bike is creaking -- bottom bracket?

Monique Y. Mudama said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail. I and others
have utterly failed in producing the creaking sound anywhere
off-trail, but the second it gets onto the trail, my bike starts to
creak.

{big snip}

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on isolating the problem and/or what would need to be done
to fix it? Do I need to stay off the trails till this is resolved?

Nah, creaks are /usually/ mere annoyances, especially on newish bikes.

My guess: headset (does it only happen when you hit obstacles with front
wheel?), shock mounts (dab a little TriFlo on 'em), metal cable ferule
thingys (TriFlo again your friend), or BB (try tightening crank bolts first;
otherwise LBS or mechanic friend).

Bill "up creak with a pedal?" S.

Monique Y. Mudama said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail. I and others have

Check out
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/creaking_and_squeaking.shtml

From my experience...
Does the bike creak while standing and pedalling? If yes, then it
probably isn't seatpost or saddle related. If the bike only creaks
while seated, try lubing the seatpost/frame and seatpost/saddle rail
interfaces.

While stationary, stand over the top tube and press down on the
handlebars, compressing the front shock. Does it creak? If yes, then
try pressing down on the stem, instead of the bars. If it no longer
creaks, it could be the bar/stem interface -- lube that. If it still
creaks when pressing down on the stem, try lubing the stem/steerer
interface.

Try swapping out the pedals for a pair of platform pedals. If that
eliminates the squeak, its obviously a pedal/cleat/shoe problem. Lube
all that up.

If none of that works... If the bike only creaks while pedalling hard,
try tightening the chainring bolts. Still creaking? Maybe the bottom
bracket. Have you been riding lots of wet trails? The grease between
the bottom bracket shell and frame may have been washed away. Remove,
regrease, and reinstall. I usually have to do this about once a year on
my bike. I get creaking that only occurs under hard pedal pressure. It
doesn't occur at and specific time in the pedal stroke, and it is
somewhat intermittent.

justen at cable one dot net

Monique Y. Mudama said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail.

(snip)

Quoted message said:

I'm not sure if it ever happens when I'm not pedalling, but it's not
in time to my pedalling, either. I did notice today that I seem to
feel a "click" through my pedals when it happens, at least some of
the time. Like I'm feeling the faint ripples from something happening
deeper in the bike.
(snip)

Is the chain clean?

--
- Zilla
Cary, NC
(Remove XSPAM)

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

Quoted message said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail. I and others have
utterly failed in producing the creaking sound anywhere off-trail, but
the second it gets onto the trail, my bike starts to creak.

I had a friend and mechanic look it over in general and told him about
the creaking; he couldn't find it, but he didn't have a ton of time to
work on my bike before heading out of town. Pivots have been lubed (or
whatever it is one does to them); the sound doesn't seem to be related
to compressing/releasing either shock, based on the bunny hop test.

I'm not sure if it ever happens when I'm not pedalling, but it's not in
time to my pedalling, either. I did notice today that I seem to feel a
"click" through my pedals when it happens, at least some of the time.
Like I'm feeling the faint ripples from something happening deeper in
the bike.

Another friend suggested maybe it's a bottom bracket thing; could that
be? I'll admit to being a little fuzzy about the nature and purpose of
the bottom bracket, but according to the spec sheet, the one I have is
an Isis Spline.

I'm considering taking it back to the shop where I bought it for a
look-see, but I don't expect they'll be all that thorough, so I want to
be sure that I point them to as narrow a problem band as is possible.

I also wondered if maybe the seatpost was creaking, but I'm not sure how
to tell; I doubt pushing on it with my hands exerts nearly the force my,
um, sitbones do. It occurs to me that the difference between riding it
on trails and on roads is that trails involve a lot more lateral motion
as I move my body to deal with obstacles ...

Any ideas on isolating the problem and/or what would need to be done to
fix it? Do I need to stay off the trails till this is resolved?

