Folding Bikes - Creaking somewhere down there on a Swift

Odd Question:

I've been experiencing an annoying squeak coming from the drive train (or that general area) while pedaling my fixed gear swift. any idea what it's coming from or how to make it go away?

Grease all the QR's, the stem and the seatpost, and make sure all those parts are pretty tight. That should fix it.

Creaks can be very tricky to pinpoint, and what seems like a drivetrain problem is often coming from somewhere else. I'm assuming the noise is only present when you're pedaling. I.e., if you yank on the bars and put all the pressure you can on your saddle while coasting you can't recreate it.

If so, likely candidates in approximate order of probability are:

-Crank/bottom bracket interface (check crank bolt tightness, preferably with a torque wrench)

-Cleat/pedal interface, if you're using clipless pedals

-Bottom bracket/bottom bracket shell

-Chainring bolts

-Pedal/crank interface

The last three should all have plenty of grease in the threads, and I'm in the "grease the bb tapers" camp, too, though that's become a religious controversy in many other threads.

If none of the above works, you might check for loose spokes, and make sure the stem and seatpost/saddle connections are tight. You might also drip some oil on the Swift's frame pivots, but I don't have a sense of whether they're a likely source.

The one cure that always works is to listen to Metallica at 140 db for several hours. You'll not hear any creaks after that.

Jack

JackJ: very true, it could be any of those. But in the case of the Swift, 99% of the time it's that the QR's need some grease.

I had a really annoying creak that seemed to fit the "creaking bottom bracket" symptoms - but it turned out to be that the seat tube quick releases weren't tight enough..

Check one other place: The interface between the top and bottom sections of seat tube. Dab some thick grease there.

I had a really annoying creak that seemed to fit the "creaking bottom bracket" symptoms - but it turned out to be that the seat tube quick releases weren't tight enough..


This appears to have been the culprit. I cleaned the post, gave it a light coat of oil and tightened the quick releases down hard.

No creaking on the ride in this morning.

Thanks to all for the input.

Get yourself a bottle of Boeshield T9 Bicycle lubricant, apply a thin, even coat to the seatpost, allow to dry for 2 hours, then wipe the seatpost clean. Apply a few drops to the QRs. That's it. Skip the grease and heavier oils, as it makes the seatpost slip, requiring you to apply excessive clamping force to the QRs, which over time, can possibly crack the seat tube clamp area (happened to mine).

Boeshield T9: +1
Periodically on sale at PB.