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Creak that's driving me nuts

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Creak that's driving me nuts

Old 04-30-08, 07:20 AM
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Creak that's driving me nuts

I have a creak that only happens when I really hammer/stand on pedals when climbing. The sound seems to happen with every rotation of the crank. Seems to creak a bit more when my left leg pushes down. This isn't coming from the seat/handle bar area.

So here's what I did try to prevent this creak:
-re-cabled my bike
-every bolt cleaned, re-lubed
-removed cranks/bb, re-lubed splines on octalink BB, lots of anti seize on BB threads. BB torqued to 50 ft lbs, cranks to 40 ft lbs. This is a sealed BB, no adjustment.
-pedals removed, cleaned re-greased threads, not loose on crank
-checked cleats for looseness, lubed cleat mounting bolts
-re-lubed seat post, alumin/alumin contact
-checked tension on wheels, all spokes within 5% of each other
-tried 3 cassettes
-rebuild hubs. No binding, spin smooth.

When the creak started I started to diagnose, which lead to a worn chain. I had a dura ace chain. I replaced it with Sram 991HP chain. I looked on sheldon's site at worn ring/cassette pictures. I don't seem to exhibit signs of wear.

After doing all the above, the sound has gotten less profound. Before I found the chain issue, I thought it was my BB. I took it out, cleaned, re-torqued. If I remember correctly, the creak did decrease a bit. Is this BB related? It seems to spin smooth. Any ideas?
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Old 04-30-08, 07:23 AM
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Did you check the chainring bolts?
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Old 04-30-08, 07:29 AM
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Originally Posted by HillRider
Did you check the chainring bolts?
Yep, I took the chain rings off to clean them, re-lubed the bolts.
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Old 04-30-08, 08:00 AM
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change the quick releases in both wheels. If you have some in AL or Steel do a test with them I'm sure the creack noise will stop right away. New QRs are made of AL with plastic parts so they tend to go bad, put some oil between the plastic parts or get a new pair or QRs.

Hope this solve your problem.

UM
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Old 04-30-08, 08:03 AM
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Is this a carbon fiber frame with a bolted together rear triangle?
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Old 04-30-08, 10:34 AM
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It's a Scott aluminum frame.

I'll try the quick release thing.
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Old 04-30-08, 10:51 AM
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+1 on the QR idea...grease the contact points between the dropouts and the hubs on one side and the QR on the other...front and back.
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Old 04-30-08, 11:37 AM
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I had a creak very much like yours last year. I tried most of the things you did except for the hubs and cassette replacement. In the end, I gave up and took it into the LBS. The solution?

More torque on the pedals.
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Old 04-30-08, 12:41 PM
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Take off, grease, and reinstall the rear derailleur hanger. A lot of them are not really up to spec so they move around a bit. Don't know Scott specifically but I've seen a few of them.

cdr
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Old 04-30-08, 12:44 PM
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Make Sure Your Bike Doesn't Have A Crack!!
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Old 04-30-08, 12:45 PM
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I forgot to mention that some cracks are on the inside of the frame or bottom bracket. You might not be able to see them. Ask your LBS.
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Old 05-02-08, 05:36 AM
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Well, here's an update. Problem solved

Took the wheels off. Put a bit of grease on the drop outs. Also put some grease on the hubs/sqewers where they contact the drop outs. Now my bike is silent
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Old 05-02-08, 11:36 AM
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R u going to give me some credit?
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Old 05-05-08, 09:37 AM
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Originally Posted by ultraman6970
R u going to give me some credit?
Most def.

I totally forgot that I changed from older all steel DA quick releases to steel/plastic composite DA releases.
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