Bearings?

[withiniswithout]

I'm getting a sound, sort of a soft clunking that comes and goes, and a feeling in the left pedal like it skipped for a second, like a half second free spinning with no resistance. Is this an early sign the bearings need repacked or maybe replaced? I suspect the off/on aspect has to do with the viscosity of the grease. I haven't checked the miles but I've put quite a few on it over the last year.

 

[rich c]

My guess would be the freewheel instead of the pedals, but then again I have no idea what kind of drivetrain you have. Also don't know if you have cheap pedals with loose bearings or sealed bearings. So a real wild ass guess.

 

[StmbtDave]

What's your motor?

 

[AHicks]

I'm getting a sound, sort of a soft clunking that comes and goes, and a feeling in the left pedal like it skipped for a second, like a half second free spinning with no resistance. Is this an early sign the bearings need repacked or maybe replaced? I suspect the off/on aspect has to do with the viscosity of the grease. I haven't checked the miles but I've put quite a few on it over the last year.

I've had some problems with the pedals that came on my Rad City. The "click" I heard more than I felt was in sync with the rh pedal at about 5 or 6 o'clock. Pulled a lot of what hair I have left out trying to figure out what it was. That kind of noise makes me nuts! Anyway, I installed a small hole in the pedal and used a needle grease gun adapter to fill the center of the pedal and force grease out each end. Noise gone. Now, maybe 1000 miles later, it's starting the same thing. We'll grease it again to see what happens. I think there may be a piece of crud in there that's finding it's way to a bearing race on occasion. I should probably just replace the pedals.... FWIW...

 

[withiniswithout]

UPDATE: Just got the bike back from the shop, €30 service. The bearings were not bad, the motor is fine. There was apparently some play in the rear cassette causing the clunking and notchy feel. Probably good to get that tightened up before excessive wear sets in. This is the cost of not having good mechanical skills and a bunch of bike tools; not too bad really. I've put the Gepida Alboin 1000 through its paces, muscling up steep hills, bouncing along a quite a few roads that were pretty rough.

 

[john peck]

I'm getting a sound, sort of a soft clunking that comes and goes, and a feeling in the left pedal like it skipped for a second, like a half second free spinning with no resistance. Is this an early sign the bearings need repacked or maybe replaced? I suspect the off/on aspect has to do with the viscosity of the grease. I haven't checked the miles but I've put quite a few on it over the last year.

Could also be the cassette starting to fail. The pins holding it together wear & stretch more rapidly on an ebike. Had one do that a few weeks back.

 

[withiniswithout]

Could also be the cassette starting to fail. .

I think it's a weak point. It's gotten loose a couple times now