fork/steerer rubbing noise
 

hi i posted this on the cult of caad thread but dont think that was the best place to ask... so here the original post, please help!

question for anybody. i recently have been riding and while climbing out of saddle, something in the steering tube/fork area is making a squeaking noise, a noise similar to rubber rubbing on metal. i believe its due to the humidity because i never experienced this before. i was in NJ and NYC ...its a bit embarrassing and annoying. is there a way to prevent this from happening? do i have to dissemble and re lube this? thanks...

*the rubbing is not a grinding or anything that sounds dangerous. i rode 50 miles and inspected everything and pretty sure its coming from steerer tube. only when im climbing out of saddle and cranking hard and pulling up on bars, it makes this noise...

Steerer tubes have a certain amount of flex. If you have a long extension, and a decent number of spacers above the headset you have plenty of leverage to flex the steerer when climbing and pulling the handlebars.

The creaking can come from anywhere along the line, between spacers, the spacers and steerer, the stem and steerer, upper bearing and compression ring, etc. Sometimes it's possible to flex the steerer enough for headset seals to rub.

The headset might also be ever so slightly loose, not enough to give you the classic knocking sound, but enough to creak when the steerer is flexed. Before going crazy, increase the bearing preload slightly (do not overtighten) and see if it resolves. If not, consider field stripping the headset and doing a full service, then reassemble and adjust.

thanks, its not really a creaking sound though. its more like a goose noise. and i can feel a sound low frequency vibration. its smooth but makes that noise. also i have no spaces expect the one full piece it came with. i have been riding this since 6 months and no sound until now. any other suggestions since i mention its not really creaking?

Why speculate? It's easy enough to tighten a headset slightly, and if that doesn't work pull the fork, and service the headset, which you'd have to do anyway to analyze the problem. Then if that doesn't work either you can look for more complex possibilities.

ok, i finally got a chance this weekend to ride again. its in fact not coming from front. when i was cruising out of saddle my butt touched my saddle as the noise started. it vibrated all the way up. i checked for brake rub and wheel true. its probably coming from rear hub. i've taken another wheel and greased it up, but is there a way to inject liquid grease (is there such thing?) hubs are not sealed so i could see grease coming out. any ideas?

There are aerosol greases, but if your hub needs grease, the bearings also need to be cleaned, adding grease to a dirty hub is a waste of time, as the problem will still be there.

Hubs are usually easy to service and there are lots of tutorials available.