Help! My bicycle is making some kind of 'rattling' noise.?

Question

Whenever I'm pedaling normally and/or switching gears, my chain and pedals will always make some kind of rattling noise. I don't know if its rubbing against something or not. I can't see it.

What do you think I should do? It's an old mountain bike (from the mid 90's) so IDK if I should bring it to the shop, fix it myself, or throw it away and buy a new one.

Thanks!

Answer 1

it sounds like your shifters are rubbing your chain take it to a bike shop and they will fix it or it could be your bearing from the lack of grease

Answer 2

It might be that the gears and chain are misaligned - after a while the chain wears a bit, which wears the chainset (the gear wheels at the back) and then the gear-changing device (the derailleur) doesn't work properly.  If it sounds like you are permanently stuck between gears and it never clicks properly into position, I would suspect this is the problem.  The solution might be a new chain, new chainset or just tweaking the derailleur into position.  

If, on the other hand, it doesn't sound like that then the other answer is probably correct - bearings in the wheels might have gone.  This will cause a grinding noise and feeling and the wheel will be a bit loose.  New wheels are the fix for that.  

If it's a clicking noise that happens once every time you turn the pedals, it's probably a frozen link in the chain - this is easy to fix and cheap.  

Don't throw it away unless it's really uneconomical to fix, or if you do, then sell it on eBay so that someone else can use it, and maybe make some money on it yourself!

Answer 3

Could be the bearings in the wheels, a bike that old without regreasing them could start to grind.  You could take it to a shop to replace them but if the bearings are the case then the housing might have to be replaced too.  It might be worth it to just scrap it and get a new one, unless there is some signifigant personal value.