moonlessnight

I have a 1990 Canondale Criterium 3 that I picked up from a pawn shop a few weeks back and I've only had opportunity to ride it a few times. I've noticed that while under load it creaks.

It seems to creak whether I pedal or not. However it creaks more when pedaling. As near as I can tell the sound is coming from the front. I have checked for loose bolts and everything is tight.

My first assumption was that the spokes were rubbing together so I greased all the crossovers. I checked for play in the headset and there isn't any. It also seems to turn smoothly without resistance.

Tonight I figured I would take apart the headset and clean and regrease everything to see if that takes care of it. I am interested to see if anyone has suggestions as to what could be causing it and or what else I should check.

Andrew R Stewart 

Please understand that chasing a sound long distance is very hard to do Usually when a bike comes into the shop with such a need we test ride the bike to hear the creak and try to repeat it. There are so many possible sources of the sound. Spokes rubbing at their crossings or nipples fitting in the rim. Headset balls that are dry of lube and rough/rusted. Headset cups or crown race that are loose in/on their seatings. Stem or bars not lubed and/or tight. Seat and post clamps that are loose or dry of lube. BTW some Canondales use a sleeve inside the seat tube to size down the fit (for the post). These sleeves can work loose and creak under body weight. Your crank or BB could be loose or worn out. Maybe the chainring bolts are loose or dry. Maybe your pedals... Maybe your wheels are not tightly secured. Maybe...

You've got to start narrowing down the possible source. Try different wheels, pedals. Try coasting with all your weight on one pedal then the other. Do the same with weighting the bars from side to side. Rock the bike on it's front wheel with the brake on. Once you find how to repeat the sound at will then you're on your way to being able to fix it. Andy.

cny-bikeman

Nothing much can be added to Andrew's suggestion. You may see some entries like "The exact same thing happened to me and it was..." Resist the tempation to try random ideas and instead approach the problem logically, eliminating things by substitution or isolation techniques such as Andrew suggests. Also as he notes this is much, much easier in-person with an experienced eye/ear/mind.

italktocats

bars/stem all tight?

AnkleWork

Rather than random "repairs", you might consider characterizing the creak more fully.

More Cowbell

Agree with all of Andrew's suggestions. I would only add to check/tighten the quick release skewers on the wheels.

moonlessnight

Thank you all for your advice. I took my headset apart and cleaned it thoroughly and regressed everything. It appears to have done the trick as it is now very quiet.