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

Hmm.... Since it is such an isolated problem, perhaps it is the trails that
are creaking. Lube them?

PaulW

On 2004-08-01, Zilla penned:

Quoted message said:

Monique Y. Mudama said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail.

(snip)

Quoted message said:

I'm not sure if it ever happens when I'm not pedalling, but it's not
in time to my pedalling, either. I did notice today that I seem to
feel a "click" through my pedals when it happens, at least some of
the time. Like I'm feeling the faint ripples from something happening
deeper in the bike. (snip)

Is the chain clean?

Yes, that was one of the first things I tried.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-01, PaulW penned:

Quoted message said:

Hmm.... Since it is such an isolated problem, perhaps it is the trails
that are creaking. Lube them?

A nice thought, but far too many miles ... I couldn't afford it!

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-01, justen penned:

Quoted message said:

Monique Y. Mudama said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail. I and others
have

Check out
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/creaking_and_squeaking.shtml

Thanks.

Quoted message said:

From my experience... Does the bike creak while standing and
pedalling? If yes, then it probably isn't seatpost or saddle
related. If the bike only creaks while seated, try lubing the
seatpost/frame and seatpost/saddle rail interfaces.

I don't stand and pedal ... it does happen on downhills when my butt's
back, but I think I'm still putting weight on it then.

Quoted message said:

While stationary, stand over the top tube and press down on the
handlebars, compressing the front shock. Does it creak? If yes, then
try pressing down on the stem, instead of the bars. If it no longer
creaks, it could be the bar/stem interface -- lube that. If it still
creaks when pressing down on the stem, try lubing the stem/steerer
interface.

No. Let me reiterate: I can't seem to cause the creak when I'm not
riding a trail. I've tried pushing, compressing, etc. the bike in all
sorts of ways, and it's quiet as a mouse throughout.

Quoted message said:

Try swapping out the pedals for a pair of platform pedals. If that
eliminates the squeak, its obviously a pedal/cleat/shoe problem. Lube
all that up.

I'm not clipped in as often as I am ... but the pedal thing is worth
looking at. Again, though, this doesn't happen at all riding around the
neighborhood.

Quoted message said:

If none of that works... If the bike only creaks while pedalling
hard, try tightening the chainring bolts. Still creaking? Maybe the
bottom bracket. Have you been riding lots of wet trails? The grease
between the bottom bracket shell and frame may have been washed away.
Remove, regrease, and reinstall. I usually have to do this about once
a year on my bike. I get creaking that only occurs under hard pedal
pressure. It doesn't occur at and specific time in the pedal stroke,
and it is somewhat intermittent.

I don't know that I'd call them wet trails, but I've had to deal with
some mud puddles and water this season. That description sounds more in
line with what I've experienced than any other description I've read.

I'm not feeling all that well today, so rather than riding I may drop by
the shop and ask them to look at it.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-01, S o r n i penned:

Quoted message said:

Monique Y. Mudama said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail. I and others
have utterly failed in producing the creaking sound anywhere
off-trail, but the second it gets onto the trail, my bike starts to
creak.

{big snip}

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on isolating the problem and/or what would need to be done
to fix it? Do I need to stay off the trails till this is resolved?

Nah, creaks are /usually/ mere annoyances, especially on newish bikes.

My guess: headset (does it only happen when you hit obstacles with
front wheel?), shock mounts (dab a little TriFlo on 'em), metal cable
ferule thingys (TriFlo again your friend), or BB (try tightening crank
bolts first; otherwise LBS or mechanic friend).

I don't know what metal cable ferule thingies are ...?

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

I have a creak in my saddle, only when I'm sitting and grinding. I have
another creak that is in time to my pedaling, and I've decided it's got
to be the bottom bracket, which the shop tells me can only be replaced.

