The bike that went from a creaky mess to silent in two days

A guy brought in a mountain bike yesterday that sounded like a bag of nails. Every pedal stroke had this awful clicking from the bottom bracket area, and the chain was skipping on the middle ring. He said it had been getting worse for a month. I pulled the crankset and found the problem. The old square taper bottom bracket was bone dry, no grease left at all, and the bearings were shot. I put in a new Shimano UN55, cleaned and re-lubed the chain, and adjusted the rear derailleur. The change was crazy. When he picked it up today and took a test pedal around the parking lot, the bike was totally silent. He just grinned and said, 'I forgot a bike could be this quiet.' Has anyone else had a fix that made such a huge, immediate difference in noise?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia84312d ago

Remember that skipping chain usually means worn teeth, not just a dirty chain. A good clean and lube can mask the problem for a little while. Keep an eye on that middle ring for sharp points.

felix_bailey4511d ago

Check your derailleur hanger alignment too.