Bicycle Mechanics - Squeak coming from front hub.

I'm assuming it's the front hub.

I checked if there was any contact with the tire or rim on any part that it shouldn't be hitting and it's all good. Everything's perfect.

I took out the wheel and found a piece of metal(looked like aluminum foil or something) where the wheel locks in. I thought that was the problem, but alas it still squeaked.

I also tried tightening the quick release, but it still continued to squeak.

Some things I noticed about the squeak;
-It only happens when I'm going below 10 MPH or so.
-When I pedal it is a lot louder.
-When I put more weight on the front wheel it is even louder.
-It doesn't squeak if I'm off the bike and I spin the wheel.

The bike is a 2009 Trek 1.5. Could it be a problem with the wheels? I just bought the bike 2 weeks ago so I'm fairly certain something like this shouldn't be happening.

Sounds like you need to disassemble the hub and examine for worn cup/cone and/or bearings. If any are rough replace with new high quality parts. At the very least clean it of all gunk and re-lube, and reassemble and make sure the cone and locknuts are precisely adjusted to allow the wheel to spin smoothly and have NO side-to-side movement when quickrelease is fully tightened.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

from that very sheldon page--possibly your problem? hmmm?


Spoke rub

If there is a rubbing/clicking sound when you are riding, but you can't get it to happen when you lift the bike and spin the wheels off the ground, your problem is most likely related to loose spokes. In some cases, the spokes of an under-tensioned wheel will audibly rub against one another where they cross. This will only happen when the bike is carrying the weight of a rider. Try squeezing pairs of spokes together to see if they make the same sound you hear when riding.

The first thing I would check is to see if the bearing cones are tight enough. In other words, is there any lateral (side to side) play in the wheel? If yes, then the rims might be hitting the brake pads.

The sound of bearing going bad is rarely a squeeking sound. Usually a grinding sound.

Of course, I always bow to the late and very great Sheldon Brown. If Sheldon said check the spokes - you've got to do it. Jeez, Sheldon, we miss ya. No kidding.

Hmm.. The great curiosity and debate about squeeky bicycles goes on.

I believe there are rubber seals on the outside of the hub covering the cones. pull those off or back alittle and lube or grease them abit. The dry rubber is contacting the dry metal making the squeak

Sounds like you need to disassemble the hub and examine for worn cup/cone and/or bearings. If any are rough replace with new high quality parts. At the very least clean it of all gunk and re-lube, and reassemble and make sure the cone and locknuts are precisely adjusted to allow the wheel to spin smoothly and have NO side-to-side movement when quickrelease is fully tightened.

This is seriously the only thing I'm considering right now. I have no idea how disassemble and reassemble a hub so I'll bring it into the shop.


from that very sheldon page--possibly your problem? hmmm?


Spoke rub

If there is a rubbing/clicking sound when you are riding, but you can't get it to happen when you lift the bike and spin the wheels off the ground, your problem is most likely related to loose spokes. In some cases, the spokes of an under-tensioned wheel will audibly rub against one another where they cross. This will only happen when the bike is carrying the weight of a rider. Try squeezing pairs of spokes together to see if they make the same sound you hear when riding.

The spokes on the front wheel don't even touch each other so I don't see how that can be it.


The first thing I would check is to see if the bearing cones are tight enough. In other words, is there any lateral (side to side) play in the wheel? If yes, then the rims might be hitting the brake pads.

The sound of bearing going bad is rarely a squeeking sound. Usually a grinding sound.

Of course, I always bow to the late and very great Sheldon Brown. If Sheldon said check the spokes - you've got to do it. Jeez, Sheldon, we miss ya. No kidding.

Hmm.. The great curiosity and debate about squeeky bicycles goes on.

Checked the brake pads at first too. They don't touch. The wheel is out of true because of huge pothole I ran in to. It's not bad at all. Very slightly out of true. The tire also doesn't touch anywhere else.

I've been plagued by squeaky and creaking bicycles for the past 3 years. What made me think a brand new bike would change any of this?