utterly utterly utterly p****d off with my bike

requiem

just today a really loud creaking/cracking sound developed.. turned out my seat post needed removing, cleaning, re-greasing.. Sorted.

it started a week ago when i was riding in heavy rain, dissapeared te next day and oddly came back thismorning. Perhaps it was dirt/grit that got into the seat tube?

I know you mentioned your noise appears when out of the sadle but still may be worth a check?

fenski

My most recent creaks in chronilogical order have been:

A bottom bracket which had reached the end of its life (not likely in this case as it's a new bike)
Quick-release skewers which needed greased
Loose saddle - who would've thought I could've missed this!
Loose cassette
Worn Look cleats which I think I'll have to put up with until I can be bothered to replace them. Although spraying them with GT85 before I go out minimises the noise.

Diagnosing and fixing creaks is all part of the 'fun' if you're doing a reasonable mileage.

Secteur

OK, been away for a week so left the bike with the LBS.

Problems;

1) faulty saddle - where the rail bonds to the saddle - became loose & was creaking loudly - replaced

2) non-drive side BB was rusty, "rough" and needed replacing (the bike is only 4 months old!!)

Both done under warranty. Will take it out for a test tonight.

The rear hub wasnt touched, but there is rusty coloured liquid coming out of that before I went away, so I reckon that needs a good clean too, but will live with that for now.

desweller

Sounds like you had a bit of a Friday afternoon job there

Secteur

at least now I know I wasn't just over-reacting / imagining it!!

Valy

Briefly looked over the thread, just wanna add: on my allez 2010 there was a creak, especially when getting out of the saddle. Was pretty sure that it was the BB as creaking stopped after a new one was fitted. Creaking developed after a week or two - so that made the BB unlikely and true enough after regreasing the BB the noise was still there - it turned out ot be the headset. Loosened it enough to get a syringe in and put some grease in there. Sorted.

Feel for you man - I'm sure a lot of us had situations where things were just lining up against you. Good luck - hope you find out what it is!

Valy

Briefly looked over the thread, just wanna add: on my allez 2010 there was a creak, especially when getting out of the saddle. Was pretty sure that it was the BB as creaking stopped after a new one was fitted. Creaking developed after a week or two - so that made the BB unlikely and true enough after regreasing the BB the noise was still there - it turned out ot be the headset. Loosened it enough to get a syringe in and put some grease in there. Sorted.

Feel for you man - I'm sure a lot of us had situations where things were just lining up against you. Good luck - hope you find out what it is!

Lakesman

I support the need for paranoia here mate. Contrary to what some are saying , a good bike can and should be totally silent, other than the precise click of a perfect gear change. Anything regular noise is a sign of impending component failure. Weed out the obvious causes like the shoe / pedal combo; get your LBS to swap a pair of wheels to eliminate that possibility, and then turn your attention to the BB, headset, gear train. Don't stop till it's utterly noiseless.

Mr Will

Lakesman wrote:

I support the need for paranoia here mate. Contrary to what some are saying , a good bike can and should be totally silent, other than the precise click of a perfect gear change. Anything regular noise is a sign of impending component failure.

Utter nonsense. Yes, they can (and possibly should) be silent, but a noise doesn't mean anything is about to self destruct and is no reason to panic.

rake

no noise doesnt mean it is safe either so be warned. The spokes holes are starting to crack on the rear wheel of my boardman tc. As yet it hasnt made any noise.

marco67

Just had a similar experience with a Specialized Sirrus. Bought it second hand with the seller saying that it 'clicked' and I thought easy fix - bottom bracket out and regrease, sorted! Not!
Checked just about everything suggested in this thread and no fix. Last Sunday decided to solve it once and for all and discovered that the click was coming from the freehub body where it's attached to the rear wheel. For some reason when you applied pressure to the freehub in the drive direction the freehub would click - something just wasn't biting correctly. Anyway, it's at the LBS for a new freehub waiting for a replacement -they're convinced its the cause of the problem.
I imagine the freehub on my wheel is similar to yours, if not the same as on your bike (if it's a Secteur) and could well be the problem. Ask your LBS to check.

Secteur

I doubt anyone is still reading this thread, but - you guessed it - the bike is still noisy.

Just done 40 miles on very quiet country back roads and it was ruined by the constant cracking and clicking despite the repairs the LBS did.

Pedestrians 50 feet ahead of me were turning around at the sound of the bike - and it was particularly embarassing as I went thru a near-silent county village where there were a dozen people sat in the beer garden, all looking up at the noisy lycra clad cyclist.

