BIKE NOISES your pet peeve and how did you get ride of it

[Polly]

Hi

Well heres a brand new thread.
We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of, some
which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally we
truimphed over them.

I had one customers bike..worked perfectly except weird crank noise.. I was
sure he needed new cranks as I took them off cleaned them and reinstalled
them with a torque wrench still creak creak.

Well new cranks didnt solve it..
At some point I felt like ripping out my hair..
His bb was on the way out..so I replaced that, greased where the seat rails
are, replaced the pedals, put the old crank back on..made sure all the
chainring bolts are tight. I think after that
it was good but I guess i WAS HALLUcinating at that point and was unsure if
there was a noise still.. in fact I was sure I could see gnomes running
around the shop at that point..(thats another story the bike gnomes)

In any case the customer took it out and had a big smile on his face I was
almost in tears.. oh well..

Polly

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

Polly wrote:

> Hi
>
> Well heres a brand new thread.
> We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of, some
> which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally we
> truimphed over them.
>
> I had one customers bike..worked perfectly except weird crank noise.. I was
> sure he needed new cranks as I took them off cleaned them and reinstalled
> them with a torque wrench still creak creak.

I currently have a creak on the touring bike when I push down on the
left pedal. I checked the crankbolts [1], removed and regreased the
pedal threads but it's still there. The BB will have to come out next.
Tedious.

[1] I don't make a habit of this - I check them 50 miles after fitting
then put the bolts in with threadlock. They were tight anyway.

 

[M-gineering]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:


>
> I currently have a creak on the touring bike when I push down on the
> left pedal. I checked the crankbolts [1], removed and regreased the
> pedal threads but it's still there. The BB will have to come out next.

Is the cage firmly attached to the pedalbody?
--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 15:25:47 -0400, "Polly" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Hi
>
>Well heres a brand new thread.
>We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of, some
>which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally we
>truimphed over them.

Someone who shall remain nameless (you would not know this person,
trust me) kept griping about a creak in the rear wheel of the bike.

It sounded to me like there was a faint one in the BB, so I greased
and reinstalled it; I couldn't hear anything, but the rider said the
noise was still there. So, I did the lube-the-spoke-nipples thing,
figuring that perhaps it was a spoke creaking. Rider said it was
still there. I'm thinking "WTF?"; I pulled the chain off and swapped
it with one from a bike of mine that I knew had no noises. Rider says
the creak is still there. I go for a ride close beside the subject
bike and rider. A few minutes away from home, I know what the problem
is. I tell the rider that we need to swap bikes for a few minutes.
We do. A couple of minutes later, the rider says, "Hey your bike has
the exact same squeak."

It was the rider's fancy decorated leather belt creaking.


--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 20:57:33 GMT, Werehatrack
<[email protected]> wrote:

[snip]

>Someone who shall remain nameless (you would not know this person,
>trust me) kept griping about a creak in the rear wheel of the bike.
>
>It sounded to me like there was a faint one in the BB, so I greased
>and reinstalled it; I couldn't hear anything, but the rider said the
>noise was still there. So, I did the lube-the-spoke-nipples thing,
>figuring that perhaps it was a spoke creaking. Rider said it was
>still there. I'm thinking "WTF?"; I pulled the chain off and swapped
>it with one from a bike of mine that I knew had no noises. Rider says
>the creak is still there. I go for a ride close beside the subject
>bike and rider. A few minutes away from home, I know what the problem
>is. I tell the rider that we need to swap bikes for a few minutes.
>We do. A couple of minutes later, the rider says, "Hey your bike has
>the exact same squeak."
>
>It was the rider's fancy decorated leather belt creaking.
>

Dear Werehatrack,

Don't leave us in suspenders--er, suspense!

How did you fix the belt-creaking problem?

Was the belt buckle, despite your Texas locale, of
inadequate size, requiring an upgrade from a modest 4H
buckle to an overwhelming Rodeo model?

Or was a knee in the rider's belly, followed by a heave on
the saddle girth, so to speak, sufficient to stop the saddle
from creaking?

Or was fan-belt dressing sufficient to silence the noisy
personal support?

A careful reading of your poignant tale reveals no clues to
gender--no "he" or "his" in the expected places. I beg you
to defend the flower of Texas feminity from unfounded
suspicion and assert that this gut-busting, belt-creaking
mystery rider was a he, not a she.

