melvinator

Hey everyone!

Here i am with another question for the pros to answer! When i pedal i hear a creaking noise and i searched this forum for possible answers but i have not had any luck finding the correct answer. I went on sheldons website and tried his suggestions, which i will list.

I took out the seat post and sprayed grease (not WD40) in the seat post hole and actual seat post.
I tightened all bolts that hold the chain rings.
I took out the crank arms and greased the square tapper.
I took out the bottom sealed bracket and creased the retainers and re-tightened the bottom bracket.
I Greased the chain and cleaned it.
I tightened the rear derailleur and made sure the sprockets guides are tight and greased.
I also made sure the crank bolts were tight.
I also overhauled the rear hub just in case.

I can say that its in the bottom bracket and/or crank set.

if you guys could maybe give me a hand in what the world i could do to stop this annoying creaking i would great greatly greatly appreciate your help!

Wil Davis

Loose spoke?

melvinator

i just had the wheel set retensioned and trued. But i can isolate the sound the the bottom crank set.

magohn

Does the noise stop when you stop pedaling (freewheeling) ?

melvinator

the noise does stop when i stop pedaling its only while pedaling and i have a cassette 8 speed road bike with a triple crank.

Mr. Beanz

Remove and regrease the pedals? OR make sure they haven't loosened?

bigfred 

Any chance of it being pedal spindle or cleat related?

bigfred 

Damn you Beanz! Beat me to it by seconds!

Mr. Beanz

Dude, I'm always one step ahead.

kidding of course.

melvinator

what is the pedal spindle? I dont have cleats, i have platform pedals



He always finds a way to do that! lol

Remove and regrease the pedals? OR make sure they haven't loosened?

i will do that know and get back to you in a few minutes!

bigfred 

Spindle roughly translates to 'axle' or 'shaft'.

Check that they are threaded in tight and that the bearings are lubricated.

melvinator

just checked the pedals they are in good shape and tight... i do notice two things first that it takes about 2 miles or so for the noise to start .....on a cold start it doesnt make noise(if that even makes sense)... i have also been able to reproduce this more than once... also when i drop to granny gear it doesnt sound as strong.

goldfinch

Is everything (the bottom bracket, the crank bolts) torqued to spec? This is important. Or so I learned in bike school.

If you have the bike on a stand or upside down does it feel rough when you pedal?

bigfred 

When you say you greased the bottom bracket, was that the bearings, or, the thread parts?

And, I suggest you've come back a bit too quickly to have disassembled, greased the bearings and reassembled the pedals.

melvinator

well the bottom bracket is a sealed cartridge and i didnt see any possible way of putting grease on the bearing or than the little bit on the outside. I also did grease the thread part of the BB.... the pedals wasnt to bad i took off the pedal and greased the threaded part adn put it back on... i couldnt see a way of entering grease in the pedal unless there is something i dont know... but the pedals feel great and smooth ... they might have 700 miles on them....

melvinator

i dont have a torque wrench but i tightened the bottom bracket till it was firm (or as the youtube video said) and the crank bolts are on
"tight" as well... i did take off the chain and spinned the crank and it just spins free.

magohn

You may need a new cartridge. My Roubaix has the same issue that I need to fix before I start riding up for the summer.

bigfred 

With a sealed BB there is still the chance that the groan is somehow related to the BB spindle to bearing race interface. At least look to lubricate that.

There will be some way of removing the pedal spingle from the platform. Either a dust cap on the outer side of the pedal, or, a retaining nut on the inside of the pedal body.

Sounds like a book on bicycle maintenance may be in your near future:-)

melvinator

LOL crap you read my mind was just looking at some online... you have any suggestions? And i noticed if i stand up and pedal it doesnt sound as bad compared to as when i am sit and pedal.

melvinator

So is that cross threaded internally?

bigfred 

Hopefully nothing is "cross threaded" internally or otherwise;-)

What model of bike and BB are we working on?

Black wallnut 

Grease seat rails and clamp.

Mr. Beanz

When you say the pedals are tightened, did you check them with a pedal wrench? Or he allen wrench onteh back of the pedal arm. Don't rely on your hand twisting the pedal checking for tightness.

Might sound funny but I had a creak/click noise in my BB area. Only sounded when I was climbing, only in the left pedal 11 o clock position.

Turns out it was the lock ring on the cassette had worked loose and the noise revealed itself only after I repaired a rear flat removing the wheel. I guess loosenign the rear skewer allowed the ring to back off.

I tightened the lock ring with the cassette tool, voial, noise gone

This one threw me for a big loop! I removed, lubed, and replaced every bolt on the bike.

99Klein 

It seems most creaking "sounds " like it's coming from the bottom bracket but rarely is. Check everything twice and use a torque wrench.

melvinator

hey guys (and gals)

At the office now but be sure i will try out all of your suggestions. I did read online somewhere the if i cut the seat post (the uneccessary portion) that might make the creaking go away.