This is BEYOND A JOKE!!!!

I plan to speak to the shop manager tomorrow, and if it isn't fixed comprehensively then I want to demand a replacement bike.

Thoughts?

cougie

I think theres probably a bit of both going on here.

Yes bikes can be silent - but not all of the time. Its got a lot of parts and the noise could be anywhere.

I also think you're tuned into noises too much and they're winding you up. Try a windy ride and you wont hear them...

Now suggestions.

You've said the noise continues when you're out of the saddle - so I'd rule that out.

Is the noise still there when you freewheel ? If not - then its drivetrain.

If you've muc-offed everything too much then yeah - you could have shagged the bearings.

I'd also borrow another set of wheels and try them to eliminate wheels from your likely suspects.

And try and chill out a bit.

stronginthesun

get your money back and go somewhere else

Jason82

Get a new bike you may just have an unlucky one

wtscott

What about where the alloy frame is bonded to the carbon chain stays.
I had an old Scalpel that made a mystery noise. Some days more than others.
One day the bond on the non drive side chain stay failed. Nothing broke, just un-glued it self.
After it was repaired it was silent. The frame showed no sign of trouble. The noise sounded like a BB. It wasn't. (I bought the bike very used, no warranty, and put over a thousand off road miles on it before if gave way.)
Just a thought.

flateric

May i say, my bike road today with not a rattle squeak or clunk, not been out of the garage since last year, no maintainence done, fab, just the noise of the road and the click of a gear change. Sheer bliss.

flateric

May i say, my bike road today with not a rattle squeak or clunk, not been out of the garage since last year, no maintainence done, fab, just the noise of the road and the click of a gear change. Sheer bliss.

MAS4T0

If the mechanics at the shop are either inexperienced with road bikes, or are generally useless there are a few things to check.

First off, ensure that all carbon parts have a thin layer of carbon assembly paste at the interface. Carbon is much smoother and is often rated for much lower clamping force than alloy so parts assembled dry can creak badly.

That will obviously not be the source of your main problem, but it is worth doing as any creaking noise can be highly disconcerting.


I didn't bother to check the spec of the bike, but I assume that it is either GXP or BB30. If so, the BB axle is part of the crank-set itself rather than a separate part. Take the drive side crank arm off (the left is self extracting by loosening the allen key and then the drive side crank should come out with a few gentle taps with a mallet). Ensure that the axle is properly greased with a high quality grease.

The above should have been done in store when the bike was first assembled. Depending on the manufacturer, some merely put the bike together in the factory, leaving it up to the bike shop to do this sort of work, whereas others have the bike more or less ready to ride out of the box.

A dry axle explains the problem you've described and is extremely quick to check.

secretsqizz

flateric wrote:

May i say, my bike road today with not a rattle squeak or clunk, not been out of the garage since last year, no maintainence done, fab, just the noise of the road and the click of a gear change. Sheer bliss.

One noise yu forgot, is the round of applause................. :roll: yowser

Crem

With respect you are not really helping anyone help you. You've started several threads on the same subject for some unknown reason and have given little feedback on the suggestions put to you. To get to the source of the problem you need to stop gettin so agitated and use some simple problem solving techniques.

Get on the bike an start by noting not just what you are doing when you hear the noise but also what you are doing when you don't hear the noise.

As an example - you have already stated the noise is there when you are off the seat, so you can eliminate that.

Someone mentioned your shoes/cleats - so ride the bike with trainers on and see if it still makes the noise.

The very least you should have been able to do by now is narrow the problem to one area of the bike.

secretsqizz

Crem wrote:

With respect you are not really helping anyone help you. You've started several threads on the same subject for some unknown reason and have given little feedback on the suggestions put to you. To get to the source of the problem you need to stop gettin so agitated and use some simple problem solving techniques.

Get on the bike an start by noting not just what you are doing when you hear the noise but also what you are doing when you don't hear the noise.

As an example - you have already stated the noise is there when you are off the seat, so you can eliminate that.

Someone mentioned your shoes/cleats - so ride the bike with trainers on and see if it still makes the noise.

The very least you should have been able to do by now is narrow the problem to one area of the bike.

1 post
omg the bike shop have just started to realise

cougie

Crem wrote:

With respect you are not really helping anyone help you. You've started several threads on the same subject for some unknown reason and have given little feedback on the suggestions put to you. To get to the source of the problem you need to stop gettin so agitated and use some simple problem solving techniques.

Get on the bike an start by noting not just what you are doing when you hear the noise but also what you are doing when you don't hear the noise.

