Abu Mahendra

i have creaking on the crankset region. i have a hollowtech BB. what's causing it? there is no play on the pedals or BB when i pull up or down, or when i stand up and pedal...

gregf83 

Could be many reasons. One issue I’ve had is the cartridge bearings can move slightly in the BB shell. The fix was to use a gap filling loctite between the bearing and shell.

cny-bikeman

In the interest of saving on a lot of typing try these resources:
Creaks, Clicks & Clunks
Google search for Hollowtech creak

jwh20

Lots of causes. I had one of these and I was 100% it was coming from my BB. I took the whole thing apart, cleaned, lubed, re-torqued everything and, of course, it didn't change anything. I finally tracked it down to the cleat on my right shoe. While it wasn't loose, the flex was causing it to creak.

JohnDThompson 

Bike noises are notoriously difficult to track down. A noise that seems to be coming from the crank could be in the bottom bracket, chainring bolts, pedals/cleats, saddle, or even the headset or handlebars. Start by addressing the easiest possibilities first, and work through everything until you find it.

AnkleWork

Most likely your shoe rubbing on a crank arm as you peddle.

Abu Mahendra

i should add, the creaking is not cyclical or in sync with pedaling cadence or wheel rotation, but rather seemingly random.

Leisesturm

IME once a creak becomes annoying it can usually be traced if the rider pays attention. Close attention. I would re-torque the crank bolts first thing. Don't assume. Get the wrench in there and torque it to spec. Or as hard as you can if you don't (likely) have a torque wrench.

cny-bikeman

You are kidding, right? That is hardly the most likely cause of a creak, and would only occur at the bottom of the stroke.

evan326

I've had that exact thing happen to me. It was my shoe rubbing the chainstay when I was getting lazy with pedaling.
I've also had the cable cut too long from the FD and the cable end would touch the crank only in the little ring.

cny-bikeman

Well, that makes it a 100% chance for you, but still is not "most likely" for the general population.

Kontact 

Could be any parts of the crank or pedals. But it can also be the seat, seat post, rear QR or cassette lockring.

Loose cassette lockrings cause an awful lot of mystery creaks, in my experience.

evan326

I just mean it is a possibility that shouldn't be ruled out. I agree it's unlikely

u235

Usually something a tad bit loose or not mated correctly brought on by a twisting force on a metal-metal joint. Two pieces of metal that are tight or mated enough to creek and move in steps or increments but not tight enough that would prevent moving in the first place. Worst case is something cracked and flexing when it should not be. I could throw out a bunch of analogizes but I don't know if they would be any better or representative than actual issue at hand. An old metal backyard swing set with a heavy dude on it, breaking free a rusted nut and bolt?

Along the lines of what others are saying, it could be the seat post but seems related to the pedaling/cranks because your weight is shifting as you go through the rotation. I had an adjustable stem and handlebars that was loose and creaked when I got out of the saddle for steep hills off road, happened in sync with my pedal stroke as I provided counter force through the bars as I was applying a lot of low rpm torque to the cranks and could be confused with crank noise and so on. Point being, you have to follow general practice and narrow down the source.

Assuming it actually is your bottom bracket and it is a creaking...
If you have standard threaded BB, make sure it is tight.. If so, take it apart, clean and put a little grease on the threads and carefully put it back together and see if that clears it up. Inspect it while you are there, a new HT bottom bracket is about $20 if that will give you piece of mind.

cny-bikeman

Words matter. Anklework said it was the "most likely" and I questioned that without ruling it out at all. Again, referring to Sheldon's site and doing a Google search will likely solve the problem, rather than a lot of "it happened to me" posts before the OP has done basic troubleshooting.

evan326

I apologize for trying to contribute.

cny-bikeman

I merely expressed an opinion about the best course of action, with no intent to demean your contribution. It is simply true that exploring random and rare possibilities is not productive until one has methodically gone through the more common causes.

LKA 

This thread is awesome.
One time long ago, on a really long ride, a nearly imperceptible creaking finally got on my nerves. Upon returning home, I cinched down pedals, cranks, chainring bolts, seatpost, handlebar stem, et al. The noise went away, but I was never privy to its cause. I think the memory of the "fix" bothers me more than the memory of the noise itself, LOL.

AnkleWork

Is it OK if I merely express an opinion? Please advise.

McBTC

Sure it's not coming from your bicycle seat?

fietsbob

indicates it's a lot quieter there than where I live, but yea why not the saddle? as good a guess as any, and that's all we can do.

not being there.. send airfare?

Dsprok

This is what I felt also. The creak is random led me to it.

Edit: just noticed you have Dahon folding bikes in the fleet. Could be the hinge joints. Grease quieted my KHS folder.

Dsprok

The problem with Blitz fixes, you never really know what part was creaking.

cny-bikeman

I don't know why you would ask me, but of course it's OK to express opinions.

AnkleWork

Thank you for your blessing.