I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask - I’m just a casual bicycle rider and I only use my bike to commute. I bought one of the cheapest bicycles I could find ($170) and I’ve been using it regularly for the past month or so. Today, I rode the bicycle off a pretty high curb (a parked car was blocking the low part of the curb). Starting then, my bicycle has been making whirring noises - the noise is an on and off whirring at a consistent rate. The tires are just as hard as before, I don’t think they punctured. Any help identifying the issue is appreciated.
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The first thing I'd look at, if you have them, is mudguards (fenders) rubbing on the tyres. The bracket at the top of a mudguard often slips from hard knocks.
Other accessories are also worth a look, particularly any luggage.
A hard landing can break spokes, and a broken spoke can cause a wheel to rub against the brakes or even the frame. This is far more likely at the back.
Chris H
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Welcome to the site. My first guess would be that something is rubbing or a bearing is loose. Maybe part of a wheel is to blame, due to damage, deformation, misalignment or similar.
Basic checks you can do to start with:
- Check for play on the hubs, or the cranks. See if you are able to move them sideways with your hands (you shouldn't). If the whirring only occurs when pedalling, it's probably the bottom bracket at fault.
- Lift one wheel and spin it by hand. Look for any uneven rotation by looking from above and sideways - it's possible it may need to be trued. Repeat for other wheel.
- If you have rim brakes, check if the rim or tyre is rubbing.
You should be able to find some yotube videos showing how to do the above checks.
Even a cheap bike should be able to withstand riding off a curb occasionally. If you bought the bike from a decent bike shop, they might fix it for you under warranty and/or decency.
pateksan
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