As an example - you have already stated the noise is there when you are off the seat, so you can eliminate that.

Someone mentioned your shoes/cleats - so ride the bike with trainers on and see if it still makes the noise.

The very least you should have been able to do by now is narrow the problem to one
area of the bike.

+1
You really should be able to narrow it down. If you can't - how can the mechanics ? They haven't ridden it - but you have. Stop flapping and start thinking ?

tonynicholls

OP - are you able to borrow another rear wheel, either from a friend or your lbs and give the bike a ride using that? After reading some of your other posts about the problems you have had with your freehub and/or cassette I reckon it is well worth trying to eliminate the wheel from your enquiries, and riding the bike without it is a good starting point. If you find the bike is significantly quieter with a different wheel then ask your lbs to scrutinise everything about your original wheel. Get the cassette removed and cleaned, all the bearings removed, cleaned, checked for wear and damage. Get the spokes checked for damage and re-tensioned. Get it all cleaned and properly rebuilt with decent lube where needed.

If swapping you rear wheel makes no difference then repeat the process with the front wheel, then with the pedals, and carry on until you have identified and fixed the troublesome component. The process might be a bit tedious but if you are methodical you will sort out the problem once and for all.

Do not give up hope!

Secteur

Stanley222 wrote:

Crem wrote:

With respect you are not really helping anyone help you. You've started several threads on the same subject for some unknown reason and have given little feedback on the suggestions put to you. To get to the source of the problem you need to stop gettin so agitated and use some simple problem solving techniques.

Get on the bike an start by noting not just what you are doing when you hear the noise but also what you are doing when you don't hear the noise.

As an example - you have already stated the noise is there when you are off the seat, so you can eliminate that.

Someone mentioned your shoes/cleats - so ride the bike with trainers on and see if it still makes the noise.

The very least you should have been able to do by now is narrow the problem to one area of the bike.

+1

If you don't help yourself how do you expect help from everyone else!?!

Are you guys serious?

I have tried everything that has been suggested, but given that I am new to road bikes and have no mechanical knowledge, how on earth can I start disassembling BBs (when I barely know what a BB is). I have tried everything to narrow down the source of the noise (almost impossible with limited technical knowledge) and I have involved the LBS at every stage in the hope that they can sort this.

Just thoought an internet forum like this would be somewhere you'd like to hear about these sorts of things.

Thanks to everyone that gave very helpful suggestions, and for the rest I shall not post any more about this. Cheers.

Secteur

PS to those who say it's normal to have noises - I am aware enough to tell the difference between small insignificant nopises and a LOUD crack-crack-crack that is heard on every pedal, above the noise of headwinds & downhill descents and can even be felt through my feet. This is a sick bike, and the LBS mechanics who are the only people I can get to help me are unable to solve it.

jgsi

We are all genuinely interested, but you come across as a leisure cyclist who wants things on a plate.
Bikes are not that complicated, but given, they can be - there is no shame in admitting that my best bike has had a shifter failure and is sitting in the lbs whilst a small 23 yen component is being assembled in japan, to which I will end up paying £60...
I digress... do a bit of basic 'leg work' and you will get a certain amount of respect.... moan a lot and you get responses as you have been getting.
Some say roadies have a rep of being snooty and offish... no we aint... but we can recognise a numpty.... so, pull your socks up mate and have an end to it.

MountainMonster

If it is crack crack crack, most likely pedals if you ask me. Could be that they are not lubed up properly inside. I have that same problem, but don't even care enough about a few insignificant non- detrimental noises to throw money at the problem.

Secteur

MountainMonster wrote:

have that same problem, but don't even care enough about a few insignificant non- detrimental noises to throw money at the problem.

Once again, people seem to have missed me keep saying that it really really really isnt a "few insignificant" noises - it's very loud and very wrong sounding noises.

I dont want to be the one to moan, obviously, but I just feel desperate - I sunk a lot of money into a bike that is clearly faulty (they found rust??? in the BB when the last looked at it - it's 4 months old from new!!) and I cant get it sorted.

Thanks all the same, will leave it in the hands of the LBS.

end of thread, please.

Crem

I was serious, yes. I think everyone want to help but starting several threads and not giving any real information back just does not help anyone help you.

I know f all about bikes too and also experienced an annoying noise. It came down to two things through a process of elimination - the pedals or my knees. I took the pedals off, lubed and replaced them and the noise was never to be heard again.

BTW - My current bike is silent though up hills there is a terrible wheezing and gasping of air noise I have yet to locate.