Ugh!! Pedal/Cleat squeaking/squealing
 

I need help. Local bike shops have not helped. I have a high end racing bike (6.5 Trek Madone with 7900 Durace pedals, SPD cleats, about 2 years old). 2 weeks ago I developed squeaking/squealing on my left side when I climbed hills and stood out of the saddle. I thought it was my shoe so I oiled it, but it didn't help at all. I took it to a bike shop and the mechanic looked at my cleat and said it looked fine, and then tightened the release setting of the pedal and put some lube on it. We also cleaned my cleat with soap and water. The noise went away for about an hour of riding and then returned with a vengeance- but only when climbing or putting force to the pedal. I noticed that if I poured water from my water bottle on the pedal and cleat, the noise would lesson and almost go away for about 5 minutes but then it returned. I can reproduce the squeaking/squealing noise when stationary just be moving my cleat back and forth over the pedal.

Any ideas? Is it the spindle, bearings, interface between pedal and cleat? What is happening? I never had this problem before. :(

Can you swap cleats from side to side and see if the noise follows the cleat or stays with the pedal?

Eric

When I grind the cleat from side to side while clipped into the pedal while standing with my right foot on the ground straddling the bike, I can get it to make the squeaking/squealing noise, but of course, that noise is much greater when I pedal while standing going up a hill. It's driving me crazy!

Can someone else duplicate that using their own shoes and cleats? I'm just trying to figure out if it's the shoes or the pedals.

Eric

I've sprayed a bit of silicone lube on the cleats, at the pedal contact points to make the squeak go away. Silicone is a dry lube and doesn't attract dirt. It's a light lube and the problem is it is only a temporary fix and needs to be applied every now and then. It drives me crazy too, and notice it most on hills. It's one of those annoyances that could be solved just by turning the radio up a little louder (if it were a car).

Getting close (I think)
 

I took the pedal off, sprayed it with citrus oil, power hosed it, and then used dry lubricant in all the moving places. I greased up the spindle, put it back on, and then took off my cleats, cleaned them, put dry lubricant on the shoe and cleat and reattached them.

I went out for a ride, climbed a few hills and SO FAR! there is no more squeaking. Fingers crossed!

Nice bike like that deserves some Speedplay Zeros. That'll lose the squeak.

Having a similar problem except I think my problem's with my bottom bracket. Water makes it less and makes it go away, oiling will make it go away for a few hours... but it always returns. Can't replicate it while stationary.

Just planning on replacing it in the near future. How much were your pedals? Perhaps it'd be worth it to just replace the darn things?