tjharris

I'm new to belt drive bikes and unsure of the diagnoses of symptoms with this drive train. When pedaling I get a clicking/creaking noise. It does seem to happen at the same point in the rotation, but I don't see any issues with the pedals, cranks, etc.

I thought the belt tension might have been too low, so I adjusted it a bit tighter but that didn't help the noise. So, before messing around with the drivetrain any more I thought I would check here to see if those more experienced with Spot or other belt drive bikes had thoughts.

Monstermash

Can you tell where the noise is coming from? It sounds like the bottom bracket but it could be the hub as well.

See if you can isolate where the noise is coming from.

dynaryder

Did you just eyeball them,or actually check the tightness? Check everything;the cranks,pulleys,BB,and pedals.

tjharris

Thanks the responses. The sound is definitely coming from the front. I have tightened up the front ring/pulley.. a couple were not fully tightened down (but, they were loose and there was no movement in the pulley) . I also firmed up the left crank - it was pretty tight to begin with. I then took the new pedals off and replaced them with the originals - well tightened. But I'm still getting the creaks/clicks.

I don't have the tools to deal with the bottom bracket. So, I haven't taken off the cranks. There doesn't seem to be any play at all in the crank arms. If I were to remove them, what should I be looking for that could cause the noise? Would it be the "cups" not tight enough into the frame? Or, the crank arm not seated far enough in?

billysuggit

Hi,

I currently have this issue with my Boardman 8.8 urb. What was the cause of the issue?

Cheers,
Bill

amroc

I also have this problem, on my urb 8.8 that I've owned for a couple of months. It only started happening in the last few weeks.

Tetilcy

Hi all,

I have the same creak/click. Sounds like it comes from near bottom bracket, there are some Allen key bolts below the bottom bracket, I wonder if the creak comes from around these. Had the bike serviced once and they mentioned that these bolts help tension the belt.

click is annoying though, I'm gonna take it into the bike shop and see if they can sort it. I tried tightening the bolts but they're a bit stiff, and I'm worried about damaging the heads.

I wonder if it's an early design flaw on belt drive bikes, which will be overcome on future models.

Rick53

It's not anything but the nature of the Beast . Belts squeak > It probably has something to do with soap bildup or something from washing it . Power wash it and let it air dry in the shade . Belt just squeak eventually and then for no reason will stop . Might be a dressing the manufacturer sells . I ride with a guy now and then that rides some expensive Pinion geared bike . Names starts with a P I think . He does something to prevent belt squeak . It was a topic of a conversation we all had . I just can't remeber what though . Sorry

silverbadger

Same issues for me. I contacted Boardman and they told me to take it to Halfords where I got it for a checkup.

Apparently this is a common problem - either due to using defective parts and/or not properly greasing barings. I overheard the staff saying they'd had lots of bikes returned.

Halfords claim to have fixed the problem, but while it's much improved, my bike still creaks when I push down hard on the pedals.

I'll give it a couple more days then ask for a replacement.