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Creaking from cables

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Old 08-05-15 | 09:05 AM
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Creaking from cables

Sorry if posted in wrong spot but long story short I was getting creaking and tick noises under load from the front of the bike...I regreased the head tube the sound was still there...but when I would take the bike and turn handlebars lady and right all the way to the ends the noise is there so I figured it was the cables and housing..I had them replaced but the same creaking and ticking is still there anyone have a clue of what else i can do
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Old 08-05-15 | 07:46 PM
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Did they replace the cables and housing or just the cables? I have had creaking there when the cable housing structural "wires" become exposed and rub on the metal end cap. I grease that spot on the downtube stop. Even if all was replaced, you still may need to grease there. For the rear, you can shift into the largest rear cog and then shift to the smallest on the shifter but without the wheel turning so the chain stays on the large rear cog. This creates enough slack to pull the cable out of the frame stop to inspect/grease. The FD cable can be done a similar way, but is more difficult and you have to push the FD with your hand (sometimes I have to adjust the limit screw to get it out of the frame stop). I would not mess with that one if you dont have good comfort with the FD adjustments. Hope this helps
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Old 08-05-15 | 07:48 PM
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front quick release skewer

FWIW, I've never had a creaking noise from the cables in 40+ years of riding road bikes.
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Old 08-06-15 | 03:56 AM
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Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
front quick release skewer

FWIW, I've never had a creaking noise from the cables in 40+ years of riding road bikes.
In bold...I have Merlin...many times.

OP...tell us what model and year bike you own, what groupset you have and what brand of cableset you have and I will try to help you.
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Old 08-06-15 | 06:32 AM
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I have had this with internal cable routing. The outer cable housing pulls away from the outer cables and this causes the creaking noise from the cables hitting the carbon from the inside.
You could only hear it when turning the wheel to the left or by wiggling the rear derailluer cable.
I pulled out the cable, pulled the inner cable out and trimmed the exposed end of the outer cable.

Noise is gone now and has yet to come back.
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Old 08-06-15 | 07:50 AM
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In my limited experience with road bikes I think this can apply across from MTB as well so I will give my advice. First I think it's important to explain why creaking is bad... If for anything it can be undue stress on the system, but additionally it is a loss in efficiency. Any sound at all represents a loss in the fluid transfer of energy.

Does this happen when you are riding normal or just when the handlebars are turned? I have seen this happen with caliper brake sets when the caliper is too tight. The creaking can come from the arms on bakes because they are too tight. Since it's common for brake routing to be pulled tight when the bars are turned to the extreme (this is not the best situation but it is common with some stock situations) the calipers are tightening when you turn the bars. This is my best guess assuming you have replaced the cables and housing. Obviously if both housing and cables weren't replaced then it could be a different story. If friction occurs in the lines causing clicking this could be the cause.
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Old 08-06-15 | 08:12 AM
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Do you have a bb30 bottom bracket?
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Old 08-06-15 | 09:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Campag4life
In bold...I have Merlin...many times.

.
Guess my cables have always been properly installed.
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Old 08-07-15 | 05:39 AM
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I'm not an expert in bicycle but normally i just send it back to the shop for the repair (They sure do know much more about fixing than us) & It's not that expensive if you have extra money =)
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Old 08-07-15 | 06:12 AM
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Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
Guess my cables have always been properly installed.
No...you just haven't owned a type of bike that is sensitive to this issue. Further, cable status degrades with time and environmental assault thereby a properly installed cableset can develop a creak over time.
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Old 08-07-15 | 06:15 AM
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Originally Posted by steingate
I'm not an expert in bicycle but normally i just send it back to the shop for the repair (They sure do know much more about fixing than us) & It's not that expensive if you have extra money =)
No. You are lumping yourself with your limited knowledge in with others. I have never met a bicycle mechanic that knows as much as me about bike mechanics. I have never worked at a bike shop. A large amount of work coming out of bike shop is lousy. I know because I have repaired countless f ups on friends bikes.
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Old 08-07-15 | 06:49 AM
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remove all cables and see if creak goes away.
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Old 08-07-15 | 06:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Campag4life
In bold...I have Merlin...many times.

