vaportrail

Could somebody please help me. I've had two cannondales now, a CAAD8 and now a CAAD9 and both of them develop an insanely annoying creak. The bike I have now, the 9, creaks every time the right pedal gets near the bottom. Every. Single. Time. Any suggestions on what may be causing this would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.

10 Wheels

Saddle or seat post

Hiro11

Nope, BB30. OP: it's almost certainly a bottom bracket issue. Invest in some blue Loctite and reinstall the bottom bracket bearings or take it to a shop that uses blue Loctite.

Campag4life

Could be BB. Some CAAD 9's came with BB30, notorious for creaking due to improper set up or inadequate maintenance.
You would have to post a pic of the BB for clarification which BB you have.

You need to ride the bike out of the saddle and see if it creaks. If it doesn't creak out of the saddle, good chance seatpost or saddle as mentioned.

Campag4life

Not all CAAD 9's were BB30.

Hiro11

Note the "almost certainly" phrasing. I will say that whenever you see the phrase "creaky Cannondale", it's the BB30 99.9999999% of the time.

vaportrail

It does have a BB30 sticker under the tube near the crank. I also took the left side off just to see what was in there and there was a nylon washer that had BB30 on it as well. Could somebody explain exactly what needs to be done? I have some blue loc-tite.

Hiro11

Search on Youtube for BB30 install, it's a relatively simple process. Basically, BB30 is press-fit rather than threaded, the bearings are simply pressed into a precisely machined shell in the bottom bracket and held in place by friction. You will need a dedicated tool to do the pressing but they're pretty cheap. Alternatively, any bike shop can do this for you quickly and cheaply, just make sure that they Loctite the bearings in there. Non-permanent blue or green Loctite holds everything in place well and prevents the creaking. Many bike shops neglect this step which almost always results in creaking after a few thousand miles. Luckly the fix is cheap and relatively easy.

JohnDThompson 

Or pedals or cleats. Or handlebars or stem. And, if all else fails, look for a crack in the frame.

shoemakerpom

This is very true as I installed new sram bearings in june without the Loctite and now have the annoying creak after I replaced my shoes, cleats, pedals, chain, and derailleurs.

MingusDew

Mine was creaky. Was the seatpost. Not ALWAYS the BB30

Hiro11

Very true, very true.

Campag4life

Don't use blue Loctite. Wrong stuff. You need the green Loctite designed for press fit bearings with servicability...Loctite 609 or 640 will work.
Watch the youtube video. Go to Park's site and review their procedure.
Complaints about BB30 are many times due to a bungled installation. It isn't hard to install one, but takes some know how.
Same with crank preload adjustment.
Good luck.

vaportrail

I just watched this video

https://www.fullspeedahead.tv/video/7...d-mainteinance

Looks like the offical BB30 service video, and they do not mention using any kind of loctite. ??

Looks like a bearing installation tool could be made from a bolt, nut, washers and a socket that is just small enough to fit inside the shell. Pretty sure that would work. Not sure how to get around bearing extractor tool though.

As for the loctite, I guess that putting loctite between bearing and shell would help keep bearing tight in the hole???

Campag4life

Take a little time, go out on the web and educate yourself on BB30. Literally hundreds of threads on installation practices.
No Loctite = big mistake.
Many use adhesion promoters as well to help the bond. BB30's creak because of micro displacement of the bearings during the pedal stroke. Loctite prevents this. Do an archive search for Loctite and fender washer for home built installation tool.
As to bearing removal all you need is a stick and and a hammer. Through the BB hole to the backside of the bearing and tap tap tap around the periphery and knock it out. Easy as pie. BB30 is simple and effective. But without proper attention to installation, it will creak so it is less forgving to set up error.

roadwarrior

BB30 is the Work of the Devil.

Smokinbbl

Check your CAAD 8. I had the 2013 CAAD 8 and it was an english BB. Are you using the same pedals?

topflightpro

Green loctite is correct. And I can almost guarantee this will solve the problem. I've dealt with it on three different Cannondale BB30 frames. It's a pretty simple fix.

bianchi10

I had this on my supersix. Ended up being a combo of the BB and the chainrings.

vaportrail

Well, I've been kinda putting it off, but finally went to the auto store and bought some green permatex threadlocker. The sales guy assured me it was bearing retainer compound, and acutally said that before I even told him what I was doing, so that makes me feel better. But, it says penetrating grade threadlocker on the package. I'm hoping this is gonna work.