I have a new bike (180 miles on it so far) and over the last 80 miles or so I have noticed that when I hit a bump or shift excess weight to the handlebars, the front end makes a creaking noise. It is more noticeable at higher speeds which is probably due to more force.

I have carbon a fork. I am not sure if it is the fork making the noise, the headset, or the stem/bars. Is this something I should be concerned about or is this normal?

sometimes when a bike is newly built, the headset needs to be re-tightened after a short period.

easy to do but you could have an lbs do it as well.

takes a minute or two.

Check the tightness of your quick release. Mine was making a rattling noise of sorts on hard surface and bumps, after redoing the headset bearings it appears my quick release wasn't as tight as it should. But if it's a new bike take back to LBS and have them ride and check it out.

Heavily loaded CF forks are somewhat prone to creak because the steerer is flexible. However the most common source of front end creak is thye handlebar/stem connection.

Since the bike is brand new, you can let the shop check it out for free (should be). Of if you want to eliminate the handlebar/stem possibility mix a small batch of 20:1 petroleum solvent and oil. It should be super thin. Apply to the bar at both sides of the stem clamp and let it wick in. Wait a while and ride. If it solves the problem, you now have both the cause and cure. If it doesn't you can rule out that possibility and focus on others.

Agree with bt here.

If the headset is slightly loose, you may not feel it as you ride, but you hear noises that shouldn't be. If you're not comfortable with getting it tight again, take it in.

For me, 9 times out of 10 the headset spacers are creaking and I have to tighten the stem cap bolt a hair. I had plastic spacers once (never again) and actually had put a little grease on them.

Could also be your cable housings moving around in the stops. mine are crunching real bad right now and need to do something about it

In my experience it's been

-cold housing creaking (cold weather)
-handlebar and stem bolts
-quick release
-I usually feel the headset being loose before I hear it, but ymmv.

Given it's a new bike I would bet there's something settling that needs tightened. Get out your torque wrench and check the front end over.

Yep. I pulled apart and regreased my headset and all I needed to do was put a little Phil's in the brake cable stop.

Especially if both the bar and stem are aluminum. That combination really loves to creak. Just ask anyone who ever owned a Cinelli 1X stem.

I have a headset that creaks after it has been ridden in the rain. I have to take it apart, dry it off and regrease everything. No more creak.

I had a creacking/ticking sound while riding at times....road conditions made it more often. I retighten the headset a bit and the noise went away. There was absolutely no play on my headset before I retightened it.

FWIW, "ticking" can come from the spacer stack too. A shot of thin lube (or WD-40) to wick in between each and every step of the stack (including the very bottom and very top) solves this.

At least I think.....cuz I certainly wouldn't know.......like firsthand or anything like that.

Is your frame carbon too? I think carbon frames were deviously designed to magnify tiny creaks and make you think they're coming from all over.

I had a creak a week or two ago - it was LOUD when I was pushing hard on the pedals (so up inclines)... it temporarily went away when I stop up so it must be the seat post, right? Then it was the head set, then I thought the bottom bracket was going to snap out of the bike. (this was all over the course of a 70 mile ride and I had all kinds of helpful people telling me what it was, .)

I got home and decided to start swapping out components one at a time starting with the wheels and wouldn't you know, the rear skewer was really loose. Tightened the skewer and presto, all better. But that creak sounded like it was coming from all over the place, they're very hard to track down.