Creaking noise, how can I stop it?

Mikey1280

I have recently noticed a horrible creaking noise from my decathlon 7.1, its worst when going up hills/pushing hard. It seems to be coming from the front of the bike, possibly the headset? How tight should the stem bolts and the vertical bolt to the star nut be? Is there a way to adjust the headset or clean it? I've only done 300 miles on the bike so it cant be the bottom bracket can it?

Anonymous

My bb was shot the first time I rode it. This was a 170 quid raleigh road bike though.If the headset is tight its not likely that. Id hedge my bets with the bb.

Smokin Joe

Creaks are hard to trace, their source is often nowhere near where thay appear to be coming from. If you are using clipless pedals check the tightness of the cleat bolts, they are a common cause.

Mikey1280

No clipless pedals here. Is there a way of finding out whether the bottom bracket is at fault?

stueyc

just had same thing...checked and tightened everywhere...took to lbs and it was bb come loose/not fitted right to start......10 mins and £6 later all sorted

richardast

Smokin Joe wrote:

Creaks are hard to trace, their source is often nowhere near where thay appear to be coming from.

Very true.
My last untraceable creak that seemed to be from the area of the BB was cured by removing, cleaning and re-greasing the seatpost.

jellybellywmb

If you have any play on the cranks (side to side) then it is your bottom bracket but bottom brackets in my experience tend to be more of a clicking noise than a creeek.

I was on my Giant SCR3 today and thought that an annoying creak was coming from the front but it turned out to be my saddle, It had slipped forward to far on the rails and was creaking.

So like others say it is very difficult to tell where its coming from so finding it is really trail and error.

Mikey1280

It still creeks even when out of the saddle so I suppose that rules out the saddle rails and the seatpost. Might take it to the LBS tomorrow if I cant sort it out soon. Should the starnut bolt be done up very tight?

Shaky

I've got a Decathlon Sport 2 and had a creaking/squeaking noise that took an age to find. Turned out to be a loose spoke. Might be worth checking them, if only to rule them out.

top_bhoy

Also check pedals, chainset and cranks are all properly tightened!!

synchronicity

Also check (tighten) the following:

seat - seatpost clamp mechanism. Lube if necessary.
stem - handlebar connection
lube quick release skewers

Mikey1280

Thanks for the tips guys, looks like its trial and error from here.

mercsport

Agree with all the above nostrums . Creaks are a sod to isolate . The last one that plagued me when I was sure it was the b/b , was cured by greasing the pedal's crank arm theads .

Mikey1280

Had a feel of the spokes and they dont appear to be loose, should the rear driveside spokes be tighter than the left hand side?

synchronicity

Mikey1280 wrote:

Had a feel of the spokes and they dont appear to be loose, should the rear driveside spokes be tighter than the left hand side?

Yes, because the rear wheel is 'dished' to make room for the cassette. That's why some manufacturers use fancy rear whel lacing patterns (campy g3 comes to mind). You can also use thinner non-drive spokes, use radial lacing on that side, and/or get a a rim with an assymmetrical (offset) spoke bed.

dennisn

LUBE SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVERY DAY YOU GO RIDING UNTIL YOU FIND IT.

DENNIS NOWARD

Mikey1280

On the subject of lube/grease is the expensive bike specific stuff really necessary? What's stopping me using vaseline? Do I have to buy a 15mm spanner for the pedals or can I get away with an adjustable one?

mercsport

"On the subject of lube/grease is the expensive bike specific stuff really necessary? What's stopping me using vaseline? Do I have to buy a 15mm spanner for the pedals or can I get away with an adjustable one?"

The trick with grease is that it stays greasy . I don't know about the powers of vaseline but suspect it's slick stuff will evaporate out fairly quickly when out of the bottle or tube .
The 15mm spanner just needs to fit that's all . Usually an adjustable or the standard garage type is too thick to get in the gap twixt pedal and crank . The bike type spanners are always slim jobs . A 6mm Allen key or spanner does the job too if you can contrive a way to extend the lever-arm , and remember - I always have this crisis - " ... isn't one of these a left hand thread ? " .