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Pedal creaking

Old 10-28-14, 08:24 PM
  #1  
Scratcher09
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Pedal creaking

My pedals crack and creak when I put a lot of force on them. It is independent of the crank rotating. I can stand up while coasting and if I bounce to put force on the pedals it makes the cracking sound. The bearings feel smooth. What can be the cause of this creaking sound?

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Old 10-28-14, 08:28 PM
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Missing hardware?
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Old 10-28-14, 08:42 PM
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The missing nut only secures the reflector and I don't believe that is the problem. The other pedal is not missing any nuts and it makes the same sound.
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Old 10-28-14, 09:01 PM
  #4  
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Pedals are attached to the crank - have you tried tightening them?
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Old 10-28-14, 09:28 PM
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Bottom bracket.
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nine mile skid on a ten mile ride
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Old 10-28-14, 09:48 PM
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Originally Posted by 02Giant
Bottom bracket.
Bottom bracket. It's worn internally, or loose or installed dry. Im assuming you have a square taper bottom bracket- Buy yourself a square taper puller and splined bb tool, they're good investments. Read up on bb install/removal procedures, it's possible to damage your frame if youre sloppy or mess with your chainline if you get the wrong part. The parts are relatively cheap and will save you a lot of money in shop labor once you learn how to use them.

Also, those are fairly entry level pedals, they'll probably ride just fine for some time, but it'll be normal for some noise or gravelly feeling.
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Old 10-29-14, 04:47 AM
  #7  
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Do the easy things first; try removing the pedals, cleaning and lubing the pedal and crank threads and contact surfaces and reinstalling, torquing them correctly. If available try a different set of pedals. If this does not fix the problem then start digging deeper.
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Old 10-29-14, 05:12 AM
  #8  
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Originally Posted by 02Giant
Bottom bracket.
Originally Posted by Raiden
Bottom bracket. It's worn internally, or loose or installed dry.
.
Square taper BB bearing problems do not show up as a creak or click. Sometimes people come to that conclusion after overhauling one and finding such noise is gone afterward, not realizing that removing, cleaning and correctly retightening the crank arms likely fixed the problem. In fact:
  • A worn (or dirty) BB creates a grinding feel/sound, again a lower pitch sound and more continuous, rarely showing up only under pressure, and the BB would not feel smooth.
  • A loose BB (poorly adjusted, loose lockring or fixed cup) can be felt as the BB shifts, and if it makes a sound is more like a clunk than a click. Due to the larger parts and interface the sound is a much lower frequency.
  • Installed dry (the bearings??) In over 20 years of bike work I've never pulled apart a BB to find it freshly overhauled with no grease. Not even possible with loose balls, and the sound again would not be as described.
Originally Posted by dsbrantjr
Do the easy things first; try removing the pedals, cleaning and lubing the pedal and crank threads and contact surfaces and reinstalling, torquing them correctly. If available try a different set of pedals. If this does not fix the problem then start digging deeper.
This is the correct first step. It's also possible that the cages on the pedals themselves are not secure, though that would be a rare occurrence on both pedals.

We need better info from the OP - not only what he has tried to fix the problem but when it started (new pedals) any maintenance/accident/incident that directly preceded it, and if it came on suddenly or over time. Few problems just spring up spontaneously.

Last edited by cny-bikeman; 10-29-14 at 08:08 AM.
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Old 10-29-14, 06:03 AM
  #9  
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Dunno, I've never seen a sub-$1000 bike that came with a properly installed bottom bracket always dry or with just the smallest touch of grease. Yeah, could also just be a loose arm or pedal. Could even be the rear wheel.

Last edited by Raiden; 10-29-14 at 07:54 AM.
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Old 10-29-14, 06:26 AM
  #10  
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Looks like the end plates of the pedal are riveted to the body. Could one of those rivet joints be slightly loose? That happened on a pedal that I had, long ago.
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Old 10-29-14, 07:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Gresp15C
Looks like the end plates of the pedal are riveted to the body. Could one of those rivet joints be slightly loose? That happened on a pedal that I had, long ago.
If this turns out to be the case a few drops of wicking grade cyanoacrylate (Krazy-type) adhesive in the joints may stop the noise.
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Old 10-29-14, 07:44 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by Raiden
Dunno, I've never been a sub-$1000 bike that came with a properly installed bottom bracket always dry or with just the smallest touch of grease. Yeah, could also just be a loose arm or pedal. Could even be the rear wheel.
Pointing to the BB without having eliminated other more likely items is just guessing, not diagnosis. Again, I have never seen a BB with no grease, and the symptoms don't match anyway. We need more info from the OP as well as some isolation/elimination of other factors.

