crank arm. Wobble the cranks back and forth, and feel if there is any play or slop. If you CAN feel any, there is a good chance that the Bottom Bracket might need to be overhauled/replaced.
Another VERY simple possibility might be the tip of the wire used to add friction to the flywheel... Follow the tension adjustment cable all the way from the tension wheel, down down down until you find where it terminates. Is the tip of the wire interfering with the pedal or flywheel?
It could also be that the tension on the CHAIN is too high. Check the chain with your fingers, try to deflect the chain up or down. If you can't at least deflect the chain 1/4" with light finger pressure, then the chain is WAY too tight. This would cause a clicking noise because the chain is rocking side to side over the sprocket as you pedal. If this is the case, depending on how mechanically inclined you might be, this may need to go to the shop as with the Bottom Bracket example above. If you are more mechanically inclined, check where the chain tension is adjusted (most likely at the flywheel) with a slotted bracket, which should have a bolt/nut somewhere in it. Loosen the bolts (one on each side normally) just enough to allow you to firmly move the flywheel toward the crank (thereby shortening the distance between the flywheel and the crank) by no more than ~3/8". Tighten the bolts, check the chain tension for that 1/4" deflection again... Repeat this procedure until you get the deflection right on the chain, then once the bolts are re-tightened, give the bike a quick spin to see how she sounds.

Those are the methods I would use if I saw your spin bike come into my shop, so I hope this gives you some help!

PS
Generally speaking, Spin bikes don't have Dérailleurs (gear changers) because they usually don't have gears to change. If yours is the odd model that does, the gentleman below might have the correct answer, otherwise not too likely.

Answer 2

Does this click in every gear? Or only on certain ones. Typical shifting problems stem from dirty chains. If the chain isn't too dirty, it may simply be that the shift on the rear derailleur is a little bit OFF. There is a cable quick-adjuster on the back end of the rear derailleur. You can experiment loosening and tightening this knob to adjust cable tension. The clicking noise in this case would be the chain "trying" to jump or drop to the next gear... adjusting the derailleur will allow the chain to shift properly and not make the clicking noise.

Those are pretty much the main possibilities if this only happens when pedaling. Good luck.

I only worry that the rear derailleur may be "bent"... in which case none of this will help the clicking. You'll have to bend it back, but be careful not to snap the entire chunk of the frame off (derailleur hanger). Park Tools makes a nice alignment tool for this.


Oh... didn't notice you mentioned "rusty" chains. If links are rusted, they won't bend properly at the hinge... making the chain jump or skip while on the chainring. This may also cause the clicking.