Bicycle Mechanics - creaky drivetrain

Last weekend I went on an awful muddy ride. On the way home, I stopped by the hose-me-down car wash to get the gunk off of my bike with one of those power washer hoses. When I get home, I clean the chain down with some de-greaser and lube up the drivetrain, crank, pedals, etc. and put the bike away....
Fast forward to Friday when I hop on for a quick road ride for the first time since the mud bowl. There is some mad creaking coming from either one of the cranks or maybe the BB. It only seems to occur when I put force on the pedals, as in accelerating, not while pedaling backwards or forwards under no force.
I checked everything yesterday and all bolts on the crank and pedals seem to be tight ( I dont have a torque wrench to check exactly) and there doesnt seem to be any sidewards play in anything.
Any suggestions???

Power-washing your bike is not a good idea, because it injects water and grit into your bearings. That said, you might find some helpful info in this thread: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30028

yeah i know its not a good idea, but were talking super goopy mud, and I didnt want that crap drying on there. Hope its not that much of a thing. I tried to localize the squeak yesterday on my trainer in the house ( raining BUCKETS outside ) but of course it wasnt doing it...
I dont have the tools to get most of the drive train apart so I dont really want to bring it to the LBS. maybe I can hit it with some WD if water got into where it shouldnt have

I'm having the same problem. Just started last week. Mine seems to be coming only from the drivetrain side when I'm turning a big gear or peddling up-hill, so it sounds similar to your situation.

I had it at my bike shop a couple weeks ago to fix some other creaking I've been having and they said the bottom bracket was tight. If I can figure out what my problem is, I'll let you know.

cool. i dont want to have this develop into a larger problem. I dont think its anything loose, but you never know. i havent checked the seat post, maybe thats why it wasnt making any noise on the trainer yesteday....

Did some more inspection last night, seems to be coming from the right crank somewhere and doesnt matter which chain ring its on. when pedaling, a *click* seems to occur when I reach about 1:00. This was just putting weight on it in the living room last night and im going on a ride this afternoon to see whats up with it outside......

Are you sure your mech cage isn't hitting the crank arm?. Also check chainring bolts are tight.

If not, I think you'll have to strip out the BB, regrease and use PTFE or grease on the threads of the cups. Re attach crank arms.

the last creak I had sounded like it was coming from BB but was coming from my rear rack flexing as i put pressure on. Retightened, creak gone.

hmm, havent checked the chainring, thats something ill have to take a look at tonight if its still doing it. if not, off to the LBS i guess. damn i need some more tools :(

A lot of drivetrain creaking comes from pedals. The bearings in most stock pedals are cheap, cheap, cheap! Do you have another bike? If so, swap out the pedals and see if the creaking persists.

L8R

do have my fiance's bike. maybe ill swap them out and try it on her bike....
another excuse to get some new ATACs :D

I had a creaking on my road bike that only seemed to appear when I was really hammering it or going over bumps. My friend had me to stop, hold the front brake, and apply a little power. If it creaks (it did), the headset is loose. Yup, it was. It may not be your problem, but it's worth checking. I would have SWORN that noise was coming from the bottom somewhere! It's hard to tell exactly where I guess.

Darren

i hit my pedals and cranks up with some WD40 yesterday before my ride and it seemed to quiet it for the time beeing. it could be the pedals because i free spun them and the bearings are getting pretty loud. cripes, these things are only a year old. time for an upgrade i guess. ill keep everyone informed if it comes up again

i hit my pedals and cranks up with some WD40 yesterday before my ride and it seemed to quiet it for the time beeing. it could be the pedals because i free spun them and the bearings are getting pretty loud. cripes, these things are only a year old. time for an upgrade i guess. ill keep everyone informed if it comes up again

Please do not spray wd40 into any bearing area. There is a current thread that addresses this.

Most pedal bearings are somewhat servicable. Even sealed pedal bearings can have a grease gun blast fresh grease in them.

i did shoot some lube back into there when i got home. i just threw some WD in there to get any gunk out that may have gotten in there