Creaking front wheel / forks
 

hi. I have a Marin Fairfax hybrid bike which I got about 5 months ago. I'm really happy with it, but I have noticed that recently it has developed a rather annoying (and worrying) creaking sound when I turn the handlebars about 45 degrees left or right. The creak is definitely coming from the wheel or forks, however it doesn't occur at low speeds.

Is this anything I should be worried about, and can anyone help with a suggestion of how to fix this? Not sure if it is relevant, but the bike has carbon fibre forks and lockable wheel nuts.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

It could be something as simple as your shift/brake cables rubbing on the frame or it could be your headset bearings. You can quickly check for a loose headset (one cause of a creaky headset) by grabbing the front brake tightly and rocking the bike back and forth. You should not be able to feel any play or knocking as you do this. The frame should only move as much as the fork does.

If you can feel knocking, you'll want to adjust your headset ASAP. You could ruin your frame/fork if you ride too long with it loose. Given that your bike is only 5 months old, it should still be covered under warranty at the shop you bought it from. If that's not an option and you are somewhat mechanically inclined, adjusting a headset or regreasing the bearings is a pretty simple procedure though it does require some skill in the bearing preload adjustment. Read up at www.parktool.com