coasting 

hi all

there's a squeeking noise coming from the bb/crank/pedal region when i am pedaling reasonably fast. the bike was only recently assembled so not wear and tear. no squeeking when coasting or low cadence.

Hollowtech II system all new except pedals. is it likely to be the cups? since the bearings are sealed, does it mean the bb cup is no good and should be replaced?

Thanks

jtarver

I'm not very savvy to modern BBs, but I have heard using teflon tape when installing the cups can prevent the squeaking.

frankenmike 

Could be just the plastic/rubber seals on the bearings squeaking. If so, should disappear eventually.

une_vitesse

remove the cranks and spindle. remove cups, clean thoroughly with a zero residue cleaner such as clean streak by white lightning, scrape off the old locktite and reinstall with locktite 242 (the blue stuff). whille you're at it, inspect the faces of the bb shell, and if you have a good lbs, have them face the shell. reinstall cranks, tighten pedals. you should be good.
i have noticed on a lot of new builds that the bb's are installed with grease even though the cup threads come treated with some kind of thread locker. grease negates the effect of locktite.

noglider 

Wait! It could just be a squeaky chain!

coasting 

Thanks. taking it off and reinstalling may be required on reflection. I don't think it's the chain. It was totally cleaned and degreased off the bike, then drowned in fresh lube before installing.

kayakdiver

got a spare set of pedals?... if you do it might make sense to eliminate that first. Just a suggestion.

skloot

Make sure all your chainring bolts are tight. I was having a squeaking issue and it turned out to be caused by two loose chainring bolts.

Also try using different pedals, or seeing if the squeak still happens when you just press on the crank arm. May as well check out the easy stuff before taking the thing apart.

Walter

This solved a otherwise unfindable squeak for me. If you're unwilling to wait for it to wear in (I wasn't) you can get yourself a tube of ProGold lube, or any other that has a "hypodermic" type applicator and put a drop or 2 on the seal by putting the applicator into the BB assembly where the spindle comes out.

Solved the problem for me right away on a Campy Centaur square taper BB.

Panthers007

Hollowtech II BB's have two sealed bearings/hubs that ride on the outside of the BB-shell. There are no 'cups' to inspect. The inside of the BB-shell contains only a plastic hollow tube. All the moving parts are on the outside. On the crankset there is a spindle (axle) that fits through these two outside bearings/hubs. It's a two-piece crankset - chainrings, right crank-arm, and axle comprises one part. The second part being the left crank-arm.

une_vitesse

that's a good description of a hollowtech II bb/ i just thought that if the op went through the trouble of removing the cups (which are probably fine), he/she might want to inspect the bb shell faces and have a shop remove material if deemed necessary.
also, the cups threads must be -per the barnett's manual- treated with locktite before installing.

Panthers007

I don't use Locktite when I'm torquing them on at over 400i.p. I check 'em for a while with my gauge. For my own bikes that is. If they begin to loosen - then they get the Locktite. A job for another person gets the blue stuff regardless. One can always check the threads and face the BB if it hasn't already been done.

Good stuff. Keep it coming!

coasting 

Before I tinkered with anything, i thought I should take the bike out and see if i could narrow down where the sound was coming from. It was there again. Then I took it to some hills and gave it a damn good thrashing and the sound disappeared! It didn't come back even when I was spinning at higher cadence. Odd, but good outcome if no dismantling is required. Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

con

Long story short

Squeak, squeak, squeak, the sound went away ever time I stood up; so, of course I spent a lot of time chasing the squeak under my butt. As it turned out, it was nothing more than the Hollowtech II BB.