Really Aggravating Creaks
06-17-18, 08:06 PM
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Really Aggravating Creaks
I've been commuting 12 months a year for 3+ years on a belt drive cycle with a hydro-formed aluminum frame. The belt drive train with IGH hub is inherently pretty quiet and when the cycle was new I became addicted to the whisper-quiet experience of this setup. Eventually of course as the gritty Boston miles piled up, little creaks and groans developed here and there, and I beat them down with the usual cleaning, lubricating, and tightening that is required to keep things ship-shape. That was until this spring, when I met Creak-zilla.
It began innocently enough, with a little cre-eak as I pedaled while on the saddle, but it seemed every thing that I did to resolve the issue was answered with a louder creak, until I reached the point that I had to re-read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to remain stable. The thin-walled aluminum frame became an amplifier of course, broadcasting my mechanical failures to the world.
Over the period of a month I went through the following steps unsuccessfully:
1. Cleaned and lubricated seat-post and saddle rails
2. Cleaned and partially replaced bottom bracket
3. Replaced/swapped seat-post and saddle
4. Removed, cleaned and reinstalled fenders and rack.
The creaking became louder still.
It was then that I remembered the little frame widget that is unscrewed to allow the drive belt to slide through the rear triangle when it is replaced. The widget seemed snug, but I removed, cleaned, lubricated and re-installed it, which totally did the trick. Now the cycle purrs like a kitten again and I wish that I had tried out this fix first!
What is your most agonizing creak, either solved or unsolved??
It began innocently enough, with a little cre-eak as I pedaled while on the saddle, but it seemed every thing that I did to resolve the issue was answered with a louder creak, until I reached the point that I had to re-read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to remain stable. The thin-walled aluminum frame became an amplifier of course, broadcasting my mechanical failures to the world.
Over the period of a month I went through the following steps unsuccessfully:
1. Cleaned and lubricated seat-post and saddle rails
2. Cleaned and partially replaced bottom bracket
3. Replaced/swapped seat-post and saddle
4. Removed, cleaned and reinstalled fenders and rack.
The creaking became louder still.
It was then that I remembered the little frame widget that is unscrewed to allow the drive belt to slide through the rear triangle when it is replaced. The widget seemed snug, but I removed, cleaned, lubricated and re-installed it, which totally did the trick. Now the cycle purrs like a kitten again and I wish that I had tried out this fix first!
What is your most agonizing creak, either solved or unsolved??
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06-17-18, 08:30 PM
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I never had a creak the size of Boston, just a small one that was not solvable. I finally concluded it was in the frame itself, where the seat tube was reduced in size at the top by pressing in a smaller tube and welding.
I love a quiet bike.
I love a quiet bike.
06-17-18, 10:10 PM
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Seat rails, but not in the clamp... where the rails attach to the underside (plastic) base of the saddle.
It was rhythmic, so I figured it had to be power related. I rebuilt the pedals and swapped in a new bottom bracket. It wasn’t my first creak so I knew it could be the seat post or clamp so I swapped the post BUT KEPT THE SADDLE. I had almost come to terms with the notion of just living with it then one day I was in my garage and flipped the bike over and when the saddle hit the floor it made the slightest little squeak. I rocked the bike back and forth and heard nothing. I leaned my weight on it while rocking back and forth and BINGO!
A little chain lube where the rails meet the plastic and all is right with the universe. It’s a Specialized Phenom that I still have and is my absolute favorite saddle. Every several months it dries out and starts creaking again until I hit it with the lube.
Good times.
-Kedosto
It was rhythmic, so I figured it had to be power related. I rebuilt the pedals and swapped in a new bottom bracket. It wasn’t my first creak so I knew it could be the seat post or clamp so I swapped the post BUT KEPT THE SADDLE. I had almost come to terms with the notion of just living with it then one day I was in my garage and flipped the bike over and when the saddle hit the floor it made the slightest little squeak. I rocked the bike back and forth and heard nothing. I leaned my weight on it while rocking back and forth and BINGO!
A little chain lube where the rails meet the plastic and all is right with the universe. It’s a Specialized Phenom that I still have and is my absolute favorite saddle. Every several months it dries out and starts creaking again until I hit it with the lube.