Molly Ivins

 

[Trevor Jeffrey]

M-gineering wrote in message ...
>Zog The Undeniable wrote:
>
>
>>
>> I currently have a creak on the touring bike when I push down on the
>> left pedal. I checked the crankbolts [1], removed and regreased the
>> pedal threads but it's still there. The BB will have to come out next.
>
>Is the cage firmly attached to the pedalbody?

It's the cleat.

Trevor

 

[dianne_1234]

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 15:25:47 -0400, "Polly" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Hi
>
>Well heres a brand new thread.
>We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of, some
>which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally we
>truimphed over them.
>
>I had one customers bike..worked perfectly except weird crank noise.. I was
>sure he needed new cranks as I took them off cleaned them and reinstalled
>them with a torque wrench still creak creak.
>
>Well new cranks didnt solve it..
>At some point I felt like ripping out my hair..
> His bb was on the way out..so I replaced that, greased where the seat rails
>are, replaced the pedals, put the old crank back on..made sure all the
>chainring bolts are tight. I think after that
>it was good but I guess i WAS HALLUcinating at that point and was unsure if
>there was a noise still.. in fact I was sure I could see gnomes running
>around the shop at that point..(thats another story the bike gnomes)
>
>In any case the customer took it out and had a big smile on his face I was
>almost in tears.. oh well..
>
>Polly
>

Customer asks for bb overhaul. Done. Customer picks up bike.

Customer comes back, says the creak is still there. "What creak?" We
look again, overhaul bb again, check various things. Several employees
test ride, can hear no creak. Customer picks up bike.

Customer comes back, says the creak is still there. "Obviously you
guys don't know what you're doing!" Storms out.

Six weeks later, customer comes back. On crutches. Apologizes for
being rude earlier. Says the creak was in her knee and she's
recovering from surgery...

 

[KnowWhen2HoldemKnowWhen2Foldem]

Try some silicon spray on your cleat and the pedal mechanism that holds the
cleat.
It's a lot less hassle than a new BB if it works.

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:412b98f8.0@entanet...
> Polly wrote:
>
> > Hi
> >
> > Well heres a brand new thread.
> > We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of,
some
> > which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally
we
> > truimphed over them.
> >
> > I had one customers bike..worked perfectly except weird crank noise.. I
was
> > sure he needed new cranks as I took them off cleaned them and
reinstalled
> > them with a torque wrench still creak creak.
>
> I currently have a creak on the touring bike when I push down on the
> left pedal. I checked the crankbolts [1], removed and regreased the
> pedal threads but it's still there. The BB will have to come out next.
> Tedious.
>
> [1] I don't make a habit of this - I check them 50 miles after fitting
> then put the bolts in with threadlock. They were tight anyway.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 15:15:47 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

>How did you fix the belt-creaking problem?

I didn't. I just identified it to the rider and left the solution up
to the person involved.

>Was the belt buckle, despite your Texas locale, of
>inadequate size, requiring an upgrade from a modest 4H
>buckle to an overwhelming Rodeo model?

It wasn't what I'd have called a Western belt. Those are generally
cut from a thick hide, in a single strap, and tooled. This was sewn
together from two layers of thinner hide. That's why it could squeak.

>Or was a knee in the rider's belly, followed by a heave on
>the saddle girth, so to speak, sufficient to stop the saddle
>from creaking?

'Twarn't the gol-darned saddle what was raisin' the ruckus.

>Or was fan-belt dressing sufficient to silence the noisy
>personal support?

If that was what was used, I *do not* want to know. Nossir.

>A careful reading of your poignant tale reveals no clues to
>gender--no "he" or "his" in the expected places. I beg you
>to defend the flower of Texas feminity from unfounded
>suspicion and assert that this gut-busting, belt-creaking
>mystery rider was a he, not a she.

Y'know. sometimes we just have to keep some things under our hats.
There's lots of folks out there who might - I say *might* - have some
inkling of who the victim of this wardrobe malfunction was, but I'll
be the last one to give another clue. It's just safer that way.

And no, Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe tailor was not involved in
the construction of the belt in question.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Dave Kahn]

Werehatrack <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> It was the rider's fancy decorated leather belt creaking.

I had a faint chinking sound on my bike that was driving me mad. It
wasn't in time with the pedals or the wheels and I couldn't tell where
it was coming from. Some days it was there and some it wasn't. It was
only when I heard the same sound while riding another bike I realised
it was coming from me. It was the tag of the zip on my jersey bouncing
on the tag of the zip on my jacket.

