Creaking!
 

Hello all,

I have an unidentified creak and can't find where it's coming from. I'm 99% sure it's coming from the front of the bike, below is some info to help eliminate some possibilities -

Bike - Specialized Sirrus hybrid, carbon front forks, v-brakes. Square taper BB, threadless headset.

- It creaks when pedalling or not, so I don’t think it’s the chain/crank movement.
- It's worse on rough roads surfaces.
- It seems to be greatly reduced when I take weight off the handle bars.
- It isn't always there, on a smooth road rolling down a slope the bike is mostly silent.
- It doesn't seem to be as bad during the first few minutes of riding.
- It sounds more like a 'flexing/rubbing' creak than a clicking/grinding noise.
- The wheels rotate freely when spun by hand with the bike lifted, no noise.
- I released the front V brakes and rode along smooth road and noise was still there - so I don't think it's related to the brakes.
- I've checked the wheel spokes by hand and they seem ok, I don't have tools to measure/adjust tension.
- While stationary if I hold down the front brake and rock the bike back/forward everything seems solid and no noises.
- I’ve loosened and removed and re-tightened the seat post/saddle.
- The noise started off quite intermittent but is now very obvious (and annoying).

I'm thinking maybe the headset or bottom bracket? Is there an easy way of determining if they are the culprit?

Thanks!

I think you can eliminate BB and spokes, as well as front hub. It's going to most likely be the interface between two parts, such as handlebar/stem, stem/fork, hub/fork, etc. I would suggest first tightening to spec and if that does not fix it disassemble, clean the interface between parts and then reassemble, greasing where appropriate.

Thanks, I'll have a go at that later.

Random creaking whether pedaling or coasting is more likely the handlebar, or something else up front rather than anything drive related.

An easy way to test this is to ride no hands. If the bike stops creaking then it's definitely someplace between the fork and handlebar. Often it's the handlebar/stem connection. If you have a quill stem, it's also likely to be between the stem and fork. Other possibilities, such as stem/fork on threadless system, and/or a headset issue are also possible, but at least you'll be looking in the right place.

BTW- it's also possible for creaking to come from the front end (rarely) when riding no hands, so if the creaking changes in nature or frequency, you haven't ruled the front end out entirely.

Hi! I just went through the same thing the other day, an unexpected noise coming from the rear of my bike, however. Nothing when i wasn't on the bike and minimal sound when i moved my weight forward. I snapped the axle. This can cause your wheel to lose alignment under load and rub your brakes or fork. Inspect your fork and brake for any strange deposits on one side or the other. Rubber dust buildup would be an indicator that you're rubbing the tire against something, which means loss of alignment.

I rode my bike for a good 20 miles before discovering my axle break. It didn't seem bad at first, but by the time i got home i was worried and annoyed. Catching this now could save you quite a bit of damage to repair later.

You can check for this by removing your front wheel, removing the QR skewer and any bolts or washers threaded on your front wheel axle then attempting to twist the axle. If one end turns and the other doesn't, you have a broken axle. You may not even need to do that if it is broken, as the axle will probably turn while you're removing the bolts.

Initially i was distracted from the hub/axle/freewheel by the squealing noise coming from my tire rubbing my chainstays and brakes. Sometimes the noises are just symptoms of the actual problem.