I have got like 40ish miles on my bike now and after my ride tonight, the bottom of the bike, near the BB, or front derailer, is making a clicking noise, but only when I climb out of the saddle, and crank hard, is it normal for a guy my size or no? 5'11" 260. Just wondering whether I should go on my first trail ride tomorrow, or if it may be a problem with my BB and i should take it to my LBS pre-ride?

Clicks are not normal, but may not be harming your bike either, just an annoyance.

There are many possibilities for this.
1. The cransk are loose on the spindle, if the cranks are not torqued down then they can keep working themselves loose on the spindle, not all that common in new bikes.
2. The BB is not fully torqued into the frame. This is the most common of clicks. An easy fix.
3. Chainring bolts. The bolts might not be tight and when you hammer make the noise.
4. pedals. could be the problme, if you got otheres, swap them out and see if it still happens.
5. Frame. not likely, but it could be cracked. Only seen one cracked frame before(besides abused frames)

One ride is most likely not going to make the problem worse(unless the cranks are loose), but it should be taken care of sometime. Usually doesnt take long to diagnose and fix. Usually less than 15 minutes. If your shop is not too busy they may be able to take care of it while you wait.

I get mystery clicks from that area fairly often. It can be a lot of things like a loose chain slapping or even your seat making noise when your leg touches it. Sometimes if I am going hard enough I can feel and hear a rubbing noise that sounds like my chain hitting the tire. It may be your handlebars flexing. A lot of sounds seem to sound like they come from there but actually originate from somewhere else.

Odds are you'll be fine on your bike ride. But to be safe keep an eye on your bottom bracket and make sure it's not coming loose and check your chainring bolts.

Oh, if you bought the bike from a bike shop you are likely to be okay, if you got it off the internet or from costco or something, you could have trouble.

2. The BB is not fully torqued into the frame. This is the most common of clicks. An easy fix.
3. Chainring bolts. The bolts might not be tight and when you hammer make the noise.



How easy is it to do #2, do I just tighten the BIG bolt in the middle of the crank, or is there more to it than that?

This is a bit of a long shot but if u r running the 02 style xt crankset then it could be the interface between the spider and the inside part of the cranks. i saw a related post here a good time ago in the drivetrain forum. the guy said he remedied it by loctite(ing) that area, so try it if applicable. cheers

I was able to get rid of hi-torque clicking on my ride when I removed and greased the threads on my chainring bolts, then torqued them down. It's easy and worth a shot.

After that, remove the crankarms and, if they're splined, grease the splines and tighten them to spec torque. I think that's listed in Zinn's as about 350-450 inch/pounds.

How easy is it to do #2, do I just tighten the BIG bolt in the middle of the crank, or is there more to it than that?

No, there is more to it. From what you describe, I'd also bet the problem is #2 (loose BB). To fix that, you need to remove your cranks, then tighten the cups with a splined tool - although I'd remove them and clean and grease everything first.

This is not a difficult procedure, but if you've never done it, then you don't likely have the tools needed. If you don't have any friends that can help you, I'd suggest you check out the Park Tool website.