First Problem on a new bike... HELP ME
05-23-07, 10:39 PM
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First Problem on a new bike... HELP ME
Oka, so I am new to this whole cycling thing. I bought a new 05 Bianchi Virata from my LBS about 3 weeks ago. Other than the normal things, pumping my tires and cleaning/lubing everything I really havent done too much for my bike.
I rode about 17 times in the last 3 weeks with no problems. Including a 1h 45m ride around the city. Didn't notice any problems at all. Left the bike in the car over night and this afternoon (around 20 hours after I previously rode it) I got it out to ride. Did my pre-ride check of the brakes and everything and I seemed good to go. Got on the bike and started down the road easing into the ride. About 5 min after I started I planned on starting to hammer after I turned a corner at a stop sign... Well, when I got out of the saddle (kind of like I was climbing a hill) to get up to speed faster, I noticed a grinding/creaking noise every time I put pressure on the handle bars. I thought something was wrong and freaked out, put the bike into low gear and just lightly cruised home. When I got back I tried to figure it out and found out that just pushing down on the bike it makes the same noise. I can't exactly seem to figure out whether it is coming from my handle bars or something else.
Any Ideas?!?!
PS. I am a n00b and did try to use the search function, but other than using sheldon brown and park tool I can't really figure it out...
I rode about 17 times in the last 3 weeks with no problems. Including a 1h 45m ride around the city. Didn't notice any problems at all. Left the bike in the car over night and this afternoon (around 20 hours after I previously rode it) I got it out to ride. Did my pre-ride check of the brakes and everything and I seemed good to go. Got on the bike and started down the road easing into the ride. About 5 min after I started I planned on starting to hammer after I turned a corner at a stop sign... Well, when I got out of the saddle (kind of like I was climbing a hill) to get up to speed faster, I noticed a grinding/creaking noise every time I put pressure on the handle bars. I thought something was wrong and freaked out, put the bike into low gear and just lightly cruised home. When I got back I tried to figure it out and found out that just pushing down on the bike it makes the same noise. I can't exactly seem to figure out whether it is coming from my handle bars or something else.
Any Ideas?!?!
PS. I am a n00b and did try to use the search function, but other than using sheldon brown and park tool I can't really figure it out...
05-23-07, 11:14 PM
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Handlebar creak, they need to be tightened at the stem. The LBS will do that,just in case. You're going to have creaking when you put pressure. It was a very common problem years ago, actually MORE with HI-End bars and stems. I reckon because they're lighter. A minor creak could be impossible to get rid of, your's seems like it's very loose, not just a stress related creak.
05-24-07, 10:01 AM
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If the bars and stem are alloy, ie not carbon, a very light coating of grease on the bar/stem joint will solve your problem. This is not uncommon for new bikes and the LBS should be able to do this without a problem.
