Squeak/Creaking noise?

rob\'s_lexx

Hi all,

I rode my new road bike for the first time yesterday and noticed the occasional squeak/creak when pedaling reasonably hard - it seemed to be coming from the bottom bracket area (although it was fairly hard to pin-point exactly).

Is this something that sounds like it may just settle down with a few more rides, or something I should be concerned about? Similarly, are there any 'tests' that I could do to try and eliminate/identify the cause?

Thanks

Rob

sungod

can be hard to pin down sources, especially on the move

if it is a new bike, then makes me wonder if something hasn't been tightened correctly, for creaks i'd start with...

bottom bracket
cranks
pedals

if it's a squeak, might be more of a lube issue, a dry link in the chain can do it as well

see if you can provoke it into making the noise consistently, if you have the bike stationary with the pedal at the bottom, see if just standing on the pedal does it

if you are near the place you bought it, get them to have a look, if that isn't an option then it's either tool time, or find a local shop to have a look

Fenred

Try greasing your seatpost first before going anywhere near the BB Rob, a lot of noises oftern eminate from there, in fact I always grease every bolt/post/anything that screws or slides on a brand new bike as most lbs/manufactures either dont do it, or dont do it to my standards.

rob\'s_lexx

thanks guys :-)

it doesn't sound like its coming from the saddle/seatpost itself, more from lower down on the bike :-S

what grease would you reccomend to use on all bolts/post etc etc?

cheers

rob

ollyridesfirst

I had the same problem when i first picked up my bike....thought it was the BB, however it turned out that the front quick release was too tight and causing it (probably my fault as i took the wheel off to get it in the car). I loosened this a bit and it all went away

woodywmb

Fenred wrote:

Try greasing your seatpost first before going anywhere near the BB:

I've been telling people that on this forum for years. Yet when it happened to me a few months back, I removed the cranks, the bb, the derailleur in search of the creak.

Turns out a dab of grease in the seatpost did the trick. I could have sworn the noise was coming from down below. Wrong again!

jamlala

MY creak I was convinced was coming from the crank, but on speaking to a mechanic at the Dartmoor Classic it was quickly found that my front wheel wasn't done up tight enough! The creak was worse when standing up and it just sounded like it was coming from 'down there!'

trevtherev

ah the old squeak/click/creak....the worst thing about trying to find the source of any annoying noise is it only occurs when riding and you need to ride along with your head stuck down towards the chain...not recommended. It seems to me whenever I solve one squeak source another appears I had a squeak recently for months and practically rebuilt the bike!!....and guess what it was the straps on my shimano shoes!! I discovered this by accidently pressing on them and hey presto...the same noise/squeak. So now at least I know the scource of the squeak but how to solve...oil my shoes...no just grin and bear it

Arghyrou

My bike used to 'squeak' and I thought it was the pedals, and as above, the side of my shoes was rubbing on the crank arm, adjusted the cleats and it was good as new

GoldenBear

...

wheelygood

Can also sometimes be the rubber dust cover on a hub that squeaks as the wheel rotates. Drop of silicon lube under it fixes it.

rob\'s_lexx

and what grease/lube is best for nuts, bolts, threads, seatpost etc on the bike? I have dry teflon chain lubricant at home but thats about it......

cheers

rob

Duffer65

wheelygood wrote:

Can also sometimes be the rubber dust cover on a hub that squeaks as the wheel rotates. Drop of silicon lube under it fixes it.

Happened to me, drove me nuts until I realised what it was.

Duffer65

GoldenBear wrote:

I had a problem with squeaking and noises when I was on a ride the other day.

Turns out Angry Birds had accidentally come on on my iphone in my jersey pocket.

rob\'s_lexx

rob\'s_lexx wrote:

and what grease/lube is best for nuts, bolts, threads, seatpost etc on the bike? I have dry teflon chain lubricant at home but thats about it......

cheers

rob

any reccomendations on the above guys??

keef66

just get a tub of bog standard grease from a motor factors. It will be a lot cheaper than "bike specific" stuff and you'll get enough to last you a lifetime.

Mine's seen me through half a dozen cars and a similar number of bikes over 20 years and it's still half full.

Ditto the tube of copperslip anti-seize paste

Pross

I thought I had a BB issue the other week, turned out to be the rear hub! There was so much play in the wheel it was messing up the alignment and causing a clicking sound. Apparently the sound transmission in a carbon frame in particular makes it hard to pinpoint the exact problem area.