Intermittent creak

[Phileas]

I've recently been getting a slight click/creak when pedalling hard out of the saddle uphill. Strangely I only ever noticed it cycling home even though my commute route profile is u-shaped.

It wasn't a big deal but it was starting to annoy me slightly. A couple of weeks ago I very slightly tightened the headset preload as I was aware there was some just noticeable play and I wondered whether it might be related to the creak. It may or may not have made a difference - I haven't been paying enough attention.

Anyway, yesterday, immediately on accelerating away from a standstill at the start of my home leg, there was a proper "noisy" creak emanating from somewhere. The creak occurred every time I got out of the saddle but hardly at all while on the saddle and this continued all the way home. It was embarrassingly loud (although I admit I'm easily embarrassed ).

So this morning I was expecting more of the same, but there was nothing. On the way home, again nothing or perhaps a slight click or two on the steepest section.

So I'm a bit puzzled.

Apart from the headset, another suspect component is the front wheel which often suffers from loose spokes.

The only significant change to the bike between any trip is in the loading of the Carradice seat post bag which varies in weight depending on day and direction.

[backnotes]

Creaks are really hard to locate, but does yours generally come from the front of the bike as you mention front wheel and headset etc?

I had a maddening creak apparently from the chainset area on a steel bike that only happened when I was out of the saddle. I swapped SPD cleats, seat post, saddle, pedals, bottom bracket, and chainset over one by one but nothing worked. In the end it turned out when cleaning the bike more thoroughly than usual that the RH chain stay had a split in it that went about half way around it on the inside, and standing up stressed it in a creaky way. The rear wheel kind of held everything together. I rode with the creaking noise / split for several weeks. I had the chain stay replaced and the creak went, so that was definitely the cause.

Good luck tracking the source of yours down, and be prepared to expect the unexpected as the cause!

[jamesbradbury]

I had a similar - sounding noise over a period of years. I though it came from the front and it stopped off I took one hand of the bars. I tried different skewers, removing the plastic covering from the dropouts, etc. I think I've now finally tracked it down to the fork crown bolt. I noticed that sometimes it would go away or return after swapping the light mount or mudguards. The last time I did this I thoroughly greased the bolt which goes through the fork crown.

I'm hesitant to say that it's fixed, but it seems much improved.

[Phileas]

Creaks are really hard to locate, but does yours generally come from the front of the bike as you mention front wheel and headset etc?

I can't tell where the sound comes from and I know from experience that it's easy to be misled by preconceptions. Prior to this latest incident, I could create a very slight but distinct creak when simply rolling the unloaded bike back and forth a very short distance.

The main puzzle at the moment is how such a loud creak can appear and disappear between one ride and the next.

[mig]

is one ride wet, the next dry?

[robm99]

Last time I had something like that it ended up being the bottom bracket on its way out.

[Mike Sales]

Eliminate the cranks like this.
Bounce on the pedals with the cranks horizontal and the bike stationary, holding youself up against a wall. Rotate through 180 degrees and bounce again. Give them a good going over, back and forth. If this does not produce a creak, you have one less suspect.

[rmurphy195]

Mavic wheels? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=105798&p=1009113&hilit=creak#p1009113

[roubaixtuesday]

Maddening causes of creaks I've discovered in the past:


1. Chainring  bolts loose 

2. Saddle rails

3. QR not tight enough

4. Pedal bearings

5. Bars not tight enough in stem

6. Stand moving against frame fixing

7. Cracked frame

8. Headset needed tightening

9. Pedal cleats needed lube

10. Rack bolts needed tightening

11.  BB on the way out 

12. Crankset fixing bolt needed tightening. 


There are doubtless many other possibilities others have suffered from.


Sounds like it's not 2 or 8.  Good luck eliminating all the others; a suggestion to put the front wheel between your legs (standing facing the rear of the bike) and yank the bars enthusiastically as a way to eliminate some of them.

[CREPELLO]

is one ride wet, the next dry?

Is a clue

[David9694]

What’s the “rhythm” of this creak? Does it follow the wheels going round, or maybe the pedals?

An uphill effort, especially out of the saddle will cause some bending in your frame, which may have something to do with it. Have you checked your spokes? just pluck them in pairs. Try rolling a wheel along the floor pressing down as much as you can on the tyre - although spokes tend to ping rather than creak.

[Brucey]

your creak could be coming from almost anywhere. One way of looking at is that there are only two sorts of creak

1) something is breaking (cracks growing make funny noises) or

2) there is an interface that is moving slightly, that shouldn't.

Hopefully it is the latter.

Now, there are really only two sorts of interface between parts on a bicycle; those that are meant to be assembled dry and those that are meant to be assembled with grease or anti-seize.

Dry interfaces include

- where the handlebars fit into the clamp
- where the wheels fit into the frame
- crank tapers on ST cranks (although some would disagree with this)
- where chainrings bear against the spider
- where the saddle rails are held by the saddle clamps
- where the brake lever clamps bear against the handlebar

there may be additional dry interfaces depending on the parts used.

Now, it doesn't take long to ensure that these few interfaces are indeed clean and dry (one at time!). If they have been moving around (eg because the parts don't fit properly or the bits were not tight enough or there was some lube used in the assy etc) you will typically find a load of black (or brown if both parts are steel) crud in the interface. Clean the interface parts, check their fit and tighten the bolts up to the correct torque. It is usually OK/a good idea to grease the bolts even if the interface itself is meant to be dry.

if this doesn't sort the creak out you have a much simpler problem to solve; all the remaining parts are meant to be assembled with grease at the interface and if there is a creak there is almost certainly not enough grease in the parts. There may also be a poor fit/lack of bolt tightness problem (which often means the creak may return in time...), but the main thing will be a lack of grease.

To spare yourself endless torment (now and in the future), I very strongly recommend that

a) you find a test that reproduces the creak sound reproducibly and then

b) fettle parts one at a time until the creak goes away

if you do two or more things at once, you will never know for sure what caused the creak and will have an equally frustrating time sorting it out if it ever comes back again. BTDT, (and have multiple T-shirts...)

cheers

[landsurfer]

Change your shoes !!!

My creaking and ticking issues disappeared when i changed my shoes for a new pair .... infuriating is not the word !!!

[cycleruk]

My last creak / click was the cassette.
I presume the plastic spacers had compressed under the pressure ?
A couple of clicks on the lockring cured it.

[Phileas]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

The creak returned on the home trip this afternoon. So that's two work legs and one home leg in between two separate occurrences, although there were a few slight clicks during those trips. I'm still puzzled by the pattern of occurrences, possibly damp or temperature induced?

I stopped and adjusted the headset back to how it was to no avail so that eliminates that (no doubt Brucey won't be surprised).

There is another suspect dry joint and that is the one between the two parts of each Exzentriker BB cup, and it so happens I did adjust those last weekend to take up some chain slack.

I will go through Brucey's list and I might swap the BB for a traditional type this weekend.

My shoes do make noises but that is more a squeak than a creak.

I did have a problem previously with a loose cassette lockring but it wasn't really a creak - plastic spacers.