Bicycle Mechanics - two drivetrain noises

I have two different noises coming from one of my bikes...

1) when I am in my down stride with my left leg, there is a creeking coming from my BB and/crank area, it is not a consistant thing, but if it creeks it will creek the whole ride, but if it is not creeking then it wont, it creeks a good 85% of the time
-crank '97 LX
-BB '01 LX
-pedals cheap flats
There is no play in the pedals or the crank arm

2) I just resently (~40miles ago) replaced the chain on the bike, and ever since then there is a clicking coming from the rear derailer, the derailer is dialed in correctly, and the noise started when I put the new chain on
-chain Sacs P48 or something like that
-casette XT 8sp (abt 2.5-3 yr old)
-RD '97 ESP 9.0 SL (still stock pulleys)
how long should pulley last?
the old chain was not streched more then 1/16 in per link (I replace the chain yearly, b/c it is cheaper then a drivetrain)

Thanks for your help

For the creaking at the bb area try grease on the bb tread cups or plumbers tape on them. Grease the fixing bolts on the crank arms. Check to make sure your fixing bolt on the saddle is tight. Check to see of your pedals are tight in the crank arms. Grease the pedal spindles when inserting in the crank arms.
When you change a chain change the cassette. Check to make sure there is not a tight link in the chain. Providing your info on the rear der. is correct, check cable tension, and make sure the chain length is correct.

I agree with Hunter with this added info:

Many drive creaks come from the pedals, especially cheap ones. If you've got a spare set from a non-creaking bike, swap them and see if the creak goes away.

If it's not the pedals, it's probably the bb, follow Hunter's advice.

Regarding the clicking from the rear derailleur. My first guess was also a stiff link. Sometimes they're hard to find and don't feel tight, but will hang up with just a wee bit of dirt contamination.

My second thought was the age of your derailleur pulleys. They're plastic and tend to wear out and most people don't ever consider them an integral part of the drivetrain. The positive thing is that they're relatively cheap to replace and also very easy!

The other thing could be the cassette. I usually replace my chain once or twice a year to save my cassettes, but end up having to change a cassette every 3 years (less if I'm doing a lot of riding).

Usually, you know if it's your cassette if the chain skips or clicks in your most used gear, but is fine in all the rest. Alos, if you look at the teeth, there should be a flat spot on the tip. If it comes to a point, they're worn out. Also, the space between the teeth (valleys?) should be circular, if they have become elongated, once again they're worn.

L8R

I concur with prior posters. Cassettes will last 2 or 3 chains before their wear exceeds what the new chain can tolerate. You might luck out with a stiff link: suspend the bike and put it in the largest or smallest reat cog and slowly turn the pedals while watching the chain go through the R der pulleys, if there is a jump in the R der at some point check the chain closely for stiff links that don't bend well. Usually a little lateral bending of the chain at that link will loosen it up, or appropriate use of a chain tool. If it doesn't happen in one cog do same for all the cogs on the cassette. If nothing turns up with this then you may be looking at a new cassette, especially if it only happens under torque and particularly in certain favored cogs. New cassette will run $30-40. Worn cassettes will function fine at no load but skip under load. Steve

Follow Hunter's advice. chances are the cassette is worn, or you've got a tight link.

I have a similar issue, but I can't figure out where the sound is coming from. It's a clicking that sounds like the rear derailleur area. It's a new bike and it started on the second time out. Of course, I picked up the bike and pedaled by hand and couldn't figure it out. I'm going to check out the chain links--I hope that's it.

Doesn't seem to affect performance and everything shifts smoothly--just an annoying clicking. And it's not consistent--seems to be every third or fourth revolution, but not always. Weird.

Locating a noise while riding can be frustrating. I had a creaking noise that was synchronized with pedal strokes. the noise seemed to occur mainly under heavy load like hill climbing. It sounded like it was coming from the pedals or the bottom bracket. It turned out that the seat was fexing too much and the creak was from the plastic seat frame twisting against the rails.

A new seat and the creaking stopped.

I figured it out. One of my chain links seems to be a little bent, so when it passes through the rear derailleur, it clicks. I guess I'm going to have to get a new chain so it doesn't wear out my gear teeth. I'm pretty sure it happened when I was shifting into the big ring and it overshot it and went around the crank. Very annoying. I think I have the front derailleur adjusted properly now.

Anyway, I was able to locate it thanks to this thread. What a great website!

WZA97: it could be enough just to take the link out. Unless you have a really wide range set up a single link is not likely to be noticed. Or: the LBS almost certainly has SRAM Powerlink, you could take the link out and join the chain with a Powerlink and make up the difference that way. Steve

sch: I may try that. I'm pretty new to this, so I'll probably get them to do one or the other. I have a 12-23 on the back and 39-53 up front, so the gearing isn't that wide a range.

Thanks for the advice.