Last edited by cny-bikeman; 10-29-14 at 08:09 AM.
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Old 10-29-14, 08:08 AM
  #13  
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I've just posted a similar thread specific to shimano A520 and A600 pedals. Try switching the pedals onto a bike you know is fine and seeing if the problem moves with them. If so, you know the problem is most likely the pedal.

You might be able to service the pedal bearings and solve the problem, not sure with this model though. This is how to do it with Shimano, though it doesn't show you how to strip, check and reset the dual cup and cone arrangement (your pedal may have different bearings anyway for all I know);

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkH7gClG8NM
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Old 10-29-14, 09:37 PM
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Sorry I took long to report back. I had an extra long day at work. I just got home and swapped pedals. The noise is still there. I take it this means the problem is in the BB. A few months ago when I acquired this frame and was swapping all the components over from my GT, I could not remove the BB so I took it to my LBS and they swapped the BB to this Fuji frame. Is this noise more likely to be a problem with the BB or a problem with the installation of the BB?
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Old 10-30-14, 05:51 AM
  #15  
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I still think the problem is going to be the bb, but it could be many other things- pedal bearings (even if they feel OK by hand), crankarm tightness against the bb, dry or worn chain, chain tension if a fixed gear, loose or gunked chainring /bolts, dry or loose rear hub, wheels not tightened into frame/fork, dry seatpost, headset loose, plus stuff I've probably missed....
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Old 10-30-14, 06:16 AM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by Scratcher09
I just got home and swapped pedals. The noise is still there. I take it this means the problem is in the BB. A few months ago when I acquired this frame and was swapping all the components over from my GT, I could not remove the BB so I took it to my LBS and they swapped the BB to this Fuji frame. Is this noise more likely to be a problem with the BB or a problem with the installation of the BB?
Not necessarily - did you take the advice in post 7 and also remove the cranks and clean the interface area on the spindle and cranks? Also chainwheel bolts can sometimes cause a click/creak. You can often test that by standing/bouncing on the pedals, then flipping 180 degrees and repeat. If it does not creak then it could be chainring bolt, if it does it's more likely crank arms (or perhaps BB - but we need to know what type BB you have!). If you can make it creak by standing on the pedals you have eliminated other parts of the drive train, but not necessarily other items outside the BB.

Last edited by cny-bikeman; 10-30-14 at 06:20 AM.
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Old 10-30-14, 08:10 AM
  #17  
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The BB is a Shimano BB-6500.
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Old 10-30-14, 09:23 AM
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Problem solved! I removed the crank and discovered that I had installed the crank incorrectly. The splines on the spindle (octalink-V1) were not set into the splines on the crank. Now that the crank is set properly I will need to readjust the derailer. I had not been worrying about this noise because I assumed it was the pedals. Now I am glad I took the time to look into it. And I appreciate all the advice. Left to my own devices I would probably have just been spinning my wheels.
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Old 10-30-14, 01:54 PM
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What you did has occurred before with that type BB, and we may have been able to point to it sooner with more complete info. It's important to remember that we are not there, so specific descriptions and clear, relevant photos go a long way toward efficient diagnosis.
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Old 10-30-14, 02:32 PM
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The arm to BB spindle interface also a possible source .
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Old 10-30-14, 10:25 PM
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Originally Posted by cny-bikeman
What you did has occurred before with that type BB, and we may have been able to point to it sooner with more complete info. It's important to remember that we are not there, so specific descriptions and clear, relevant photos go a long way toward efficient diagnosis.

I was was removing the crank arms to take pictures of the BB so I could post them. That's how I discovered the drive-side arm was not seated properly on the spindle. I took it for a short ride and exerted a lot of force on the pedals to see it I could hear the creaking. No noise. It is smooth.
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Old 10-30-14, 10:28 PM
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Well done, and thanks for the follow up.
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Old 10-31-14, 12:26 AM
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May be the bottom bracket is the main cause.
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Old 01-01-15, 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Scratcher09
My pedals crack and creak when I put a lot of force on them. It is independent of the crank rotating. I can stand up while coasting and if I bounce to put force on the pedals it makes the cracking sound. The bearings feel smooth. What can be the cause of this creaking sound?

Completely remove your seat post. Cover it with a thin layer of wheel-bearing grease. Re install it.
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