--
Dave...

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

M-gineering wrote:

> Zog The Undeniable wrote:
>
>
>>
>> I currently have a creak on the touring bike when I push down on the
>> left pedal. I checked the crankbolts [1], removed and regreased the
>> pedal threads but it's still there. The BB will have to come out next.
>
>
> Is the cage firmly attached to the pedalbody?

SPDs, and yes.

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

KnowWhen2HoldemKnowWhen2Foldem wrote:

> Try some silicon spray on your cleat and the pedal mechanism that holds the
> cleat.
> It's a lot less hassle than a new BB if it works.

Done it already (GT85 anyway). I suspect the BB is moving in the frame
and needs reinstalling with fresh grease. It's been in there a long
time. Either that or something is cracked.

 

[Mark Janeba]

Polly wrote:
>
> Well heres a brand new thread.
> We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of, some
> which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally we
> truimphed over them.

OK, here's two of my successes (or at least partial solutions):

1) The proverbial Cinelli 1A creak (The Cinelli 1A is a classic, widely
used, now discontinued quill stem). First, grease *every*
metal-to-metal contact, including under the head of the expander bolt.
This will help but not completely eliminate squeaks.

I discovered my *real* problem with the 1A by examining the stem out of
the bike. The front of the quill has a gray/black mark where it rests
against the headset lockring. This says to me "aluminum rubbing on
aluminum." The stem binds to the steerer tube lower on the stem, but
where the stem exits the headset, there is a *small* amount of space
between the quill and steerer. I conjecture the stem is flexing in and
out of contact with the headset lockring here, and eventually wiping
away the grease.

My solution: wrap the relevant part of the stem with teflon tape. Be
careful to keep the binding portion of the quill clear of tape. Stuff
the whole thing into the steerer, and trim exposed tape as desired.
Seems to hold squeaks at bay for 400+ miles, though they return slowly
and faintly.

I've never had the same squeaking problems on wedge-type quill stems,
only the expander-types. That may be coincidence, what do you think?

2) The infamous Look pedal squeak: I find gray/black aluminum oxide
deposits on the very front edge/nose of my cleats. This part of the
cleat has rubbed the paint off where it contacts the pedal, so it's red
nylon to aluminum there. Cleaning off the gray/black stuff quiets the
pedals until more rubbing deposits more gray/black. A clean cloth does
a so-so job, fine sandpaper stops the squeak for much longer (and erodes
the cleat far less than I had feared). Dirt on cleats (walking in dirt
a club ride stops) brings on the gray/black deposits and the squeak
*very* fast. Cleaning and waxing the cleats and pedal contact points
doesn't last very long at all for me, but...

New cleats and religious use of cleat covers at stops (to keep cleats
clean) has held me for about 400 miles and may be a long-term solution.

Mark "hates the squeaks" Janeba

 

[mgagnonlv]

Polly wrote:
>
> Well heres a brand new thread.
> We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of, some
> which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally we
> truimphed over them.

OK, here's two of my successes (or at least partial solutions):

1) The proverbial Cinelli 1A creak (The Cinelli 1A is a classic, widely
used, now discontinued quill stem). First, grease *every*
metal-to-metal contact, including under the head of the expander bolt.
This will help but not completely eliminate squeaks.

I discovered my *real* problem with the 1A by examining the stem out of
the bike. The front of the quill has a gray/black mark where it rests
against the headset lockring. This says to me "aluminum rubbing on
aluminum." The stem binds to the steerer tube lower on the stem, but
where the stem exits the headset, there is a *small* amount of space
between the quill and steerer. I conjecture the stem is flexing in and
out of contact with the headset lockring here, and eventually wiping
away the grease.

My solution: wrap the relevant part of the stem with teflon tape. Be
careful to keep the binding portion of the quill clear of tape. Stuff
the whole thing into the steerer, and trim exposed tape as desired.
Seems to hold squeaks at bay for 400+ miles, though they return slowly
and faintly.

I've never had the same squeaking problems on wedge-type quill stems,
only the expander-types. That may be coincidence, what do you think?

