Chasing squeaks
actusreus
Posts: 51
My few month old Pinarello GUN RS has recently developed a squeak that appears to be coming from the bottom bracket about every two revolutions of the crank. Impossible to tell which side. It comes on around mile 25 and is present on both chain rings at more intense pedaling and higher cadence; in other words, under higher load.
I tried to have the problem fixed by the shop mechanic, who said loose head tube was causing it and he fixed it. Unfortunately, the same squeak was still there yesterday, and came on at exactly the same distance.
I know chasing squeaks like that can be a frustrating and often futile endeavor, but I thought I'd at least try to get your opinions.
I tried to have the problem fixed by the shop mechanic, who said loose head tube was causing it and he fixed it. Unfortunately, the same squeak was still there yesterday, and came on at exactly the same distance.
I know chasing squeaks like that can be a frustrating and often futile endeavor, but I thought I'd at least try to get your opinions.
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At exactly 25 miles not 24.5 or 26 miles?0
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A loose head tube? Do you mean a loose headset? What happens if you stop pedaling, does the squeak stop? Have you tried adding more lubricant to the chain, lubed the RD jockey wheels. Can you replicate the noise with the bike in a bike maintenance stand?0
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Have you checked that the non-drive side crank is properly fitted & the fixings tightened. I've just had a similar squeak and when I went to investigate the NDS crank wasn't fully tightened...0
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DJ58 wrote:A loose head tube? Do you mean a loose headset? What happens if you stop peddling, does the squeak stop? Have you tried adding more lubricant to the chain, lubed the RD jockey wheels. Can you replicate the noise with the bike in a bike maintenance stand?
The noise is only present when pedaling. The chain is cleaned and re-lubricated after each ride. I may look at the jockey wheels, but as I mentioned, the bike is quite new and I live in San Diego with dry and mild weather all year round, so there shouldn't be an issue, just yet...No noise with the bike in a stand.0 -
I find the best way to cure these is to turn my music up a bitI'm sorry you don't believe in miracles0
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Cleats.0
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Not so much a mechanical answer to your question but perhaps an analytical approach could help.
You say that you lube the bike after every ride and that the squeak comes on after 25 miles so try this:.
1. Clean and lube your bike after your ride as normal. Go out for a ride until the squeak starts, get off the bike for a few minutes and then ride again. Is the squeak still there?
2. Take your lube(s) with you on a ride and ride until the squeak starts and pull over. Lube the bike as you would after a ride - has the squeak gone?
If the squeak disappears in scenario 2, it would suggest to me (and I'm no mechanic) that the squeak is something to do with the parts that you are lubing and not your bottom bracket (unless you grease/lube this after every ride too). I'm not sure what scenario 1 would tell you but it would eliminate the possibility of the squeak disappearing after a "rest" if it was still there.
A quick look through the "workshop" section of this forum will reveal a whole load of problems initially thought of as emanating from the BB to be associated with completely different things including pedals, cleats, bottle cages, seat rails (is it still there when you are in/out of the saddle?), quick release levers, spokes, seat posts etc etc. Bike frames have a habit of "transferring" squeaks all over the place and I would have hoped that a "months old" Pinarello would have had a decent BB and set upWilier Izoard XP0 -
What I've found with noises like that is it's often incredibly hard to know where it's coming from. But also quite deceptive because you think you do know where it's coming from, when in fact you're wrong, you don't. And it's sometimes quite surprising how far away where you think it's coming from it turns out to be. Sometimes that's the case I've found.
So you're saying it only happens when you pedal. What about if you stand up and not sit on the saddle? And what about if you cycle no hands on handlebars? There's probably other tests like that you can do to help eliminate, point towards and narrow down possibilities. Change pedals. etc.0 -
I traced a squeak to lose rear wheel spokes. Worth checking as sounds can travel.0
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First Aspect wrote:
I'm not "awfully sure"; simply, it seems too far fetched that if the cleats were responsible, it would take 25 miles for the noise to manifest itself. The far more complex interaction of the frame and components presents a more logical and likely culprit.
I believe the BB is threaded.0 -
actusreus wrote:mfin wrote:Cleats.
The noise seems to appear around 25 miles or so, so I don't see how it could be caused by the cleats.
I used to get a squeak that came on after a few miles and was caused by cleat/pedals. Used to happen some rides and not others but generally was worse when climbing or putting the power down.
Cleaning and grease on the pedals sorted it for a while. New bike with new pedals (but the same shoes and cleats) and it's not come back in over a thousand miles.
SPDs by the way.0 -
Another thought, I had a saddle that seemed to squeak after a few miles, I lubed the rails where they joined the saddle shell (penetrating oil), that cured it. What I'm suggesting is that maybe your squeak could be saddle related and manifests after a few miles due to the saddle getting warm or deforming after a period of you sitting on it.Rose Xeon CDX 3100, Ultegra Di2 disc (nice weather)
Ribble Gran Fondo, Campagnolo Centaur (winter bike)
Van Raam 'O' Pair
Land Rover (really nasty weather
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I had a similar squeak, which only manifested itself after a few miles, eventually found it was the chain rubbing on one of the cassette rings caused by the rear derailleur being out of line. I'm not sure why I only noticed after a few miles but could have been due to it only rubbing when in the bottom 2 gears, or maybe I only noticed when going past a wall of something that would provide an echo.0
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I doubt its the cleats, but I don't follow your reasoning for eliminating it. You could make that statement about anything.actusreus wrote:First Aspect wrote:
I'm not "awfully sure"; simply, it seems too far fetched that if the cleats were responsible, it would take 25 miles for the noise to manifest itself. The far more complex interaction of the frame and components presents a more logical and likely culprit.
I believe the BB is threaded.
Pretty much the only thing that is (a) lubricated and (b) needs relubricating frequently - is the chain.
You live in San Diego. Its dry. I'm guessing you use a dry lube. You "clean and relube" after each ride. (Which, for SoCal is unnecessary, btw.) At least for the sake of being systematic, and picking off the low hanging fruit, I'd suggest using a decent wet chain lube (or a brand new chain) and seeing if that helps.0 -
If you feel everything on the bike is sorted then I would second the chain theory.
Buy a new chain - with its excellent factory lubrication.
Fit it , ride it...0 -
New bike...its the only cure0
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Update: Apparently it was the chain, or to be more precise, the type of lubricant used for whatever reason. I had been using dry lube since I live in Southern California, but just to experiment I relubricated the chain last night using the Finish Line Ceramic Wet Lube, and I did not heard the squeak today at all doing the same route. The chain looks grimy, but switching the lubes appears to have fixed the problem. Go figure...
Thank you all for your input and advice.0 -
I have used RockNRoll for years -- Blue / Red or Gold versions... squeak free and clean looking...0