Time for a new bike when I can afford it.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

On 2004-08-01, Raptor penned:

Quoted message said:

I have a creak in my saddle, only when I'm sitting and grinding. I
have another creak that is in time to my pedaling, and I've decided
it's got to be the bottom bracket, which the shop tells me can only be
replaced.

Time for a new bike when I can afford it.

Your bottom bracket is as expensive as a new bike??

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

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

Quoted message said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail. I and others have
utterly failed in producing the creaking sound anywhere off-trail, but
the second it gets onto the trail, my bike starts to creak.

An easy check of the bottom bracket (BB) is to drop the chain of the
chainrings onto the BB shell. Place the nose of the saddle in your ear and
spin the cranks. The sound of the bearings will be transmitted thru the
frame and you should hear a smooth steady whoosh-whoosh sound if they are
good. Any grinding or clicking may indicate bad bearings. Also the BB
itself could be loose in the frame. Grab both crank arms and push them
forcefully back and forth to see if the BB axle has any play. Have the BB
removed, clean the threads and put it back in using teflon plumbers tape or
silicone RTV tub sealer on the threads. Next check the pedals for
looseness. Then the seatpost and clamp, remove and clean, lube and replace.
Oh and check the rear wheel skewer, undo and reset.

Mike

Monique Y. Mudama said:

Quoted message said:

Try swapping out the pedals for a pair of platform pedals. If that
eliminates the squeak, its obviously a pedal/cleat/shoe problem. Lube
all that up.

I'm not clipped in as often as I am ... but the pedal thing is worth
looking at. Again, though, this doesn't happen at all riding around the
neighborhood.

Agreed. I rode a bike for a year with a creaking problem. I took it to
numerous shops, trying to find the source of the creak. I tightened the
hell out of my bottom bracket, because that's what everyone told me was
loose... but it ended up being the pedals! All I needed to do was place a
washer between the pedal and the crank arm and that sound disappeared.
I've noticed some cranksets come with these washers, but others don't. I
use them on all my bikes now, however.

John M

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on isolating the problem and/or what would need to be done
to fix it? Do I need to stay off the trails till this is resolved?

Do you think that maybe you can't hear it when you're on the trail, whereas
on pavement it's quieter, and thus, more apparent to you?

I have a pretty mad creak, but only when pedaling really hard. Doesn't
bother me otherwise.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Monique Y. Mudama said...

Quoted message said:

My bike is creaking whenever I take it onto a trail. I and others have
utterly failed in producing the creaking sound anywhere off-trail, but
the second it gets onto the trail, my bike starts to creak.

I had a friend and mechanic look it over in general and told him about
the creaking; he couldn't find it, but he didn't have a ton of time to
work on my bike before heading out of town. Pivots have been lubed (or
whatever it is one does to them); the sound doesn't seem to be related
to compressing/releasing either shock, based on the bunny hop test.

I'm not sure if it ever happens when I'm not pedalling, but it's not in
time to my pedalling, either. I did notice today that I seem to feel a
"click" through my pedals when it happens, at least some of the time.
Like I'm feeling the faint ripples from something happening deeper in
the bike.

Another friend suggested maybe it's a bottom bracket thing; could that
be? I'll admit to being a little fuzzy about the nature and purpose of
the bottom bracket, but according to the spec sheet, the one I have is
an Isis Spline.

I'm considering taking it back to the shop where I bought it for a
look-see, but I don't expect they'll be all that thorough, so I want to
be sure that I point them to as narrow a problem band as is possible.

I also wondered if maybe the seatpost was creaking, but I'm not sure how
to tell; I doubt pushing on it with my hands exerts nearly the force my,
um, sitbones do. It occurs to me that the difference between riding it
on trails and on roads is that trails involve a lot more lateral motion
as I move my body to deal with obstacles ...

Any ideas on isolating the problem and/or what would need to be done to
fix it? Do I need to stay off the trails till this is resolved?

