Spoke noise is typified by a pinging or popping during the loading of a wheel. It is much more common with black spokes due to the finishing process. It can occur during pedaling, braking or in some cases by simply riding the bike as the rider weight loads and unloads spokes in areas where the wheel is contacting the ground.

In some cases, spoke noise will go away on it's own but in other cases it requires lubing the location where the noise is originating from. In severe cases, it may require detensioning the wheel to allow the lubrication to penetrate the the problem area effectively. 

Should you be experiencing spoke noise, our first recommendation is to use a light, teflon based lube such as Tri-flo to lube the following locations: Any and all locations where the spokes cross each other or the flange of the hub, spoke heads where the seat in the hub flange and the nipple/rim interface. It's best to remove your brake rotor during this process to avoid contamination and provide better access to disc side spokes. It may take a few rides for the lube to work its way into the problem areas and the popping/pinging to stop.

If the above step does not resolve the issue, it may be necessary to detension the wheel and repeat the process using a grease formulated for moving surfaces such as Slick Honey. Using an air compressor with pointed tip can assist with moving the grease into the hard to reach locations around the spoke heads.