Creaking Spokes

[Jim77]

Hi all,
The spokes on my rear wheel are creaking. I have cleaned the spokes and put dry lube on where they cross, but they still persist.

Any ideas? Should I use grease?

Thanks in advance.

[NickJP]

Spokes can do this if they are still twisted from the wheel building process - as the spokes lose tension slightly when at the bottom of the wheel while you are riding, they can unwind and creak in the process. But if this is a wheel you have been riding for a while, something else is causing the noise.

[geomannie]

I agree with NickJP, creaks can sound like they are coming from spokes but may not be. For example, I had a wheel on which I was convinced the spokes were creaking. Long story short, it turned out to be the rim starting to split!

Other noise sources are available.

[rogerzilla]

Do the rims have eyelets? Creaking is often between the eyelet and rim. A drop of oil on each one shuts it up for a year or so. Ir's more common with front wheels, though, probably because rear wheels tend to be slightly oily anyway from chain lube finding its way down the spokes.

[531colin]

Spokes loose? Particularly left spokes of a dished rear wheel.

[Chris Jeggo]

I have had a back wheel laced so that the spokes pressed against each other at the crossings and they started to creak. A drop of oil quietened them, but, over time, this very slight relative movement wore shallow grooves in each spoke and then they clicked.

[531colin]

I have had a back wheel laced so that the spokes pressed against each other at the crossings and they started to creak. A drop of oil quietened them, but, over time, this very slight relative movement wore shallow grooves in each spoke and then they clicked.

Tucking the top spoke under at the crossing is general practice; very few wheels are NOT built like that.

[rogerzilla]

I have had a back wheel laced so that the spokes pressed against each other at the crossings and they started to creak. A drop of oil quietened them, but, over time, this very slight relative movement wore shallow grooves in each spoke and then they clicked.

The spokes weren't tight enough.

The only non-interlaced tangential bicycle wheels I know of are on Bromptons, and I don't believe their rationale for it anyway - I usually interlace Brompton wheels and have never had any issues whatsoever. Their factory wheels generally need rebuilding on new Bromptons, as they are pretty ropey.

Interlacing helps equalise spoke lengths between inside and outside spokes, important in small low-cross count wheels, and slightly aids in sharing the load between spokes.