Tarmacguy

help needed!! is this easy to fix..it only creaks when i stand to climb or kick it for a sprint, just wondering if anyone has any ideas why i am creaking, and how hard, if it can be fixed..itrs not my headset, it appears to actually be my head tube, where the bike logo is printed on the front of the bike..

thanks

I have an integrated bar and stem, and had them all tightened last weekend..
new BB, chain and cassette put in too, so head tube seems like the cause for my pain/annoyance

bostongarden

You might want to post as well in Bicycle Mechanics. Sorry that I can't help ya. Good luck!!

patentcad

Probably not the head tube. Could be anything up front: stem/handlebar connection is the first place I would check (lube, retighten it), front hub, headset, etc. Very hard to tell where noises on bikes are coming from. Could be coming from your BB too. This is a job for a good LBS mechanic. They can always figure it out when I can't.

scotch

the source of the creak can be very deceiving. see the sage advice from Sheldon about this. could actually be handle bar or stem, or a dry steerer.

btw, one of my bikes creaked whenever i rode OOTS. drove me insane for two years. i swore it was the bottom bracket, so i unpacked it, cleaned it, lubed it, checked for cracks etc.. no luck. i proceeded to turn the bike inside out, cleaning, lubing, tightening. still creaked. turned out to be my crappy rear hub, which i only find out when i replaced my wheel set.

Fox Farm

I would echo that. If your head tube was in fact creaking, your bike frame would be cracked or have failed already and the only sound you would be hearing is the sound of your helmet hitting the pavement. As posted above, remove the stem and handlebars, inspect them very carefully, if all looks good, relube and install to specs. Do not over tighten as this may be part of your problem. How old are your stem and handlebars????

HigherGround

You might want to remove the fork from the frame and inspect the steerer tube, especially if your bike has had a head on impact.

big john

My bike was clicking from the steer tube area, the lbs cleaned and lubed the bearings, end of click.

Surferbruce

+1 the creaking could be lots of things, most of which i'd check first, but i have had creaking coming from my old alu frame and pulling the fork and cleaning and greasing up the bearings and races did the trick.

gogoturtle

What are you riding? From your name, I'm guessing it might be a Tarmac.

I recently had a similar problem on an S-Works Tarmac E5; the headtube began to separate.

Specialized replaced the frame under warranty in about a week.

LowCel 

Before you get into a lot of work remove your front skewer and grease it. I chased down a creak for months before I found it. It took about 30 seconds to fix once I figured it out.

Treefox

Nah. Unlikely to be that serious - if it is in fact the head tube, the bearings are probably crapping out.

Approx01

One guy in our cycling group was chasing down a squeak for A MONTH before he broke down his whole bike trying to find it. I do believe it was the seat post.

patentcad

Even my LBS master mechanic dude says those noises are VERY hard to track down. He's very good at it, but if it's challenging for him, what chance do you and I have? I've had a couple of these 'mystery noises' over the past two years, and it wasn't easy to find them. Some times it's amazingly simple - in one case an insufficiently tight front QR lever on my Mavic ES wheel was the culprit. That's easy. Check that on your bike first. That was a clicking noise that sounded like the headset too.

giantcfr1

Those click noises are a pain, and as mentioned difficult to locate. Checking skewers has been mentioned, but since you mentioned new BB, check they applied grease to the crank arms, and while you're at it, check if you have grease where your pedals are screwed into your cranks.

psycho-ist

I would have bet big cash that a creaking, clicking headset was my problem. Turned out to be a dry (no grease) seatpost.

grahny

If you just had your bar/stem tightened, that's where I'd look first. Sometimes it takes a few rides to settle before the creaking stops. I just did this with my stem/bars and it creaked for the first few rides, only when putting weight on the bars though.

Alphonso

I had the exact problem you describe. Turned out to be the thread on the pedals. A little lube, problem fixed.

Homebrew01

Huh ?

Hocam

Cable rub can creak too.

garysol1 

If I recall you have a Tarmac Expert which I assume has Ksyrium wheels. Lube up and tighten your skewers before you do anything else.

Tarmacguy

I have it at the shop today being looked at, i am getting them to pull the forks out and check the bearings...i cant beleive how many pple have said it might be my skewers, i have checked this at all, i was certain when i put my head next to the head tube the noise is coming from there...

wHAT SORT OF LUBE DO I USE, PPLE ARE SAYING LUBE IT UP, WHAT SORT OF LUBE ARE WE TALKING PLEASE?

Surferbruce

i put a thin layer of grease on my skewers and dropouts.

oilman_15106

If you have alloy bar and stem connection a very light layer of grease will most likely resolve the isssue.

Do a search on noises and Mechanics fourm is a great place for issues like this. Good luck.

oilman_15106

Almost forgot this trick. If you have an indoor trainer, put the bike in the trainer and see if you can "make" the noise happen. If so, get a buddie to listen using a tube from a roll of paper towels to isolate the location of the noise. May only get you to the general location of the noise but this has worked for me numerous times.

garysol1 

I replaced a BB last year due to a noisy freehub. Point is noise travels.