Just some random thoughts:
It could be the bottom bracket. Isis bottom brackets are hit and miss,
which is probably why Race Face is moving away from them and Chris King
never made one. I haven't had any problems with my Isis BB yet, but
YMMV.

Could be BB/crank interface, a notorious source of creaking. Have them
retorqed or reassembled with grease if you can't find the problem
elsewhere.

Seat post and saddles are also notorious sources for creaking. Try
reassembling with a very light coating of grease. Personally, I have
grown to dislike QR mechanisms and don't use them for wheels or seat
post collars. It is easier to get them properly tightened, they are more
theft resistant, and I need to carry an allen wrench of that size
anyway.

Check for loose sprockets. Mine loosened on me last week out of the
blue.

IIRC, you have new and pricey Shimano pedals, so I doubt they are going
bad, but there may be some grit lodged in the spindle somewhere. Same
with the BB and suspension pivots.

Brake pad rub can cause some creaking sounds. Your Avid pads are
adjustable with the red knobs.

Could be something as simple as a frozen chain link or a derailer pulley
bearing.

Could be a cracked frame or bad suspension pivot.

Monique Y. Mudama said:

I don't know what metal cable ferule thingies are ...?

They're the metal end-caps that go on the cable housings in the stops built
into the frame.

Bill "sounding authoritative" S.

(PS: Still betting on headset, since noisy only on trails. Try riding off
a curb and see if it creaks.)

ZeeExSixAre said:

Do you think that maybe you can't hear it when you're on the trail,
whereas on pavement it's quieter, and thus, more apparent to you?

Umm, read her OP again.

Bill "bass ackwards" S.

On 2004-08-01, ZeeExSixAre penned:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on isolating the problem and/or what would need to be done
to fix it? Do I need to stay off the trails till this is resolved?

Do you think that maybe you can't hear it when you're on the trail,
whereas on pavement it's quieter, and thus, more apparent to you?

I don't think that, but I could be wrong =)

Quoted message said:

I have a pretty mad creak, but only when pedaling really hard.
Doesn't bother me otherwise.

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

On 2004-08-01, Monique Y. Mudama penned:

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on isolating the problem and/or what would need to be done
to fix it? Do I need to stay off the trails till this is resolved?

I took it to the shop today. A nice wrench named Austin spent two hours
trying every conceivable thing. He couldn't find the creak, either, but
definitely noticed and was flummoxed by the "click" while pedalling. He
was able to reproduce the click at will, though.

While I was there, he tightened the headset, he tightened the spot where
the rear shock is attached to the frame (he said that was quite loose --
eek!), and he removed the pedals and reattached them with lube and
whatnot, also lubing the pedals themselves.

He tried swapping out the BB for a new one to stop the clicking, but
that made not a bit of a difference. At least I didn't have to pay for
a new BB, I suppose. Finally he tore down most of the rear of the bike
to get to the pivots. He found a cracked plastic washer-looking thing
that he said shouldn't have been there in the first place; he also found
some corrosion on one of the screws, so he lubed that before putting it
all back together. After removing the cracked plastic intruder, the
clicking is gone.

For all that, I was charged $10 for labor and $3 for parts. He said it
"shouldn't have taken as long as it did." Well, maybe so, but still,
awfully nice.

We'll have to see if any of the above fixed the creaking -- he didn't
see an obvious culprit.

At least I'm pretty sure that, if my bike continues to creak, it's not a
sign that something's falling apart -- maybe the bike just likes to
creak?

I'd like to find out, but it's 94 out and I'm still pretty bushed from
yesterday's rides. Instead, I will flag trails in my brand new Front
Range Singletracks book. Maybe I'll venture outdoors when it's a bit
cooler ...

--
monique

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
-- Mark Twain

Paul sez:

Quoted message said:

Hmm.... Since it is such an isolated problem, perhaps it is the trails that
are creaking. Lube them?

LOL! Now THAT'S thinking outside the box.

T o m Dillon
Lakewood, CO
Z to S to email