Clipless pedal creak - thinking of some new pedals anyway

benws1

So, to add to the ongoing issues I'm having with noises on my 5 month old bike, the right pedal recently decided it wants to creak like crazy.

Whenever I press down on it, it creaks, loudly.

I've sprayed the pedal with some silicone spray. This cured the problem for about 45 minutes, then the creaking returned. I've been reading that I need to spray the shoe cleat too?

The pedals in question are some old Look thingys that use Delta cleats on my shoes. I've been thinking of upgrading anyway as they are quite old. Thinking about the Look Keo's.

Does anyone know of any good pedals that have float (need it for my knees) and does anyone have any ideas about how to stop the bloody creaking? Thanks.

pinno

Look plates are different colours for different float.

Red; maximum float (9 degrees), Grey; intermediate float (4.5 degrees) and Black: minimal float (0). It's the same for Delta cleats. You won't find an awful lot of difference going from Delta's to Keo apart from clearance. I like the older style Look pedals as they give a slightly bigger platform - but that's just personal preference. I have Look Keo carbon on both bikes.
Don't be hasty to ditch the Delta's.

A spot of grease is the answer to the creak. Silicone wears off quick - especially in the wet. Some folks round here put a spot of grease under the saddle so in the event of that creaking, they can refresh the pedal but try not to pick up too much grit on your cleats when walking around. There's as much chance of new Keo's squeaking as your old one's.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exustar-cleat ... Sw-KFXe~LP

k-dog

Have you greased the pedal axle threads?

The bottom bracket?

The cleat screws?

benws1

k-dog wrote:

Have you greased the pedal axle threads?

The bottom bracket?

The cleat screws?

Bottom bracket is press fit in a carbon frame bike. Do you grease them?

Pedals were removed and greased a week or so ago.

Haven't greased the cleat screws. Will need to remove them (one requires a dremel as it rounded off as I torqued it up) and try that.

The silicon spray worked for a bit. However, the pedal felt very slippery and the creak soon came back.

Thanks.

benws1

Pinno wrote:

Look plates are different colours for different float.

Red; maximum float (9 degrees), Grey; intermediate float (4.5 degrees) and Black: minimal float (0). It's the same for Delta cleats. You won't find an awful lot of difference going from Delta's to Keo apart from clearance. I like the older style Look pedals as they give a slightly bigger platform - but that's just personal preference. I have Look Keo carbon on both bikes.
Don't be hasty to ditch the Delta's.

A spot of grease is the answer to the creak. Silicone wears off quick - especially in the wet. Some folks round here put a spot of grease under the saddle so in the event of that creaking, they can refresh the pedal but try not to pick up too much grit on your cleats when walking around. There's as much chance of new Keo's squeaking as your old one's.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exustar-cleat ... Sw-KFXe~LP

My cleats are the red ones with the most float.

Do I need to grease the cleats? Is is the little black bit in the middle that makes the creaking sound?

Thanks.

pinno

benws1 wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Look plates are different colours for different float.

Red; maximum float (9 degrees), Grey; intermediate float (4.5 degrees) and Black: minimal float (0). It's the same for Delta cleats. You won't find an awful lot of difference going from Delta's to Keo apart from clearance. I like the older style Look pedals as they give a slightly bigger platform - but that's just personal preference. I have Look Keo carbon on both bikes.
Don't be hasty to ditch the Delta's.

A spot of grease is the answer to the creak. Silicone wears off quick - especially in the wet. Some folks round here put a spot of grease under the saddle so in the event of that creaking, they can refresh the pedal but try not to pick up too much grit on your cleats when walking around. There's as much chance of new Keo's squeaking as your old one's.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exustar-cleat ... Sw-KFXe~LP

My cleats are the red ones with the most float.

Do I need to grease the cleats? Is is the little black bit in the middle that makes the creaking sound?

Thanks.

Creaks in pedals can come from all sorts of contact points. Have a look at the wear on your cleat and see exactly where it's making contact with the pedal.
When you say that the pedal felt 'slippy', is your foot really moving around that much in the pedal?!
How do you know you need Red cleats? Have you had knee/hip problems?

benws1

Pinno wrote:

benws1 wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Look plates are different colours for different float.

Red; maximum float (9 degrees), Grey; intermediate float (4.5 degrees) and Black: minimal float (0). It's the same for Delta cleats. You won't find an awful lot of difference going from Delta's to Keo apart from clearance. I like the older style Look pedals as they give a slightly bigger platform - but that's just personal preference. I have Look Keo carbon on both bikes.
Don't be hasty to ditch the Delta's.

A spot of grease is the answer to the creak. Silicone wears off quick - especially in the wet. Some folks round here put a spot of grease under the saddle so in the event of that creaking, they can refresh the pedal but try not to pick up too much grit on your cleats when walking around. There's as much chance of new Keo's squeaking as your old one's.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exustar-cleat ... Sw-KFXe~LP

My cleats are the red ones with the most float.

Do I need to grease the cleats? Is is the little black bit in the middle that makes the creaking sound?

Thanks.

Creaks in pedals can come from all sorts of contact points. Have a look at the wear on your cleat and see exactly where it's making contact with the pedal.
When you say that the pedal felt 'slippy', is your foot really moving around that much in the pedal?!
How do you know you need Red cleats? Have you had knee/hip problems?

I don't know that I need red, I've just always had red. I could give the blacks a try. I tried some Shimano SPD's once on another bike and they gave me terrible knee ache.

When I sprayed the pedal with silicon, it became quite slippery and yes, my foot and shoe do move around quite a bit in the pedal.

I'll take a look at the cleats and see where they make contact. There is some black stuff on the red plastic, I guess that is where it makes contact.

Thanks.

pinno

Try grey initially and see how you get on. No movement might cause problems.

Try and ascertain if your foot needs to move around or that it does because of the intended play in the cleat.
As I say, grey plates would be a safer option. Don't make problems if there aren't any.
I used to have grey on the left and black on the right foot. That's after I broke my knee cap. Then I found when I had a spare grey one after the black had worn out, I did not notice any difference on the right foot.

ayjaycee

Are you sure its not the shoes making the noise? I had the creaking issue, albeit with Shimano SPD shoes, and only realised it was the shoes after servicing the pedals and BB (what a plank!).