Good times.
-Kedosto
06-17-18, 11:07 PM
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The one that drives me nuts is clicks, which usually seem to be the pedal bearings
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06-18-18, 12:32 AM
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Tick of my saddle bag buckle on my rack.
06-18-18, 05:33 AM
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My Brooks saddle creaks a bit...and had a little pop in the nose that I mostly cured by oiling down the leather where it meets the metal frame. Had me wondering for a while if my ISO-speed bushings (Domane) were showing wear.
06-18-18, 06:43 AM
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Back in the early '90s I picked up an old Schwinn Varsity for $15 at a garage sale to learn bicycle maintenance, and keep me from messin' with my main commuter. There was a creak that got louder and louder until one day it revealed itself to be the frame when the down tube broke at the head tube. I was still able to ride it a mile home and toss it in the dumpster.
06-18-18, 07:15 AM
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Headset on a department store Huffy, solved by leaving it leaning against a tree until someone rode off with it.
06-18-18, 09:11 AM
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Internal Di2 or brake cable rattling in the down tube (still there). How many tubes of lube will it take to silence that one?
06-19-18, 07:33 AM
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After puting a front rim brake on my bike, I would hear a rubbing noise at the front when turning.
At first I thought I had my brakes too close to the rim, but it was in fact my shifter cable finding its way onto the tire.
At first I thought I had my brakes too close to the rim, but it was in fact my shifter cable finding its way onto the tire.
06-19-18, 07:41 PM
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06-19-18, 07:50 PM
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Had a few special creaks and rattles:
An aluminum chainring bolt whose head was slowly creeping off.
A Dura-Ace seatpost whose head wasn’t fully bonded to the shaft.
A few titanium external cam skewers that needed to be tighter than their handles were designed for.
Stress-cracked fenders.
The zipper pull on a seat bag tapping against a seatstay.
An aluminum chainring bolt whose head was slowly creeping off.
A Dura-Ace seatpost whose head wasn’t fully bonded to the shaft.
A few titanium external cam skewers that needed to be tighter than their handles were designed for.
Stress-cracked fenders.
The zipper pull on a seat bag tapping against a seatstay.
06-27-18, 12:42 PM
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Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick
The agulet on my shoelace hitting the down tube.
Current aggravation is a subtle rubbing sensation that I feel in the pedals. Pedals? BB? My imagination? Either way, it's been there since I've had the bike. Mostly I ignore it.
The agulet on my shoelace hitting the down tube.
Current aggravation is a subtle rubbing sensation that I feel in the pedals. Pedals? BB? My imagination? Either way, it's been there since I've had the bike. Mostly I ignore it.
06-27-18, 01:27 PM
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My front brake would rub intermittenly on the rotor after completing a build ... drove me nuts. Found the enemy, and as usual, it was me. Turns out, the brakes will rub with one of the brake adapter bolts in your pocket. The rear brake adapter didn't come with the bolts, so I had taken one off the front to bring to the hardware store.
06-27-18, 02:50 PM
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I was riding my bike and it started making some horrible creaking/shuddering noise. Turned out my bottom bracket had rusted out and my frame was no longer welded together at the joint by the bottom bracket...
06-28-18, 09:44 AM
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I have a tick in my cranks that I have tolerated for months, and I know better. The trouble is, it happens only under load, so I can't find it on the repair stand. I need to take everything apart, and I'm putting it off.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
06-28-18, 09:53 AM
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Don't you just love that?? I've had weird noises under load, and the mechanic puts it on a stand and is all, 'No, everything sounds fine.' ::facepalm::
06-28-18, 11:00 AM
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There's a creek in a neighboring county that is too wide a deep to cross without a bridge, but over the years the county has abandoned or removed several of the lesser-used bridges but the maps haven't all been updated, so it's not unusual to be exploring a country road that you think will cross the creek and end up having to backtrack and add several miles until you find a bridge. That's a really annoying creek.
06-28-18, 11:07 AM
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Well at least I didn't have the frustration of having a mechanic telling me there's no problem. I am tempted to have one take a look. I'm hesitant, clearly.
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“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
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“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
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