On my cycle back through Hyde Park earlier in the week, I noticed my Brompton was making some odd noises. “Odd” in the sense that it had not been making them before, and I hadn’t heard other bikes making them, but potentially perfectly normal for a Brompton since I’ve only had one for a couple of weeks.

I popped it up on the stand yesterday to take a look, and to do some normal bike maintenance.

There were two noises — a rattling noise from the hub, and a rubbing noise from the front type.

#Rattling noise from the hub

I’m not convinced I’ve fixed this, but oiling the chain, and hub, and cycling through the gears, seems to have made a difference. I only had time for a quick test ride, and it did seem quieter.

Looking online, the general consensus seems to be that, if it is changing gears smoothly then, even if it is making a noise, it’s probably fine.

That worries me slightly, but, since I don’t plan on taking the hub apart, I’ll leave it for now and see what happens.

#Rubbing noise

This was the noise I had heard most when cycling, and it was a simple one: the front mudguard had got clogged up with mud and other detritus from the wet road. Clearing that out made an immediate difference.