Creaking Noise when pedalling!

mrjerome10
mrjerome10 Posts: 69
edited March 2011 in Workshop
Hi, I have a Specialized Allez Elite 2008, I bought it second hand as it's my first road bike.

When I first got the bike eveything was perfect then it all when a bit downhill :(. (I have used it for a god 2 months now probably about 300 miles i've done.

Getting to the point, when I pedal hard the bike has started making a creaking noise.
I have changed pedals to Ultegra, got them cheap for £20 of a mate new :), Changed chain for shimano HC73 and Cassette for SRAM 950, as far as I'm aware they are what came with the bike when new. After doing these changes the noise was still there, so i changed the bottom bracket to a Shimano 105 ad overhauled both front and rear hub. But the noise is still there! So I tighted the crank bolt holding the chainrings to make sure that everything is tight and tighted the brakes and rear mech but the noise is still there!.

As far as i have noticed, i hear more when using the smallest chainring (34t) and using the 11-23t ring in the back, and when i change to the biggest ring on the front i do not get it as much but it is there on the middle rings on the back. And specially when i pedal hard. i have check the cleats on the shoes and they are tight and checked all the spokes in the wheels, the headset is also nice and tight.

This is driving me crazy, anything would be vey much appreciated.

Thanks in advance. :!:
Specialized Allez Elite 2008
Boardman HT Pro FS Team 2010
Carrera Vulcan D Spec 2010

Comments

  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Other things to try:

    Stem/headset/handlebar interfaces and screw torques
    Wheel quick releases - make sure they're tight enough.
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  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    As above;

    remove, clean, grease all bolts and the the mating surfaces, and retighten carefully

    Bar & stem interfaces
    Seat post
    Saddle clamp / rails
    QR skewers (grease these too and put a bit on the dropouts)

    Did you apply grease or copperslip to the threads of your Ultegra pedals when fitting them? If not, whip them out and do it now.
  • Have you checked the saddle? Last time I had a creaking noise when pedalling hard it turned out to be that. Took me months to work it out!
  • Buckled_Rims
    Buckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
    What someone needs to invent is a creaking noise detector! I've had a creak for months and still can't find it. I put the bike on the turbo and had a mate closely listen and he said it's definitely from the BB/crankset area, but I still can't work out what it is from.

    I'm soon to give the bike a good service so i'll pull everything off, gease and replace.
    CAAD9
    Kona Jake the Snake
    Merlin Malt 4
  • careful
    careful Posts: 720
    My shoes creak even though everything is tight and nothing seems to be rubbing - on the other hand maybe its my knees!
  • Most likely to be saddle rail or pedal axels. Dab of light oil on the rails, copperslip or anti seize on the pedal axels. Check casette lockring too - sometimes it can rock slightly on the freehub body under high power and creak. Make sure there is a bit of anti-seize action going on there as well.
  • I have regrease the pedals and tighten them again, greased saddles but on my way to school i still heard it. So came home a bit early as i have free period, greased the quick release.

    I when i was playing around i put the front wheel against the wall and try pedalling applying force with my hand, i noticed that it actually the cassette. Everytime force is applied it creaks, i tighten the lockring more and cycling back to school was cycling on a rusty old bike. So when i came home in the afternoon i release the preasure a bit, unfortunately i haven't been out to test it (too cold outside) and i don't have a Torque Wrench.
    Specialized Allez Elite 2008
    Boardman HT Pro FS Team 2010
    Carrera Vulcan D Spec 2010
  • Buckled_Rims
    Buckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
    careful wrote:
    My shoes creak even though everything is tight and nothing seems to be rubbing - on the other hand maybe its my knees!

    I bought a pair of road shoes last year and put on the road cleats. Every time I pedalled, there was a click. I soon found out there was SPD plate adapter inside that had worked loose. I superglued it back in place and I fixed the problem.
    CAAD9
    Kona Jake the Snake
    Merlin Malt 4
  • Garz
    Garz Posts: 1,155
    When this happened to me after a while I worked it out to be the seat clamping system. Just needed greasing.
  • fishz
    fishz Posts: 20
    Garz wrote:
    When this happened to me after a while I worked it out to be the seat clamping system. Just needed greasing.

    +1

    A more experienced mate spotted it for me and it took two minutes to sort. I wasted a lot of time messing about trying to find it though. The noise wasn't regular, and once you figured out *why* it wasn't there when you got up off the seat, it all made sense!
  • I have spotted the problem, it's the cassette! It was tighen with too much force. I have played around with the amount of force I use to tighten and I seem to have found a sweet spot where it doesn't creak anymore, so i managed to cycle to school today with no creaking.

    Thank you so much for you comment very much appreciated!!
    Specialized Allez Elite 2008
    Boardman HT Pro FS Team 2010
    Carrera Vulcan D Spec 2010