Originally Posted by
conor
does your berkeley creak when you ride? i'm finding that mine does--mostly in the front, though i could swear that i hear something every once an a while from the crank area. maybe i'm just being silly. i don't know.
i think that it may be the handlebars, and if that's the case, then how do i fix that?
Creaks can be hard to trace because a bike is a big set of resonator tubes, so things aren't always where they sound like they are. The first thing to check is does it still happen if you pedal out of the saddle, if it doesn't tighten your seatpost clamp. This is probably 30% of all creaks. Next check your chainring bolts, this is probably another 30%. After that, tighten all other fasteners except the crank bolts, being careful not to strip anything. If you end up suspecting the crank bolts, it's best to pull the cranks, repack or replace the BB for good measure, and then reinstall the cranks with a torque wrench.
If you're still using the original steel cranks, there's actually a better than average chance it's the crank bolts. Snugging them up isn't as risky as with Al cranks, but again, BB maintenance is always a good idea.