Clicking noise from drivetrain under load

Question

So when I pedal under high pressure, one crank arm loudly clicks one time at position 1 or 2 (non-repeatable click) and when I continue, the other arm does the exact thing at the same position. The click can only be produced once in a given arm before the other arm clicks under pressure at the said position, so the click alternates between the arms under pressure, once each. The same thing happens when the bicycle is standing still while putting pressure on the pedals (holding the brake).

I hope my explanation is clear; it seems a bit wordy.

It is not the pedals or the crank arms themselves that are the culprit, coz I made sure they are properly tight. I am using a sealed bottom bracket and I suspect it is the source of this.

What do you think is the cause? And if it's the BB, do I have to replace it?

Thanks

Answer 1

I've dealt with this quite recently. It happens that the sound was coming from 2 sources, and I was hearing them together. At first it was a constant series of clicks, several per crank rotation. My first step was to rebuild my pedals. It was time anyway, so I figured it was a good time. Rebuild complete, things much quieter, nice! But not completely quiet-- instead of of the multiple clicks, I now had a single, quiet click. That is from my crank. I tightened the non-driveside (the only side that can be tightened on this type) and, voila! quiet. Unfortunately, it seems that my particular crank has a known problem that requires this from time to time-- every couple hundred miles. So, until I care enough to replace it, I'll be tightening it a little from time to time.