Just got my FSA RD400 wheelset back from FSA after a rebuild due to a warranty issue and after about 100 miles I have developed a noise. When I am in my lowest gear (25) and climbing, it sounds like the rear derailleur is hitting the spokes when putting torque on the drive side. I seem to have plenty of clearance between my cage and my drive side spokes. It does not make seem to make this noise when I torque from the non-drive side.

Any ideas? Drive-side spokes not tensioned properly? The rim is still true, and just plucking the spokes it does not seem like any are loose.

Before I go through the hassle of contacting FSA and returning the wheelset I would like to see if there is something I can do myself.

Thanks!

If the wheel is built with the pulling spokes (the ones that are put under more tension during pedalling) are laced under the non-pulling spokes, when they are put under more tension they can straighten and push the spoke across it farther out, which may be enough to hit your deraileur under pedaling load. Double check the distance and adjust the deraileur stop so that it is out a little bit more and see if it still makes the noise. Just a thought.

I'll have to check the lacing pattern. I know it is 2x on the drive side and radial laced on the non-drive side. There seems to be plenty of space between the cage and the spokes. I adjusted the low stop on the derailleur to the point where I could barely shift into the 25 tooth and it still made the noise. It does not make the noise in the 23 tooth. Strange.

Thanks for the help.

When I am in my lowest gear (25) and climbing, it sounds like the rear derailleur is hitting the spokes when putting torque on the drive side. I seem to have plenty of clearance between my cage and my drive side spokes. It does not make seem to make this noise when I torque from the non-drive side.

Any ideas? Drive-side spokes not tensioned properly? The rim is still true, and just plucking the spokes it does not seem like any are loose.

I'm not sure how you can torque a wheel from the NDS, but that's another story. My first intuition would be to lube the spoke crossings, and maybe a drop of lube where each nipple touches the rim. It doesn't seem likely that the wheel could flex enough to cause the RD to hit across the wide gap you describe.

Thanks Kerry. When I say NDS torque I mean the downward stroke with my left leg vs my right...make sense?

I played with it tonight and it does seem like more of a pinging sound. There is no way the derailleur cage is hitting the spokes. I think I am going to make sure the spokes are tensioned uniformly (as much as I can) and drop a little lube where the nipple touches the rim. Any idea on what kind of lube will work best? I was just going to use some triflow.

Thanks again for the insight.