Noise VANQUISHED!

If you've been reading this blog lately, you'll know that I've been yammering on about mystery noises emanating from my drivetrain. These unwelcome sounds have been making me a bit crazy, and have shaken my confidence in my trusty ride. If you're a recreational cyclists, a bit of noise might not bother you too much, but if you ride as much as I do, this kind of thing really affects you. You obsess about where the noise comes from and worry about what would happen if you broke down somewhere far from home or in the middle of an event.

The last several weeks have involved troubleshooting and disappointments. Until yesterday, I had done the following:

• Replaced my first suspect, the cleats, to no avail
• Had the bottom bracket bearings re-greased by the terrific folks at Swan cyclery
• Degreased and re-lubed the drivetrain several times
• Removed the pedals, cleaned out the threads, re-greased and tightened up the pedals

Yesterday was bike bath day, and I recruited my friend Keith, a talented bike mechanic and photographer, to use his Park chain checker to measure my chain wear. This is something I've been meaning to do for a while, ever since Keith told me about the importance of checking this yearly. Sure enough, the tool indicated significant wear on my original Ultegra chain, so I bought a SRAM 1050 chain, and Keith kindly installed it for me. What a nifty system, with the powerlock link. SRAM is the only way to go, it seems.

So here's the kicker: I got on the bike and noticed that the noise was gone! All this time I thought that the problem was emanating from the pedals or cleats or the bottom bracket, when it really was coming from the chain. A 40 minute maintenance ride confirmed the new noiseless status. This was a great lesson in checking your assumptions and being persistent.

Thanks so much, Keith! I owe you big time.