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Crunching, squeaking, grinding, twanging – they’re all the things you dread hearing when you’re out and about riding. It’s been a long winter, and if you’re bike is sounding worse for wear, don’t stress – we’ve got you covered with plenty of tips and tricks to keep your steed running sweet and free from those nasty noises.
What you’ll need:
Q: My chain is making a high-pitched squeal and keeps rattling, what’s happening?
A: It’s more than likely too dry.
If you’ve been riding in harsh conditions, it’s been a while since you took care of your chain, or if you’ve not ventured that far into your bike’s maintenance yet, then this sound is one of the most commonly heard.
The solution? Lube your chain! Firstly, make sure your chain is primed by giving it a deep clean with our Bio Chain Doc. Position the open Chain Doc over the chain and pull trigger to close the Chain Doc, coating the whole chain. Then, disperse any moisture with our MO-94, a direct spray all over your chain will get rid of any leftover water than can cause corrosion on your chain – just make sure to wipe away the excess. Finally, go to town with our Bio Dry Lube and give it the refresh it needs! If you’ve never done this before, you can find out how to accurately lube your chain here.
Q: My brakes keep making a loud, consistent squealing noise – how do I solve it?
A: Give your braking components a once over.
If you’re riding with v-brakes, this could be because your pads aren’t positioned correctly. Try repositioning them and monitoring the squeal after that – if things are still noisy, head to your local bike shop!
If you’ve got mechanical disc brakes on the other hand, it’s likely that your brakes are contaminated. This sounds much more serious than it is – brake pads are made of porous materials, so like a sponge, they’ll soak up grease and oils easily which causes them to squeal and become less effective. Things like chain lube, polish, degreaser and brake fluids can find their way onto your rotors and contaminate the pads, but there’s a simple fix for that.
Clean up your brakes with our Disc Brake Cleaner – simply spray it on to the entire brake area and leave it to evaporate. It easily removes contaminants and restores your braking performance in no time.
Q: I keep hearing a knocking noise from left to right when I pedal – and it keeps crunching!
A: Your bottom bracket is probably dry or loose.
Being so close to the road or the trails means mud and grime can easily find its way into the space between your chain-ring and the frame. This dirty eventually gets into your bike bearings, which of course causes all sorts of nasty noises.
All you need to do is take your bottom bracket apart, clean the thread and bottom bracket with our Bio Degreaser, then tighten and re grease your bottom bracket with our Bio Grease. This one needs several specialist tools and might be a little techy, so head to your local bike shop if you’re not comfortable with doing it yourself or don’t have the tools!
Q: My handlebars are squealing when I’m turning my handlebars, help?
A: You’ve probably got a load of dirt in your bearings or they’ve dried out.
It’s pretty common for the handlebar and stem join area to make noise – which can be down to several reasons. Either dirt, a dry and dusty clam area, loose bolts that are allowing too much movement or potential bar failure – it’ll take some digging to find out the cause.
In any case, we’d recommend taking apart this area with an Allen key and give it a thorough clean. If you spot discolouring in the clamp area, it might be an indicator that there has been little movement, or that dirt has compromised and rubbed the area.
When you’ve taken it apart, give each component a deep clean with our Bio Degreaser and then apply Bio Grease to all headset bearings. Make sure you tighten all your bolts evenly – both in feel and the amount of thread used – to keep everything balanced and ready to ride.
If you need any more help to get your bike noises sorted, head over to your local bike shop for some more advice! You can find your nearest store here.
