Creaking on downstroke on driveside

Tashman

Hi all, sorry if i'm rehashing old stuff but as a relative newbie I'm after some guidance.
I've developed a creak as my driveside crank is driven down. This happens whether i'm in the saddle or stood on the pedals. What's my trouble shooting list to eliminate please?

arlowood

Tashman wrote:

Hi all, sorry if i'm rehashing old stuff but as a relative newbie I'm after some guidance.
I've developed a creak as my driveside crank is driven down. This happens whether i'm in the saddle or stood on the pedals. What's my trouble shooting list to eliminate please?

This issue is something we could probably ask the mods to do a sticky on. It appears regularly and there are probably dozens of threads where the checklist of options has been suggested.

You don't tell us which bike, groupset or BB style you have so we're king of shooting in the dark.

Anyway here are a few suggestions.

1 If it's a pressfit BB (BB30, PF30, BB86 etc) then that could be one option to check
2 Pedals - worn bearing on pedal spindle can cause creaking
3 QR skewers - some posters have found that skewers not done up correctly can cause creaks
4 Saddles and saddle mounts - less likely in your case as it happens when you're out of the saddle

I'm sure there are others checklist options but I think the above are some of the ones to eliminate first

Tashman

arlowood wrote:

Tashman wrote:

Hi all, sorry if i'm rehashing old stuff but as a relative newbie I'm after some guidance.
I've developed a creak as my driveside crank is driven down. This happens whether i'm in the saddle or stood on the pedals. What's my trouble shooting list to eliminate please?

This issue is something we could probably ask the mods to do a sticky on. It appears regularly and there are probably dozens of threads where the checklist of options has been suggested.

You don't tell us which bike, groupset or BB style you have so we're king of shooting in the dark.

Anyway here are a few suggestions.

1 If it's a pressfit BB (BB30, PF30, BB86 etc) then that could be one option to check
2 Pedals - worn bearing on pedal spindle can cause creaking
3 QR skewers - some posters have found that skewers not done up correctly can cause creaks
4 Saddles and saddle mounts - less likely in your case as it happens when you're out of the saddle

I'm sure there are others checklist options but I think the above are some of the ones to eliminate first

Thanks, the bike is a Giant Defy 1 2012, running 10 speed 105. As far as I'm aware all the components are original

I shall start with the pedals and QR as they're easy

vimfuego

As above - could be one of many things, but most likely offender is the BB(assuming it's not your knees )
I traced a similar issue (eventually, having eliminated various other options) to a loose spoke once.
A bit of oil in the drop out sorted another one.
Remove & apply a bit of grease to the seat post, there's another one.
Pedals (as above).

keef66

If it's the original Shimano BB in there since 2012 and you've done much riding in the wet, that would be my suspect. Looking back at the BR review of the bike it looks like it's a press-fit job, so you can't really remove / regrease / refit like you can the screw-in cups, so I'd want to eliminate the other possibilities before replacing it. You could always whip out the crankset and see if the bearings feel smooth , and clean and lightly grease the axle before reassembly.

964cup

keef66 wrote:

You could always whip out the crankset and see if the bearings feel smooth , and clean and lightly grease the axle before reassembly.

Don't bother taking the crankset out. Just drop the chain. Then you can spin the cranks by hand and feel if there's play, grittiness or notching in the bearings. Cranks (unless with ceramic bearings) don't spin like a wheel, but you should get 3 or more revolutions out of a firm push on the crank with your hand, and they should feel consistent all the way round.

diamonddog

Cleat/pedal contact creaking?