Giant Propel cracking noise

ic.
ic. Posts: 769
edited April 2016 in Workshop
A friend has a strange problem/issue with his 2016 GIANT PROPEL ADVANCED SL 2. He's not had it long, maybe 600km on it.

Since new, it's made a strange cracking noise. Basically, it clicks (sounds a bit like a slightly out of index rear mech) for a minute or so, then makes quite a loud cracking noise, then is silent. It stays silent for a while, before the process starts again

He took it back to the shop, who muttered something about thinking grease is making it's way out of the rear hub and onto the freehub pawls, causing the freewheel to skip

Personally, I think that's nonsense.

I know swapping out the rear wheel for a reliable one would test the theory, but he hasn't had chance.

He's not a user on these forums, so on his behalf I'm asking for any ideas you think might cause this?? I've yet to actually get my hands on the bike to check it over, but I've ridden next to him while it does it and it is a strange noise indeed and I can't get my head round what's causing it. Thoughts welcome, thanks.
2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

The departed:

2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
Boardman CX Team - sold
Cannondale Synapse - broken
Cube Streamer - stolen
Boardman Road Comp - stolen

Comments

  • Ste_S
    Ste_S Posts: 1,173
    Working out when the cracking sound occurs - in and/or out of the saddle, pedalling and/or freewheeling is usually a good place to start.

    If pedalling and occurring during both in and out of the saddle, I'll take a stab at the press fit bottom bracket wasn't installed properly
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    Ste_S wrote:
    Working out when the cracking sound occurs - in and/or out of the saddle, pedalling and/or freewheeling is usually a good place to start.

    If pedalling and occurring during both in and out of the saddle, I'll take a stab at the press fit bottom bracket wasn't installed properly

    Should have mentioned happens whilst pedalling, seems to be ay gear too.

    BB installation issue is a good shout. Thanks for the idea
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    Apparently the shop has already had the BB out and re-pressed it....
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 16,532
    slipping seat post can be quite noisy, only moves a minute amount each time

    to eliminate remove it, clean it, put some assembly paste on it before refitting
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    sungod wrote:
    slipping seat post can be quite noisy, only moves a minute amount each time

    to eliminate remove it, clean it, put some assembly paste on it before refitting

    Thanks, but it's an ISP.

    Also, compared to noise I've heard from a seat post, its a deeper, bigger, noise. Imagine a really loud crack, basically
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • I had a cracking noise that sounded like it was pedal / crankset / BB related ... i.e. in time with pedalling. I replaced the pedals, stripped the crankset and regreased all the bolts and replaced the bottom bracket (hollowtech ii). After all that, it still made the cracking noises, and just as bad as before. A bit of roadside troubleshooting, as it was doing my head in, and it turned out it was the rear quick release needing tightened a little more. It seemed tight enough before, but not quite enough it would seem. Might be worth a shot before you start stripping things down and replacing stuff.
  • izza
    izza Posts: 1,561
    Have a look at the rear skewer. Sometimes with Giant Propel's the paint collects in between the two grub screws that hold the mech hanger on. This creates a bulbous lump between the skewer bolt which then sit non-flush to the frame and 1) leads to funny noises in time with pedalling and 2) bends skewers.
  • albash
    albash Posts: 1
    I had a similar problem (Giant TCR). paid for new bottom bracket, to no avail. it then got worse, I was assured it could not a frame crack. So to find the cause the bike was stripped down by the bike shop- a crack was found near the bottom bracket under the front derailleur. The frame was replaced by Giant though I still had to pay for the rebuild.