2) The infamous Look pedal squeak: I find gray/black aluminum oxide
deposits on the very front edge/nose of my cleats. This part of the
cleat has rubbed the paint off where it contacts the pedal, so it's red
nylon to aluminum there. Cleaning off the gray/black stuff quiets the
pedals until more rubbing deposits more gray/black. A clean cloth does
a so-so job, fine sandpaper stops the squeak for much longer (and erodes
the cleat far less than I had feared). Dirt on cleats (walking in dirt
a club ride stops) brings on the gray/black deposits and the squeak
*very* fast. Cleaning and waxing the cleats and pedal contact points
doesn't last very long at all for me, but...

New cleats and religious use of cleat covers at stops (to keep cleats
clean) has held me for about 400 miles and may be a long-term solution.

Mark "hates the squeaks" Janeba

SPD shoes and pedals do creak if the shoes are worn. I find that problem when climbing hills and pulling on the pedals.

Some saddle rails and saddles creak. Brookes seem to have a "reputation" for it.

 

[Sheldon Brown]

I was working with some of the members of my son's Boy Scout troop on
the Cycling merit badge.

One of the patrol leaders had needed a bike for short money, and I'd
helped him buy a used Peugeot 10 speed. I had checked out the bike and
all seemed OK.

However, when we were on one of the 25 mile rides, I could hear this
annoying squeak coming from his bottom bracket area, as I thought.

We stopped and I checked the bike over again, nothing I could find was
squeaking. When we started up again, the squeaking resumed.

After repeating this several times, it occurred to him that the squeak
might have been coming from the hinge of the orthopedic knee brace he
was wearing under his trousers! A drop of oil fixed it.

Sheldon "Shhhhhh" Brown
+-----------------------------------------+
| If a fool would persist in his folly, |
| he would become wise. |
| --William Blake |
+-----------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[Trevor]

Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>Polly wrote:
>>
>> Well heres a brand new thread.
>> We have all had bike noises, some which we were able to get rid of of,
some
>> which we werent. Lets talk about the ones that were annoying and finally
we
>> truimphed over them.
>
>OK, here's two of my successes (or at least partial solutions):
>
>1) The proverbial Cinelli 1A creak (The Cinelli 1A is a classic, widely
>used, now discontinued quill stem). First, grease *every*
>metal-to-metal contact, including under the head of the expander bolt.
>This will help but not completely eliminate squeaks.
>
>I discovered my *real* problem with the 1A by examining the stem out of
>the bike. The front of the quill has a gray/black mark where it rests
>against the headset lockring. This says to me "aluminum rubbing on
>aluminum." The stem binds to the steerer tube lower on the stem, but
>where the stem exits the headset, there is a *small* amount of space
>between the quill and steerer. I conjecture the stem is flexing in and
>out of contact with the headset lockring here, and eventually wiping
>away the grease.
>
>My solution: wrap the relevant part of the stem with teflon tape. Be
>careful to keep the binding portion of the quill clear of tape. Stuff
>the whole thing into the steerer, and trim exposed tape as desired.
>Seems to hold squeaks at bay for 400+ miles, though they return slowly
>and faintly.
>
>I've never had the same squeaking problems on wedge-type quill stems,
>only the expander-types. That may be coincidence, what do you think?
>
>2) The infamous Look pedal squeak: I find gray/black aluminum oxide
>deposits on the very front edge/nose of my cleats. This part of the
>cleat has rubbed the paint off where it contacts the pedal, so it's red
>nylon to aluminum there. Cleaning off the gray/black stuff quiets the
>pedals until more rubbing deposits more gray/black. A clean cloth does
>a so-so job, fine sandpaper stops the squeak for much longer (and erodes
>the cleat far less than I had feared). Dirt on cleats (walking in dirt
>a club ride stops) brings on the gray/black deposits and the squeak
>*very* fast. Cleaning and waxing the cleats and pedal contact points
>doesn't last very long at all for me, but...
>
>New cleats and religious use of cleat covers at stops (to keep cleats
>clean) has held me for about 400 miles and may be a long-term solution.
>
Coincidence purely, squeak was within the bars only.

Trevor

 

[Mark Janeba]

Trevor wrote:
> Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>>OK, here's two of my successes (or at least partial solutions):
>>
>>1) The proverbial Cinelli 1A creak
>>2) The infamous Look pedal squeak:
>
> Coincidence purely, squeak was within the bars only.

Eh? Are you saying the squeak I experienced was within the bars? So
thought I at first, about 12000 miles ago. Replacing the bars with a
completely different model made no difference. The teflon tape on stem
solution makes a difference immediately, and is repeatable - when
squeaks start to return (slowly), repeated taping again removes them.

