Mysterious Creaking...Please HELP!

Brian <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I need help eliminating a creaking sound.

: Specs: I have an Abici XLR8R that is an aluminum frame with carbon seat stays and carbon fork.
: Campy Chorus groupo, 3T stem and handlebars. It has Approx. 5000 miles on it.

: The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and when I ride in the saddle. The creak
: occurs when there is tension in the pedals above approximately 15 mph. So you hear the creaking
: when climbing and when pushing on flats. I have tried two wheel sets (Mavic Open Pro, Campy
: Protons) both with different skewers and the creak is still there. I cant quite tell exactly where
: the creak is coming from since it resonates in the aluminum frame. I took it to my LBS and this is
: what was done:

: -BB pulled and regreased -Chain ring bolts regreased and tightened -Cranks pulled and spindles
: regreased -Crank bolts greased, cranks tightened -Seat post greased -Rear derailleur drop out
: greased -Pedals (Speedplay, X2s) removed and regreased (note: creak appears with just riding on
: regular tennis shoes) -Different Saddles have been used too -No cracks have been found at any of
: the aluminum bonds upon inspection

: The creak doesnt get any louder when really pushing up hill or when even attacking uphill or
: doing TTs.

: I am stumped, frustrated and need any advice that you can offer. Any help is much
: appreciated. Thanks.

: Brian

Grease the handlebars.

--------------------------------
Bob Masse' [email hidden]
--------------------------------

"Brian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I need help eliminating a creaking sound.

Specs: I have an Abici XLR8R that is an aluminum frame with

carbon seat stays

Quoted message said:

and carbon fork. Campy Chorus groupo, 3T stem and

handlebars. It has

Quoted message said:

Approx. 5000 miles on it.

The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and

when I ride in

Quoted message said:

the saddle. The creak occurs when there is tension in the

pedals

Quoted message said:

above approximately 15 mph. So you hear the creaking when

climbing

Quoted message said:

and when pushing on flats. I have tried two wheel sets

(Mavic Open

Quoted message said:

Pro, Campy Protons) both with different skewers and the

creak is still

Quoted message said:

there. I cant quite tell exactly where the creak is

coming from since

Quoted message said:

it resonates in the aluminum frame. I took it to my LBS

and this is

Quoted message said:

what was done:

-BB pulled and regreased -Chain ring bolts regreased and tightened -Cranks pulled and spindles
regreased -Crank bolts greased, cranks tightened -Seat post greased -Rear derailleur drop out
greased -Pedals (Speedplay, X2s) removed and regreased (note:

creak appears

Quoted message said:

with just riding on regular tennis shoes) -Different Saddles have been used too -No cracks have
been found at any of the aluminum bonds

upon

Quoted message said:

inspection

The creak doesnt get any louder when really pushing up

hill or when

Quoted message said:

even attacking uphill or doing TTs.

I am stumped, frustrated and need any advice that you can

offer. Any

Quoted message said:

help is much appreciated. Thanks.

Brian

May not be applicable to your case, since you've tried two wheelsets, but I just fixed a 'creak' on
my aluminum road bike by following the recommendations of Peter Chisolm at Vecchio's Bicicletteria
in an old post on this newsgroup - which was to remove the cassette, grease the freehub splines, and
tighten the cassette lockring to spec....

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brian <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I need help eliminating a creaking sound.

: Specs: I have an Abici XLR8R that is an aluminum frame with carbon seat stays and carbon fork.
: Campy Chorus groupo, 3T stem and handlebars. It has Approx. 5000 miles on it.

: The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and when I ride in the saddle. The creak
: occurs when there is tension in the pedals above approximately 15 mph. So you hear the creaking
: when climbing and when pushing on flats. I have tried two wheel sets (Mavic Open Pro, Campy
: Protons) both with different skewers and the creak is still there. I cant quite tell exactly
: where the creak is coming from since it resonates in the aluminum frame. I took it to my LBS and
: this is what was done:

: -BB pulled and regreased -Chain ring bolts regreased and tightened -Cranks pulled and spindles
: regreased -Crank bolts greased, cranks tightened -Seat post greased -Rear derailleur drop out
: greased -Pedals (Speedplay, X2s) removed and regreased (note: creak appears with just riding on
: regular tennis shoes) -Different Saddles have been used too -No cracks have been found at any of
: the aluminum bonds upon inspection

: The creak doesnt get any louder when really pushing up hill or when even attacking uphill or
: doing TTs.

: I am stumped, frustrated and need any advice that you can offer. Any help is much appreciated.
: Thanks.

: Brian

Grease the handlebars.

--------------------------------
Bob Masse' [email hidden]
--------------------------------

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago and went through all of the drive train and seat
related tightening and greasing to no avail. I was convinced that it was the bottom bracket. Turned
out to be a stem / bar issue.

Try riding no hands with force on the pedals and see if the problem is still there.

