Creaky seat post / Saddle ??

Russ19792013

Finally think i have narrowed the annoying creak on my canyon to the seatpost / saddle !

Its a Ritchey WCS carbon + Specialized Romin pro (carbon rails!) I have fitted the larger binding clamps but the thing has developed a creak/squeak when i am putting weight on it !

The question is how do i solve it ? Are the clamps too tight/too loose ! should i use carbon paste where the side clamps fit and loose the single bolt a bit!

Any suggestions greatly received !

Its driving me mad !

Anonymous

My carbon railed Fizik started creaking and I thought it was where the rails went into the body of the saddle.
Bike went into LBS yesterday (nothing to do with saddle) and they greased/tightened clamp on rails and it seems fine now.
Assumed they used carbon grease.

Russ19792013

Will pop to LBS today and give that a go ! Great early morning 20mile commute, the sun was out the birds were singing and all i could hear was my bloody creaky seat !

Cheers
Russ

CiB

Take the seat post out, get a piece of cloth on the end of a stick or the longest socket extension you've got and give the inside of the seat tube a good clean out, then wipe the post clean as well. Smear a bit of carbon paste and nip the clamps up as per manufacturer's recommendations and the creak should go. It's about cleanliness usually.

Be careful not to get the cloth stuck in the seat tube - schoolboy error.

Russ19792013

cool, will give that a go as well !

I bet the next question will be how do i get a piece of cloth of of my seat tube !!

Jon_1976

More than likely to be the rail camps. I recently got a new bike and it was deadly silent, then I made the mistake of moving the saddle back and it started creaking like mad. I tightened the rear bolt a bit more (even though, it was tight already) and that it seems (fingers crossed) to have sorted it.

simona75

CiB wrote:

Take the seat post out, get a piece of cloth on the end of a stick or the longest socket extension you've got and give the inside of the seat tube a good clean out, then wipe the post clean as well. Smear a bit of carbon paste and nip the clamps up as per manufacturer's recommendations and the creak should go. It's about cleanliness usually.

Be careful not to get the cloth stuck in the seat tube - schoolboy error.

I had exactly the same type of sound and circumstances (i.e only creaked when sat in saddle) and doing the above completely solved it.

forward_loop

carbon rails....its the clamp mechanism/rail interface - trouble is that there is rarely a torque setting provided by the saddle manufacturer ..(as all clamps are different) the squeak "generally" generally suggests a little nip is needed. Though you need to be the judge of that.

Russ19792013

Well...

Removed the post and cleaned inside the seat tube and outside, removed the cleaned the saddle rails, greased everything and re-assembled and i think it has solved the problem creak !

The only problem is now (i think) can hear a click coming from the BB area somewhere !

Might just check and re-tighten the seatpost/saddle bolts !

Thanks again

Russ

dennisn

Is it against the law to use a few drops of actual oil(say 3 in 1) on seatpost and seat rail interfaces? Oil is the stuff that many, many people use, all over the world, to stop squeaks, creaks, grinding noises, and all sorts of other noises. Why is this amazing stuff overlooked on bicycles? Oh wait, I forgot, bicycles are special and must use lubes and pastes costing much, much more than plain old oil or grease. Whatever is used must come in a very small, brightly colored bottle as proof of it's ability to lube anything so technical as a bicycle.

daniel_b

Just resurrecting this thread, as I have a very similar issue.

As my Scott has a pushfit BB, I had assumed it was that, and then had also considered the carbon bars and stem.

The finishing kit is Ritchey Carbon WCS throughout, and my perch of choice is a Fizik Arione 00.
I have purchased and always used the replacement clamp for carbon rails.
I have this torqued up to just under the correct amount, at 11nm - the recommended is 12nm, but my caution stems from the fact that this is a second clamp, that Wiggle replaced, as the bolt sheared off at 12nm :roll:
My wrench of choice is a decent Sealey offering, and no it has not been calibrated recently, and neither do I have that option open to me,

I believe I have narrowed it down to the saddle, as there is no creak when out of the saddle, but if I am seated and pedalling, with pretty much any amount of force, I get a creak every revolution, which has gotten worse in recent weeks, and although I used to tolerate it, it's now pretty annoying, and can't see I could ride with anyone else as it is!

The reason I think it is the saddle, is that if whilst seated, I move one hand round to the tail of the saddle, and push down on it, with reasonable force, it stops completely.

That to me seems to rule out BB, Handlebars\Stem etc, although the seatpost could still be a cause, I would like to start with the saddle as a first port of call.
I also removed the Scott saddle bag which sat on the rails, but that can now be discounted.

Would I be right in thinking that my first options are a bit of lube where the rails meet the saddle, before attempting to tighten up the clamp on the rails, and simply hoping it does not shear off again?
Failing that, remove seatpost, and clean it and inside the frame thoroughly as detailed above.

Another option I guess, is to swap the saddle out altogether as a test, but I love this saddle, and it took me ages to find one at a decent price, so I am deadset on keeping it somehow.