Bicycle Mechanics - Creaky/noisy cranks

I recently had my cross-bike tuned up and recabled by a friend who is a mechanic at one of the better shops in the bay area. He did a sweet job, but I have a reoccurring problem with the crankset and/or bottom bracket. Basically, the pedaling is noisy and creaks really bad. It was problem free after the last tune up until about 1-mile into my first ride after the tune up, then the creaking began again. All the mechanics that have looked at the BB say its in good shape, and its only about 4 months old. So why does it keep getting noisy shortly after a tune-up? Could it be the pedals (ritchey spd)?

I have an older LX triple crankset and I think the BB is just a lower-end tapered Shimano (LX?). Not sure the model on the BB but it only cost me $25 if that helps.

Thanks in advance...:confused:

If you ride alot in the muck of 'cross, the bb could be going out, but Its much more likely that you can correct the noise by taking off the crankarms and /lightly/ greasing the bb tapers, then torquing the arms back on with the correct ammount of force.

I 2nd that! Grease can work wonders on threads and where the cartridge rests in the fixed cup in the BB shell. Also grease the spindles that your crank arms slide onto, and torque them down (you can probably hit the Bottom Bracket with 50 Ft/Lbs and the Cranks with 35 Ft/Lbs - that's on the heavy end, but it will cure recurring creaks...).

Hawk

These "I have a noise coming from..." threads are a riot because there are usually so many different suggestions.

Here is another one; check to make sure the chainring bolts are tight. If one or more loosens even a little, they will creak and drive you nuts.

It is good to use Locktite on these bolts.