Bill Brannon

Same problem here. Turned out to be my cleat bolts needed a little grease and tightened up
real tight.

"Bill" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brian <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I need help eliminating a creaking sound.

: Specs: I have an Abici XLR8R that is an aluminum frame with carbon seat stays and carbon fork.
: Campy Chorus groupo, 3T stem and handlebars. It has Approx. 5000 miles on it.

: The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and when I ride in the saddle. The creak
: occurs when there is tension in the pedals above approximately 15 mph. So you hear the
: creaking when climbing and when pushing on flats. I have tried two wheel sets (Mavic Open Pro,
: Campy Protons) both with different skewers and the creak is still there. I cant quite tell
: exactly where the creak is coming from since it resonates in the aluminum frame. I took it to
: my LBS and this is what was done:

: -BB pulled and regreased -Chain ring bolts regreased and tightened -Cranks pulled and spindles
: regreased -Crank bolts greased, cranks tightened -Seat post greased -Rear derailleur drop out
: greased -Pedals (Speedplay, X2s) removed and regreased (note: creak appears with just riding
: on regular tennis shoes) -Different Saddles have been used too -No cracks have been found at
: any of the aluminum bonds upon inspection

: The creak doesnt get any louder when really pushing up hill or when even attacking uphill or
: doing TTs.

: I am stumped, frustrated and need any advice that you can offer. Any help is much appreciated.
: Thanks.

: Brian

Grease the handlebars.

--------------------------------
Bob Masse' [email hidden]
--------------------------------

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago and went through all of the drive train and seat
related tightening and greasing to no avail. I was convinced that it was the bottom bracket.
Turned out to be a stem / bar issue.

Try riding no hands with force on the pedals and see if the problem is

still

Quoted message said:

there.

Bill Brannon

"George Maxwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Same problem here. Turned out to be my cleat bolts needed a little grease and tightened up
real tight.

Hear hear... mine need to be greased/tightened, too. I can tell it's from the stem anyways.

OP, if your LBS didn't think about the handlebars, then you may want to find another monkey house to
do your work, especially on that bike.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Brian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I need help eliminating a creaking sound.

<snip>

I too have been the victim of various creaks that were hard-to-find over the years:

- Stem/handlebar, make sure the clamp is clean and tightend correctly
- Headset bearing, too me ages to spot that, thought it was the BB (!)
- Hub/dropout, this is the killer one. I have Rolf Vector Pros and Marzocchi carbon forks, and the
bike makes a real din out of the saddle, unless I grease the fork dropouts.

bkey-<< The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and when I ride in the saddle.

<< -Cranks pulled and spindles regreased

No comment-

Remove the seatpost, warm some boiled lindseed oil and dribble into seat tube. Move the frameset
around to coat the seattube/BB shell interface. Try to get some into the seatstay to the carbon stay
if possible. I have fixed mysterious creaks on a Ellsworth, C-Dale, Pinarello and DeRosa doing this.
It lubes the sometimes poor miter of the seattube to the BB on aluminum...try it.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

I had a mysterious creak on my Giant. Turned out to be the handle bars. Grease and retighten.

Good Luck.:eek:

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Brian
I need help eliminating a creaking sound.

Specs: I have an Abici XLR8R that is an aluminum frame with carbon seat stays and carbon fork. Campy
Chorus groupo, 3T stem and handlebars. It has Approx. 5000 miles on it.

The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and when I ride in the saddle. The creak occurs
when there is tension in the pedals above approximately 15 mph. So you hear the creaking when
climbing and when pushing on flats. I have tried two wheel sets (Mavic Open Pro, Campy Protons) both
with different skewers and the creak is still there. I cant quite tell exactly where the creak is
coming from since it resonates in the aluminum frame. I took it to my LBS and this is what was done:

-BB pulled and regreased -Chain ring bolts regreased and tightened -Cranks pulled and spindles
regreased -Crank bolts greased, cranks tightened -Seat post greased -Rear derailleur drop out
greased -Pedals (Speedplay, X2s) removed and regreased (note: creak appears with just riding on
regular tennis shoes) -Different Saddles have been used too -No cracks have been found at any of the
aluminum bonds upon inspection

The creak doesnt get any louder when really pushing up hill or when even attacking uphill or
doing TTs.

I am stumped, frustrated and need any advice that you can offer. Any help is much
appreciated. Thanks.

Brian

I have a Cannondale R4000 road bike, CAAD4 frame. C's are notorious for creaking. Or maybe it's aluminum frames that are especially susceptible to creaking. Here's what I've done, beginning with the easiest: 1) remove, grease, and reinstall the screws holding your water bottle cages to the frame - I've actually had creaking caused by these screws; 2) remove, clean and grease your seat stem; 3) remove, clean and grease the handlebar stem (I've got a threaded setup); 4) remove the cogs and clean and grease the spindle; 5) disassemble your chainrings, grease the screws that hold the chainrings together, and reassemble. What I've always thought was creaking caused by the BB turned out to be one of the things above.