The pedals are *definitely* a separate squeak.

Mark "amazing what can be diagnosed from 5000 miles away" Janeba

 

[Trevor]

Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>Trevor wrote:
>> Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>>>OK, here's two of my successes (or at least partial solutions):
>>>
>>>1) The proverbial Cinelli 1A creak
>>>2) The infamous Look pedal squeak:
>>
>> Coincidence purely, squeak was within the bars only.
>
>Eh? Are you saying the squeak I experienced was within the bars? So
>thought I at first, about 12000 miles ago. Replacing the bars with a
>completely different model made no difference. The teflon tape on stem
>solution makes a difference immediately, and is repeatable - when
>squeaks start to return (slowly), repeated taping again removes them.
>
>The pedals are *definitely* a separate squeak.
>
>Mark "amazing what can be diagnosed from 5000 miles away" Janeba
>

The old, slightly larger diameter Cinellis, would squeak for further than
you say unless WD40 or suchlike was squirted between centre reinforcement
and bars. Lube between stem and bars made no difference. Your act of
refitting the bars may have been sufficient to eradicate the noise only
temporarily and the tape being superfluous.

Trevor

 

[Mark Janeba]

Trevor wrote:
> Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>
>>Trevor wrote:
>>
>>>Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>>>
>>>>OK, here's two of my successes (or at least partial solutions):
>>>>
>>>>1) The proverbial Cinelli 1A creak
>>>>2) The infamous Look pedal squeak:
>>>
>>>Coincidence purely, squeak was within the bars only.
>>
>>Eh? Are you saying the squeak I experienced was within the bars? So
>>thought I at first, about 12000 miles ago. Replacing the bars with a
>>completely different model made no difference. The teflon tape on stem
>>solution makes a difference immediately, and is repeatable - when
>>squeaks start to return (slowly), repeated taping again removes them.
>
> The old, slightly larger diameter Cinellis, would squeak for further than
> you say unless WD40 or suchlike was squirted between centre reinforcement
> and bars. Lube between stem and bars made no difference. Your act of
> refitting the bars may have been sufficient to eradicate the noise only
> temporarily and the tape being superfluous.

Sorry, Trevor, not this time.
The replacement bars had/have no center reinforcement, i.e. they are not
the old-style Cinellis. In spite of this, the squeak was still there
upon replacement. That pretty much rules out the center reinforcement
of the bars. Taping the stem as noted in my original post, however,
removes the squeak. Ironically, the reinforced Cinelli bars on my other
bike don't squeak.

Just because something used to be a very good answer doesn't mean it is
always the answer.

Mark Janeba

 

[Trevor]

Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>Trevor wrote:
>> Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>>
>>>Trevor wrote:
>>>
>>>>Mark Janeba wrote in message ...
>>>>
>>>>>OK, here's two of my successes (or at least partial solutions):
>>>>>
>>>>>1) The proverbial Cinelli 1A creak
>>>>>2) The infamous Look pedal squeak:
>>>>
>>>>Coincidence purely, squeak was within the bars only.
>>>
>>>Eh? Are you saying the squeak I experienced was within the bars? So
>>>thought I at first, about 12000 miles ago. Replacing the bars with a
>>>completely different model made no difference. The teflon tape on stem
>>>solution makes a difference immediately, and is repeatable - when
>>>squeaks start to return (slowly), repeated taping again removes them.
>>
>> The old, slightly larger diameter Cinellis, would squeak for further than
>> you say unless WD40 or suchlike was squirted between centre reinforcement
>> and bars. Lube between stem and bars made no difference. Your act of
>> refitting the bars may have been sufficient to eradicate the noise only
>> temporarily and the tape being superfluous.
>
>Sorry, Trevor, not this time.
>The replacement bars had/have no center reinforcement, i.e. they are not
>the old-style Cinellis. In spite of this, the squeak was still there
>upon replacement. That pretty much rules out the center reinforcement
>of the bars. Taping the stem as noted in my original post, however,
>removes the squeak. Ironically, the reinforced Cinelli bars on my other
>bike don't squeak.
>
>Just because something used to be a very good answer doesn't mean it is
>always the answer.
>

Clarity within the question would have been more of a help.
I was unaware your bars were without reinforcing sleeve.

Trevor]