Weird creaking
 

This is a bit of a weird one and a bit difficult to describe but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. I'm having a rhythmic creak/click type noise from the rear of my old 70s road bike (I know it's the rear as if I change gear at the front, the timing doesn't change). It happens most when I'm in middle gear (of 5) but also to some extent in the adjacent ones, and mostly when I'm going up a gentle gradient. If I start out, it may not happen for half an hour, but then suddenly start (maybe because I've hit a gentle gradient). When it's happening, I can ease it by releasing pressure on the pedals for an instant, but it usually soon returns. The rear cassette and chain were replaced recently. The only thing that occurs to me is the bearings on the rear wheel hub. I replaced the ones on the drive side and I noticed it was very difficult to get the right amount of tightness without causing friction or looseness. So my next step was to replace the rear wheel, but I thought I'd see if anyone can suggest anything else first.

thanks

I had a strange popping noise coming from somewhere. I discovered that most of the noise was from a loose bottom bracket. However, I seem to still have a small amount of popping going on even after I tightened it. I don't know if that is your trouble but I have learned that noises from a bike seem to travel in the tubes which makes it hard to locate their source.

If the sound comes under torque then it might be the bottom bracket.

Did you check your pedals? Sometimes the pedals are to blame for the creaking noise. Had an instance of that recently with some Crank Brothers clipless jobs - which (as it turned out) were due for an over-haul.

Your best bet is to overhaul the pedals and the bottom bracket. If you have a doubt about the bearings, dump them in favor of new replacements, properly lubricated of course.

Thanks. Yes I did try tightening the bottom bracket and it made no difference. In any case I'm pretty sure the noise coincides with the rotation of the rear wheel and not of the cranks, which presumably it would if it was the BB or pedals?

I would suggest you check spoke tension, but before doing any tightening flex the crossing of the spokes. You may find roughness at some of those points from flexing due to insufficient spoke tension. If so then smooth the areas with emery paper, tension the spokes and see if the problem resolves.

Any chance your cranks are loose on the BB spindle? And do you perhaps have cottered cranks? Boy, can they creak when loose!

Here's a short list of good answers:
https://www.google.com/search?rls=en...est&gws_rd=ssl

The OP clearly stated "I know it's the rear as if I change gear at the front, the timing doesn't change." That means that any idea that does not correspond to rear wheel rotation is invalid. That includes any part of the crank/BB assembly or the chain.

I'm hoping you are kidding. 930 threads is not a short list.

I should have mentioned in my post that locating a sound while riding is very difficult. We often can't tell if a sound is coming from directly in front of us or directly behind us. It's much easier if the sound is to one side of us. Since everything on a bike is in a straight line in front of, below, or behind us, it's hard to rule out any part as the source of a sound. Pedals and cranks, however, are notorious for causing rhythmical creaking.

Suggest to check/service the rear hub. I had a similar problem and that's what mine turned out to be.

It's not hard to eliminate cranks/BB in this case because the sound is in time with wheel rotation, not crank rotation.

That's often a sign of a bent axle. Did you check for that?

True. Careless reading on my part.

Are you seated or standing when you get your noise?

You might wish to check your dropouts to make sure that they are intact. Rarely, but it does happen, dropouts can start to break away from the stays, especially on an older frame.

You might also wish to inspect your chainstays where they join to your BB. They too can begin to separate, and could create a creaking noise which might appear to eminate from your rear wheel, concurrent with wheel rotations.

And, you indicate that you have a new cassette. Did you check to make sure that the cassette lock ring or outer cog was tightened properly? A slightly loose lock ring or outer cog will create a noise with each revolution of your wheel.

Third, sometimes cassettes that are held together with those long screws (which yours may be) have loose screws, which will permit cogs to rub against one another even if your lock ring/outer cog is tightened properly. If you don't have screws holding your cassette together some of the cogs may not be seated properly, and will rock a bit, causing noise. Remove cassette and check, and remount...

Thanks all. I'm seated when it happens. I'm pretty sure I checked for a bent axle when I replaced the drive-side bearings. And I'm pretty sure also it was happening before I replaced the chain and cassette. I will check the chainstays.

You have not yet addressed the suggestion in my post number 5 above. It's not the chain, probably not the chainstays - again that would tend to be in time with pedaling, not the wheels. We need possible causes that have a logical connection to the symptoms.

I did check the spokes and there weren't any obviously loose ones.

Did you flex the point where the spokes cross to see if there is roughness present? The looseness is not necessarily obvious. If you are going to ask for help we need to be able to count on you to help eliminate causes so that we're not just guessing. Please take hold of two spokes that cross between the cross and the rim and try to pull them toward each other to see if there is a rough feeling when you do so. You have to check every crossing. Or you could just get the spokes properly tensioned and see if that helps.

Ok, thanks I will check. My hunch though is that it is something to do with the hub or axle. It's kind of a clack sound, like a ratchet.

Actually that is more like the sound that spokes would make than is a creaking sound. If you find the spokes are fine then I'd suggest you just overhaul the hub. There's no point in guessing if you can do something that will help and do no harm and eliminate a possible cause.

Not very often, but it still happens, the freehub on the rear wheel gets dry inside and the ratchet pawls slip. Although this is a rare occurence, you might try having a gander at this if nothing else works. If this is a Shimano hub, which it seems to be, you would remove the rear axle and bearings and then take a 10 mm. allen wrench to insert and remove the hollow bolt that fixes the freehub to the hub...Remove and check for a clean ratchet and smooth bearings.

And, an even stranger and rare incident is for the freehub to work loose on the hub. If it does all sorts of strange things can happen. Process as above just to check as a last resort.

Alternatively, if your sound occurs when you are seated you might have a saddle rail moving ever so slightly. Your description of the sound doesn't seem like it would be a saddle rail problem, but it could be...When your power ratio changes with the gear change your power stroke may change slightly in intensity which could trigger the sound when you rock ever so little on the saddle. Try removing the seat post fastener(s) and lubricating them a bit (simple grease lightly applied) and retighten...

Sounds do migrate through a frame, perhaps especially within an older steel frame, so checking all of the fasteners on the saddle, including the seat post fastener on the frame, would only take a few seconds that might yield some joy.

right, thanks. Looks like I'll be busy at the weekend! Or more likely I'll take the lazy and expensive option and buy a new wheel.

In case it helps anyone, it actually turned out to be the freewheel. I could have sworn the noise was happening before the last time I changed it, but clearly my memory was deceiving me.