Frame Creaks After Trainer Ride
 

I have a Fuji Cross aluminum frame that I put on my Elite Zumo direct drive trainer. After I finish riding, I hear creaks coming from the bike when I'm not on it. I've checked and double checked the frame for cracks but thankfully, I see nothing. A better description than "creak" would be...kind of what you would imagine a metallic knuckle cracking would sound like (does that make sense? Not quite a pop but sort of).

This occurs while the bike is on the trainer, with the wheel off, or after I take the frame off and put the rear wheel back in. It's not consistent, might only creak 1-2x after a ride or it may creak 5-10x. It never creaks after a certain amount of time off the trainer (haven't measured but maybe an hour?). It does not creak if I put it on the trainer but do not ride.

It's not the QR, as I have undone the QR on the trainer and left the bike sitting there, and yes, creak. I have tested the frame by grabbing the seatpost & handlebars, putting my foot on the BB, and giving some good pushes, no creak.

Any ideas what this could be? I have the bike set up on the trainer exactly the way Elite showed me, in both the user manual and in customer support when I reached out with this issue. It's driving me crazy and I'm hoping that I'm not destroying my bike by missing something. I do not do sprints on the bike, just V02max at most. I should also note that I ride this bike outdoors and have never heard it creak in this way after / during an outdoor ride.

Thanks

Do you know someone who has a direct connecting trainer you could mount your bike to and see if it creaks with another trainer stand? When you clamp the QR do you see a shift to the frame's alignment WRT the trainer axle? Does the stand get REALLY hot? Andy

All good ideas - I do have a friend with a Directo so I'll ask him if I can try it out. When I clamp the QR, I see the rear derailleur moving a little but the frame remains in the same place. And no, I've touched all over the trainer after a session and it remains relatively cool. I haven't tried touching the QR, maybe I'll give that a shot.

I should have been more obvious in my satire, I really doubt heat has anything to do with the noise. This came from my growing up and hearing the house's hot water baseboard system clicking with the on and off cycles. Andy

Yes, but it does sound quite a lot like that of a car plinking after a hot day's drive (just on a much reduced scale). That's why I thought your idea was legit to check out, but to continue after an hour off the bike when I think about it means it's not related.

Hi, i have a very similar problem. My titanium frame randomly creak after a ride on the trainer. More than once, usually, after just a few minutes or even after a couple of hours.
Have you discovered what it is causing that?

Perhaps it's the cable housing stops on the frame - the cables have to twist slightly as you ride, even with small movements of the handlebars. Dirt or rust or other schmutz will get in there and can make creaking and popping noises.

Not in my case... I have Di2!
This thing is going me mad. I can hear, after a few minutes, e very distintive metallic "Ding". It's like a spring, something returning in his place...

It's not related rear thru axle. I tried to partially unscrew the axle after training ad the "Ding" is there, after a while, unchanged... :(

this is a strange problem that i have not experienced with my ride and off wheel trainer.

try looking over all fasteners and make sure they are torqued properly.