Creaking from rear wheel

neal1984

Morning All,

Sorry for starting a new thread but I can't find the one I wrote a few weeks ago about replacing my wheel bearings which I could have added to.

Basically having replaced all 4 wheel bearings in my rear wheel and all was well for about 20 odd miles. Last week I noticed a creaking from the bike which after much trial and error I've narrowed down to the rear wheel (regressed seat post, rails, cleats, pedals, chain ring bolts and finally swapped out the wheels).

To my knowledge I've replaced the bearings as they should be although the NDS cap did come loose after 50 miles (or I should say thats when I found it loose). The creaking / pinging can be replicated when I put all my weight over it i.e. I put my ar$e back as far as I can but in normal riding it is quite inconsistent and happens more when I put some power down and seems to be at a particular point in the pedal stroke for some reason which initially made me think it was the BB. I was after any advise as to whether the root cause is likely to be a bodged bearing replacement by me or if it could be a problem with one of the spokes? The tension on them feels OK but I'm far from an expert?

For info the wheels are Far Sports carbon clinchers which are still straight and true. Done around 700 miles or so now.

neal1984

Anyone?

ugo.santalucia

Creakings are very hard to diagnose... one would be tempted to think the bearings are not sitting correctly, given you have just replaced them, but it could be anything...

neal1984

Yeah that's my first thought to be honest. I think I'll bite the bullet and take it to the LBS and have them take a look over it and maybe strip and rebuild the hub if deemed necessary

CleeRider

Try greasing the spoke nipples and also where they cross.

ugo.santalucia

CleeRider wrote:

Try greasing the spoke nipples and also where they cross.

That's only a myth...

CleeRider

The myth worked for me...

neal1984

Took the wheel to the LBS today and they said there's nothing obviously wrong with it although they couldn't give it a road test. They suggested bringing back the complete bike. I'm happy if nothing's about to fail I'll ride it until it gets worse or drives me mad.

Coincidently my manager suggested cleaning and greasing where the spokes cross as he said that solved 90% of his creaking issues.

ju5t1n

Sometimes it’s the skewer

ugo.santalucia

Neal1984 wrote:

Coincidently my manager suggested cleaning and greasing where the spokes cross as he said that solved 90% of his creaking issues.

It's bad advice... the same person would crank up the radio to avoid hearing the children screaming outside... it helps with the symptom, but doesn't solve the problem... besides, maybe the children scream because a lorry just reversed over one of them...

You can grease the spokes to avoid hearing them rubbing, but it's not a solution to the problem... they should not rub and if they do, they will soon fail... it's just bad advice that people keep perpetrating on the web. It's not a solution to anything

Daz555

ugo.santalucia wrote:

You can grease the spokes to avoid hearing them rubbing, but it's not a solution to the problem... they should not rub and if they do, they will soon fail... it's just bad advice that people keep perpetrating on the web. It's not a solution to anything

I had creaking nipples once (now there's a saying!) - about 12 years ago only old commuter. The wheel did not creak again after I greased just three of them and the wheel remained true for the next 10 years until I eventually donated the bike to a charity shop.

Every case is different I suppose!

ugo.santalucia

Daz555 wrote:

and the wheel remained true for the next 10 years until I eventually donated the bike to a charity shop.

We were al heroes back then...

Bar Shaker

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

and the wheel remained true for the next 10 years until I eventually donated the bike to a charity shop.

We were al heroes back then...

And girls had pubic hair.

neal1984

So I took the wheel to the LBS and they felt the bearings and checked spoke tension by hand and basically said there's nothing obviously wrong with it. Nipples were also all tight.

They asked me to bring back the whole bike for them to asses and ride or alternatively suggested I ride it to see if it gets any worse. I think I'll stick on the Fulcrums for my long Sunday ride (just for peace of mind) and dig into it a bit deeper next week when I have some free time.

Thanks for the advice all and thanks for putting me straight regarding greasing of the spoke Ugo. That's off the list of things to try now!

maharg22

Had a similar problem myself today,

Upon checking and with consultation from a seasoned rider we found I had a lot of play on my rear wheel. The result was found to be a rear hub that has possible cones and bearings that have seen better days.

Next step is a visit to my local bike shop to have it rebuilt/replaced.....

keith57

I've had some terrible creaking form the back wheel in the past. I initially thought it was the BB, but turns out the free-hub needed greasing. I had to work this out by moving the wheel to a different bike, and the creak moved with the wheel!!

Mine was a DT Swiss type that needed special grease. Lots of videos on-line on how to do it, just a few mins work really, quiet as the grave now. Simple to do once or twice a year. I also have a Mavic wheel set and I now service the free-hub on that myself too.

Top tip, don't de-grease the chain with the back wheel in place, you'll be degreasing the free-hub too! I take mine off and use a QR spacer thing with a nylon pulley to hold the chain in place.