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chris king r45 front hub clicking sound

7K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  dcgriz 
#1 ·
this may need to be moved to the components/wrenching section. if so, i apologize. i know there's a lot of builders in this section as well so i thought maybe they could help.

i recently purchased a set of wheels built up with chris king r45 hubs. they're rolling great and i'm very happy with the build but shortly into owning them (maybe 10 hours of riding) i started hearing a clicking sound from the front hub. it occurred only during hard out-of-the-saddle efforts, particularly on steep climbs where i'm throwing the bike side-to-side. i had read the CK manual mentioning the need to adjust bearing pre-load after the hubs break in a bit so i figured that was the problem. i followed the instructions (although i lack the cone adjustment tool), down to even measuring the torque applied to the 5mm bolts. the problem persisted. finally one day i discovered that if i really clamp my QR skewer, the problem disappears. i figured this is the same as tightening pre-load anyway, so i tightened the pre-load more than before (previously hand turned till tight, then backed off 1/16 turn; this time didn't back off at all) and installed QR as normal. the problem was gone until about 20 miles into the first ride. tightening QR more made it disappear.

so...what gives? it's clearly a pre-load problem here right? has anyone else ever experienced this? this is my first experience with CK's so i'm a little annoyed. do all CK owners just crank the hell out of their QR to get this problem to go away?

note: yes, i did speak with my builder about it. it was built out of state so they couldn't assess the problem first-hand (i can't recreate it in the shop anyway, has to be conditions i described above). they tried to diagnose and told me to adjust pre-load. so i'm hoping i'm just doing that wrong.
 
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#2 ·
If you've adjusted the hub per spec (it's an easy one to do), I think your problem is purely with the front skewer being loose. There are several threads here related to creaking, where folks think it's everything but the front skewer, but amazingly enough it is just that. What type of skewers are you using? They may be the problem.
 
#3 ·
well it seems i originally did it to spec, yes. not backing off after hand-tightening is essentially tightening further than spec (but not much).

you may have a point with the skewers and i know they can certainly be a source of creaking/clicking and this is something i have definitely explored. the ones i'm using are SRAM stainless; nothing fancy. i also tried a boyd skewer and a 105 skewer (which looked just like the SRAM ones) and the problem persisted. i also have an enclosed-cam-style shimano one that i haven't tried yet. fwiw, i've used the SRAM ones with a few different wheelsets now and none have exhibited this issue. which is why i was thinking it's more of a hub setup issue.

as far as tightening goes, i follow the rule of "it's tight enough when the lever leaves a brief impression in your hand after you close it." going tighter than that was one of the times when i saw the problem diminish/disappear.

surely not all r45 users are experiencing this? what skewers are other r45 users using that work well?

also, fwiw i'm ~150lbs so it's not like i'm throwing a ton of weight into these when i rock the bike back/forth and the issue appears.
 
#4 ·
"i started hearing a clicking sound from the front hub. it occurred only during hard out-of-the-saddle efforts, particularly on steep climbs where i'm throwing the bike side-to-side"

With that being the cause I tend to doubt it's the hub.
If you have a computer check for flex causing your magnet to hit the sensor.
 
#5 ·
jay: fair enough. i do have a spoke magnet, but it's in the back of the bike (not where the sound's coming from). and the sound goes away if i use a different front wheel. and like i said, it either diminishes/disappears entirely if i tighten the skewer enough.
 
#6 ·
I run a few sets of R45's, no clicking due to the hub adjustment. I have had creaking the fork creak from not tightening the skewers (especially with the light weight jobs).
 
#7 · (Edited)
when the preload is set as per the CK instructions, how's the lateral freeplay of the wheel at the brake pads?

when you clamp the QR down so the clicking dissapears, does the lateral freeplay at thebrake pads change?

edit to add : one more question...
when the hub is clamped into the frame on either of the two cases above, is there any bearing-axle play?
 
#8 ·
when the preload is set as per the CK instructions, how's the lateral freeplay of the wheel at the brake pads?
the lateral freeplay has never been a problem with them; especially when set to the CK specs or tighter. i don't detect any major movement and haven't had them hit the brake pads.

when you clamp the QR down so the clicking dissapears, does the lateral freeplay at thebrake pads change?
i don't notice it being off *before* i tighten the QR down to that point, so there's no further difference/issue with lateral freeplay then either.
 
#11 ·
none that i'm noticing. i can't feel any play nor hear the issue until its in the situations i've described.

i tightened it up a bit more and hammered it up five cat-4 climbs yesterday, one reaching over 20% gradient. so there were plenty of out-of-the-saddle, bike thrown side-to-side efforts. i didn't notice any noise. i thought i may have at the very end of the ride, but it was quite windy by that time. obviously i'll be keeping my eyes/ears on it, but it seems like it was mainly that the pre-load wasn't tight enough. <crosses fingers>
 
#10 ·
i have a couple of wheels w/ R45 front hubs and have never had noise unless the skewer wasn't tightened enough. i definitely prefer the internal cam type skewers, although i've been using Zipp on the front for a while now w/ no problems.
tighten them up some and you're good.
 
#12 ·
if there is no bearing-axle play the preload should be ok unless its too tight.

I am wondering if you were to flip the wheel whether the clicking would continue. I'm thinking of a bearing maybe causing it.......witch-hunt here....

you may also want to lube where the spokes touch each other and around the rim-nipple.....long shot but just in case....
 
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