OP...tell us what model and year bike you own, what groupset you have and what brand of cableset you have and I will try to help you.
The cables are jagwire...I have a giant defy 1 with shimano 105
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Old 08-07-15 | 10:30 AM
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Giant Defy Cable Routing is pretty unremarkable as it turns out. See a picture below...external and not inside the top and down tube cable routing like many modern bikes. Generally external cable routed bikes like the Defy tend to be less creaky.

So what to do?

Easy approach is to heed the excellent advice from igosolo with a further suggestion. Shift the bike into the big cog in back and then upshift the bike with the rear wheel static which will create a very slack bare cable. Creaking almost always occurs where the arrow points in the picture below. With slack cable pull the ferrule out of the cable stop where it attaches to the front of the bike. The ferrule becomes contaminated and sticky and creates creaking. If you can find a service manual PDF on line...you will learn what kind of ferrules are used...or by creating a slack cable. If ferrules used have a sheathing extension or tongue..when the ferrule sheathing wears, there can be bare cable on barrel adjuster contact without the buffer of the sheathing which can cause a creak. For example this is very common Specialized bikes with internally routed cables. No or worn sheathing creates metal on metal contact and these sheaths tend to be not only sacrificial but wear relatively rapidly unfortunately. I have experienced this several times on my Specialized bikes. Also this ferrule design is used on DA9000 shifters and again if the sheathing wears, noise, wear and even cable binding can result. See below pic on DA 9000 which may or may not emulate what you have on your 105 bike.

A finer point. If your bike requires the sheathing and you have an aftermarket Jagwire cableset and use Jagwire ferrules without sheathing, this can easily be your issue. So find out the factory spec...look up the PDF for Shimano 105 goupset installation on Shimano's website...based upon your model year as new 105 is revised 11s and closer to Ultegra and DA 11s in design...then compare it to the Jagwire ferrules that are being used with your installation. No amount of cleaning will resolve not having the proper ferrules for a given design.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg
Giant Defy Cable Routing.jpg (94.2 KB, 65 views)

Last edited by Campag4life; 08-07-15 at 12:41 PM.
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Old 08-08-15 | 07:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Campag4life
Giant Defy Cable Routing is pretty unremarkable as it turns out. See a picture below...external and not inside the top and down tube cable routing like many modern bikes. Generally external cable routed bikes like the Defy tend to be less creaky.

So what to do?

Easy approach is to heed the excellent advice from igosolo with a further suggestion. Shift the bike into the big cog in back and then upshift the bike with the rear wheel static which will create a very slack bare cable. Creaking almost always occurs where the arrow points in the picture below. With slack cable pull the ferrule out of the cable stop where it attaches to the front of the bike. The ferrule becomes contaminated and sticky and creates creaking. If you can find a service manual PDF on line...you will learn what kind of ferrules are used...or by creating a slack cable. If ferrules used have a sheathing extension or tongue..when the ferrule sheathing wears, there can be bare cable on barrel adjuster contact without the buffer of the sheathing which can cause a creak. For example this is very common Specialized bikes with internally routed cables. No or worn sheathing creates metal on metal contact and these sheaths tend to be not only sacrificial but wear relatively rapidly unfortunately. I have experienced this several times on my Specialized bikes. Also this ferrule design is used on DA9000 shifters and again if the sheathing wears, noise, wear and even cable binding can result. See below pic on DA 9000 which may or may not emulate what you have on your 105 bike.

A finer point. If your bike requires the sheathing and you have an aftermarket Jagwire cableset and use Jagwire ferrules without sheathing, this can easily be your issue. So find out the factory spec...look up the PDF for Shimano 105 goupset installation on Shimano's website...based upon your model year as new 105 is revised 11s and closer to Ultegra and DA 11s in design...then compare it to the Jagwire ferrules that are being used with your installation. No amount of cleaning will resolve not having the proper ferrules for a given design.
Thank you
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