RiverHills

I have a 2008 Trek 1.2 size 58 cm with the triple chain ring. When I am out of the saddle and hammering a hard climb, I get this loud creaking noise that happens only when my left foot is at the bottom of the stroke- in other words when all my weight is on the left side of the bike. The noise sounds like it is coming somewhere below or behind me, but hard to tell for sure and it does seem to happen more when I am in the lower (larger diameter) gears in the back when there would be more torque applied to the rear wheel. I am not able to duplicate the noise on the trainer because I have got to really be jamming hard. So I'm hesitant to take it into the LBS only to have the dreaded "could not duplicate" outcome. Anyway, this is what I have tried to trouble shoot this noise:

-Made sure aheadset is snug and tight
-Lubed and tightened all water bottle cage and spare pump connections
-Lubed all the points where the spokes over lap each other
-Checked brake pad clearance
-Checked cleat-pedal fit
-Checked derailleur and drive train clearances and adjustments
-Tightened both front and rear skewers
-Made sure seat post was tight

So what am I missing??

When I first got the bike, there was a clunking noise coming from the bottom bracket during all pedaling. I took it back to the LBS and the mechanic said the bottom bracket nut needed tightened- wasn't tightened properly at the factory. Anyway, I'm not too familiar with bottom bracket mechanisms, but the BB does seem to be snug and is free of all other noise so I don't know if that is just a coincidence or part of the problem now.

Could this noise be from the crappy stock wheels that came with my 1.2? Or could this just be normal noise from the frame flexing? I do notice that if I apply enough pressure to the rims with my hands, they do make some noise. Just not sure if its the same noise that I am hearing when all my 220 pounds comes crashing down on the left pedal.

neil0502

You may find the following links helpful in tracking it down:

https://sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

AND

https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=123

It's usually just a matter of patiently removing, cleaning,
re-lubing, and re-torquing fasteners until it quiets down.

enigmagic

Chainring bolts, saddle clamp.

But yeah, Sheldon covers this.

estabro

It could be the wheels. Check spoke tension. I had a creek that would appear the same as yours. I swore is was coming further back, but it was caused by a spoke that was very loose. Low-end Bontrager wheels suck.

Also might want to check torque on crank bolts and pedals.

Panthers007

And chain-length and wear. That did this to my new Trek. Somehow the NEW Trek had a chain that was not.

enigmagic

Did you figure out what happened with that?

Sounds a bit sketchy..

Panthers007

Obviously somewhere down the line - someone either wanted a new chain and did a five-finger discount - but was nice enough to give his old chain for the cause. Or Trek themselves ran out of chains and either Trek or the shop I got it from made the swap.

My money's on the shop. They turned out to be crooks and idiots.

une_vitesse

I just had a custie come in with a similar noise coming from his bike. outboard bottom bracket cups were loose. if this is the case in your situation, have the shop face your bb shell and reinstall the cups with loktite 242.

Todd Richards

if that's not it borrow another rear wheel to see if it could be spokes or hubshell

Todd Richards

check that the rear skwer is tight.... if that's not it borrow another rear wheel to see if it could be the spokes or hubshell

RiverHills

I think that was what needed tightened when I first got the bike. The mechanic, a stout burley fellow, said he cranked it down as hard as he could. Is it possible it could have worked itself loose?

And what are the shell and cups?

Metzinger

Yes, Bottom Brackets sometimes work themselves loose. But usually Italian threaded ones, not like yours.
The shell is the round part of the bike that the BB threads into.
The cups are the right and left parts of the BB that thread into the shell.
Facing the shell means using a tool to evenly flatten the sides of the shell.

Removing pedals, regreasing threads and torquing back on, was something I didn't see on your list. If you haven't done so already, you could try this next. It has worked for me.

RiverHills

Last night I did check the the bolts that attach the cranks. I don't know if I would call them loose, but I was able to tighten them with just a standard length allen wrench. So I torqued them down as hard as I could int he absence of a torque wrench...

RiverHills

Proofide, welcome to modern America! I can't think of any product that isn't assembled overseas anymore and worth more than a fraction of its price in terms of quality.

For the amount of money these bikes and their components cost, it really is dispicable that for the better part of $800 which I still consider to be a lot of money, the best I can get is bottom of the barrel components that are assembled in a Chinese sweat shop and need professional adjustment prior to use.

My next bike will probably be a Cannondale, as they are made right here in the great Commonwealth of PA, but I'm sure even they have their share of foreign components.

And yes, that LBS where I bought my bike sucks and I quit doing business with them not long after, but that's a whole separate story...

woodway

Pull the seat, clean and lightly grese the seat post and reinstall. Sometimes the seat post can rub against the seat tube causing a creak.

Garthr

Cannondale has, or is in the process of moving all bike frame production to Taiwan.

https://www.stillmadeinusa.com/blog/2...to-taiwan.html


If you want a frame made in the USA, there's no better way than to buy from a custom builder. . . and some can be had for around or even less than 1 grand from low-profile builders across the country.

RiverHills

What's a good resource to find these builders?

Randallissimo

I had the same problem yesterday, and found my left crank bolt loose. Tightened it on the road at a garage, and it stopped creaking and got me home. Now I am going put a torque wrench on it and really tighten it to spec.

woodway

Nope, mine was doing it recently. Creak while standing and mashing. I have not quite figured out the physics of it, but I know a cleaning and light lube fixed it. A long shot for the OP for sure, but I thought I woudl offer it up...

Metzinger

^Strange physics indeed. On a similar note: I was brushing my teeth the other day when the phone rang.

RiverHills

Update for anyone who ever comes across this topic while searching for the similar problem... I believe I have solved the noise. After re-tightening bottle cages, headset, pedals, cranks, and every other fastener I could find with the noise still persisting, I took the wheels off, greased up the skewers, particularly the area where the skewer clamps the fork. Problem solved. Apparently even with the skewers tightened as hard as I could physically get them, there was still enough friction in the joint to cause noise when climbing hard and putting a lot of force up and down on the handlebars. Ridden about 100+ miles now and no noise.

crispy010

I have a similar click on my bike when standing or under hard efforts. Like your case, it was the mating faces of the frame dropouts and the wheel and skewer. A light coating of grease makes the noise go away.

My philosophy for working on bikes is that every mating surface gets at least a light coating of grease. Nothing goes together completely dry.