Creaking from rear of new Boardman Pro FS

joebristol

Hi there, just thought I'd post up a quick question to check my understanding of the above. I understand creaks are hard to track down / solve, especially when you can't see the bike.

The bike in question is per the below link. I collected it on Sunday and promptly did 38km on it on Tuesday round Swinley Forest trail centre. I love the bike - it's awesome - especially as prior to that I was riding a 97/98 Kona U'hu with V brakes etc.

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/mtb/fs_pro650b.html

So I've ruled out anything creaking at the front end, and the saddle / seatpost (it creaks when you are stood up as well as sat down). It didn't start creaking until a few hours in.

So the list of things to check I think are below - and in the order I think I'll do them, with suspension pivots last on the list as it will be a faff to take them apart, grease the faces of the metal and put back together:

Cranks on bottom bracket
Bottom bracket itself
Rear wheel bolt through hub
Suspension pivots

Has anyone got any other suggestions as to what a creak could be? If you stop pedalling and remain standing the bike still creaks - which makes me think it probably isn't the cranks, but will check them anyway.

I could take the bike back to Halfords to look at as it's clearly in warranty, but from the online feedback you get about their mechanics I'm not convinced they'll find the problem or follow checking things through in a logical way.

Finally, what kind of grease should I use on pivots (I don't expect the bearings to need any attention as they are sealed cartridge bearings I believe) - ie the faces of the metal that may contact each other? I have copper anti seize grease already which I normally use on crank splines on my racer / previous mountain bikes and which has always been successful in that regard. Assuming I'll need something else on pivot faces etc?

Thanks!

kirby700

Re: Boardman Team full suss vs Giant Stance vs ?

Postby kirby700 » Thu Jun 4, 2015 12:32 pm

Speaking as an ex Boardman team FS owner, generally the bike was fine and not had many issues with the second frame (1st frame paint started coming off near suspension pivot) the second frame came and was assembled but they didn't check the pivots were tight which rather stupidly I assumed they had so had to mess around a bit tightening pivots up in the middle of a forest. The only thing mine used to so was creak and "crack" a little bit even though I had kept the pivots nice and clean. Also against it for me was trying to get spares for it. Hubs were irreparable as spares aren't available (front wheel's sealed bearing an obscure American standard) rear wheels freehub stopped functioning after a year and these were not serviceable nor replaceable hence why I bought new wheels. Bolts on the pivots are a bit soft too so when tightening them up you have to really really careful as again Halfords are not interested in getting you new ones.
Avid Elixirs suck the big one, really awkward to bleed as again I have them on my Nukeproof


This sounds like I was really down on the bike but it was a good entry into Full suspension for me but would I recommend it over a Giant stance - I just do not know.

GIANT XTC 2.5
BOARDMAN TEAM FS - NOW GONE
NUKEPROOF MEGA TR 275 COMP

I don't want to say I told you so but.....^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I found that dust etc would get onto the faces on the pivots and only a through clean and thin smear of grease cured it. Due to the pivots not having any torque values on them and Halfords failure to tell owners what the values should be the they tend to nipped up "tight" which probably is too much.

Check the rear suspension on the chain stays aren't really tight (near the rear derailleur)

The grease I use is just normal bike grease not lithium based though!

steviecapt

i had a creak similar to yours, it turned out to be loose spokes, i trued the wheels up and tensioned the spokes and it cured the noise.

The Rookie

If it's a bearing it should be torqued up (right torque for the bolt size) if it's a bush it's usually better to use thread lock and just nip the bolts up so you don't create too much friction in the bush.

joebristol

Decided to work through the various bits of the bike, starting with the easiest bit first. Took out the bolt through rear skewer (think it's a hyrbid of a quick release with a bigger axle) and cleaned / greased it up, and that stopped the creaking.

Done a few more rides since, and cycling into work this morning I now have a creaky crankset. Defo just this - so going to have to work how to get that off and copper anti-slip grease it within an inch of it's life. Seems to be par for the course with new bikes. Both my Boardman team carbon racer and Cannondale Caad 9 both had this not long into owning them. Just wish all bottom brackets / cranks were the same in the system they use....

Aside from these little things the bike is epic though. Despite Avid Elixirs getting bad press the elixir trail 7's on the Boardman are awesome so far. Got the suspension setup ok after playing with air pressures front and back, then tweaking the rebound adjustment - nice and plush. Finding the rear lockout is good for cycling back up fireroads after belting down fun trails.

Might take some pictures / do a little review of the Pro FS so far to post up in the relevant section. When I was looking at bikes there wasn't much about Boardman mtb's from owners on the net that I could find.

ZeeSaffa

Does anyone know where I can find the correct torque values for the pivots please?

I've bought my Boardman FS 650B Team second hand - so going to Halfords with it under warranty probably isn't an option. I've got a torque wrench - so happy to do it myself (if I knew the values).