Hope this helps.

Saddle may be too far up/back against tube up-slope, happened to me. Take a look at your cassette,
may be loose. Could be carbon/alu bonding issue? Ken

On 22 Aug 2003 16:34:14 +0950, CycleSteve

Quoted message said:

Brian said:

I need help eliminating a creaking sound. Specs: I have an Abici XLR8R that is an aluminum
frame with carbon seat stays and carbon fork. Campy Chorus groupo, 3T stem and handlebars. It
has Approx. 5000 miles on it. The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and when I
ride in the saddle. The creak occurs when there is tension in the pedals above approximately 15
mph. So you hear the creaking when climbing and when pushing on flats. I have tried two wheel
sets (Mavic Open Pro, Campy Protons) both with different skewers and the creak is still there.
I cant quite tell exactly where the creak is coming from since it resonates in the aluminum
frame. I took it to my LBS and this is what was done: -BB pulled and regreased -Chain ring
bolts regreased and tightened -Cranks pulled and spindles regreased -Crank bolts greased,
cranks tightened -Seat post greased -Rear derailleur drop out greased -Pedals (Speedplay, X2s)
removed and regreased (note: creak appears with just riding on regular tennis shoes) -Different
Saddles have been used too -No cracks have been found at any of the aluminum bonds upon
inspection The creak doesnt get any louder when really pushing up hill or when even attacking
uphill or doing TTs. I am stumped, frustrated and need any advice that you can offer. Any help
is much appreciated. Thanks. Brian

I have a Cannondale R4000 road bike, CAAD4 frame. C's are notorious for creaking. Or maybe it's
aluminum frames that are especially susceptible to creaking. Here's what I've done, beginning with
the easiest: 1) remove, grease, and reinstall the screws holding your water bottle cages to the
frame - I've actually had creaking caused by these screws; 2) remove, clean and grease your seat
stem; 3) remove, clean and grease the handlebar stem (I've got a threaded setup); 4) remove the
cogs and clean and grease the spindle; 5) disassemble your chainrings, grease the screws that hold
the chainrings together, and reassemble. What I've always thought was creaking caused by the BB
turned out to be one of the things above.

Hope this helps.

x-no-archive:yes

Quoted message said:

Brian said:

I need help eliminating a creaking sound.

I was plagued with a mysterious creaking sound and it turned out to be my Look pedal cleats. I was
told to remove the cleats, file down the edges, clean the shoe bottom , and remount the cleats.
Since then---no creaking! I suggest you try riding your bike wearing tennis shoes to see if the
creaking disappears. That is what I found out. BTW: this started after a 100K that was mostly done
in a light rain. I oiled the pedals, too.

Pat in TX

I had a Colnago c-40 in my shop who's owner had tried everything. It turned out to be a loose screw
atop the dropout connecting the carbon stay plug to the drop. Tom
--
Bruni Bicycles "Where art meets science" brunibicycles.com
410.426.3420 CycleSteve <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brian said:

I need help eliminating a creaking sound. Specs: I have an Abici XLR8R that is an aluminum
frame with carbon

seat

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stays and carbon fork. Campy Chorus groupo, 3T stem and handlebars. It has Approx. 5000 miles
on it. The creaking occurs both when I stand on the pedals and when I ride in the saddle. The
creak occurs when there is tension in the pedals above approximately 15 mph. So you hear the
creaking when climbing and when pushing on flats. I have tried two wheel sets (Mavic Open Pro,
Campy Protons) both with different skewers and the creak is still there. I cant quite tell
exactly where the creak is coming from since it resonates in the aluminum frame. I took it to
my LBS and this is what was done: -BB pulled and regreased -Chain ring bolts regreased and
tightened -Cranks pulled and spindles regreased -Crank bolts greased, cranks tightened -Seat
post greased -Rear derailleur drop out greased -Pedals (Speedplay, X2s) removed and regreased
(note: creak appears with just riding on regular tennis shoes) -Different Saddles have been
used too -No cracks have been found at any of the aluminum bonds upon

inspection

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The creak doesnt get any louder when really pushing up hill or when

even

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

attacking uphill or doing TTs. I am stumped, frustrated and need any advice that you can
offer. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks. Brian

I have a Cannondale R4000 road bike, CAAD4 frame. C's are notorious for creaking. Or maybe it's
aluminum frames that are especially susceptible to creaking. Here's what I've done, beginning with
the easiest: 1) remove, grease, and reinstall the screws holding your water bottle cages to the
frame - I've actually had creaking caused by these screws; 2) remove, clean and grease your seat
stem; 3) remove, clean and grease the handlebar stem (I've got a threaded setup); 4) remove the
cogs and clean and grease the spindle; 5) disassemble your chainrings, grease the screws that hold
the chainrings together, and reassemble. What I've always thought was creaking caused by the BB
turned out to be one of the things above.

Hope this helps.

--

Quoted message said:

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