Best fix for creaky stem?

[SimonCelsa]

I am not a great lover of noisy bikes; squeaky chains, clunky gears, knackered bearings and etc.

I've recently built up another Raleigh Record Ace frame (56cm) with the components from a previously knackered (58cm) one.

I use a fairly long quill stem with a bit of a rise to get the bars at a comfortable height. The trouble is, it creaks incessantly, even when I'm only riding easy. I reckon it's worse in colder weather if this makes sense. I've tried many small height adjustments which, at first seem to cure the creak but it always seems to return after a couple of hours. It's 99.8% the stem causing the noise and not the handlebar interface or some other component.

Anyone else encountered this and can suggest a quick fix i.e plug the headtube full of grease, use a 6 foot breaker bar to tighten the quill.

Any tips appreciated, I don't really want to change out the stem as this means unwrapping the bars and all that palava.Thanks for any advice.

[peetee]

I would dismantle all the loose parts of the stem and liberally coat the interfaces in lithium grease. If it still creaked after that it would go in the ‘suspect and likely to fail’ box - AKA; the bin.

[peetee]

As an addendum to my previous post, are the bars sleeved or bulged single-piece?
Sleeved bars can creak if they were previously fitted to a different stem as stems rarely, if ever, grip the bars evenly around their circumference.

[Barrowman]

Further to sleeved bars, I have encountered a sleeve that had come loose on the bars which made them creak.

[SimonCelsa]

OK I'll try slathering it in grease.

The handlebars are sleeved but I'm pretty sure it's not that causing the creak. I had the same creak on the previous frame with the same stem/handlebar set-up but found the 'sweet-spot' after much trial and error of which height to tighten it to stop the creak. Now on a replacement frame I'm back to living with the bloody creak again. Sounds daft but it seems to be affected by cold weather also, much more prone to creaking when the temperature becomes frosty. It is a 'tall' quill stem which probably doesn't help.

[cyclop]

Initial thoughts?.....coefficient of expansion of aluminium is greater than steel which may explain the cold creak effect.The stem may not be a snug enough fit in the frame,possibly due to the age of the frame ...try a cheap alloy stem,does that creak?If not then likely the stem.You,ve possibly done all this and reached the end of your tether,in which case have a beer,watch tv and return to the problem when a solution may have occured to your subconcious brain....seriously.

[531colin]

..........The handlebars are sleeved ............

Try running some superglue in between the bars and the sleeve. Quick, cheap, easy, and can't do any harm.

[simonineaston]

Two of the most successful ingredients to my own squeek-free life, is WD40, wafted as one might set a hair-do or failing that, a shake of talcum powder - my fave. being Johnson's Baby Powder...

[Steve]

You said any advice welcome, so 1) make sure there's still a good length of the stem left in the fork steerer, as it seems to me there is a lot showing; and 2) don't use a 6 foot breaker bar to tighten it!

[SimonCelsa]

No worries, all advice appreciated!

Plenty of stem left in the steerer as it's one of these super long babies:

tall stem.JPG (10.88 KiB) Viewed 583 times

[simonineaston]

wow ! that's a big 'un...

[richardfm]

wow ! that's a big 'un...

As the actress said to the bishop