Jeepnut22 

So I picked up one of these on CCs clearance back in early June. I have put about 90 road miles on it, and about 15 - 20 trainer hours on it. Had a back injury and got Lymes which both made me miss about 6 weeks of riding time.

Anyway the question I have is regarding the seat post and the seat mounting area. I have the 2009 model with the AirFoil seat tube and the carbon seat post with the 1/4 turn locking mechanism just under the seat. I get a tremendous amount of creaking and popping, mostly when on the road, not so much on the trainer. I have inspected everything and it all looks fine. I have tightening everything, and even applies Carbon Prep to the seat post and the notch where the seat clamp mechanism rests on the top of the seat post. At first the Carbon Prep eliminated 80% of the noise, but now its back.

I plan to ask CC about this, and also try to find a BMC dealer locally that could check things out, but I wonder if anyone here with one of these has experienced the same and maybe even resolved it.

operator

Who assembled this bike?

Jeepnut22 

I know where you are coming from. Rider error...

CC assembled the bike initially, then broke it down for shipping. Seat post, wheels, handlebar. I did follow the instructions carefully and even had an LBS check things over when I brought it in for the Carbon Prep.

BarracksSi

I can think of two ideas --

Put a layer of tape around the seatpost at the top, preferably inside the seat tube. Maybe just one small piece at the tail edge or across the front.

Put carbon prep -- or any carbon-friendly grease -- between the aluminum wedge and the bottom edge of the carbon tube itself to keep the aluminum-carbon junction from creaking.

I've left my SLX's seatpost dry so far. Something's creaking, but mainly when I stand, so I don't think it's the seatpost. I just built it two weeks ago, and I'll be checking different parts when I get some quality time with it.

Jeepnut22 

Good ideas!!

I'll try the tape and get some carbon prep on the actual wedge too. For me it only occurs when seated. Increases when I have to mash & pull...

Jeepnut22 

With all the SL 01s being purchased no one else has had this experience? Hope I didn't get a screwy frame/seatpost combo...

BarracksSi

Got an update?

I've been working on mine, and haven't quite solved it yet. I even took apart the seatpost and lubed the cam, and although it seemed to quiet down at first, the creak is back. I'm heading out for a short ride.

Yaniel

Wow I can't believe I didn't notice this. Ultraman on here actually came up with a solution that worked. He wrapped a cell phone screen protector around the part of the seat post that goes into the frame, and it stopped the noise. Tape should probably work as well. I did the screen protector on mine and it's never made a sound again in 3000 miles. I never thought of using carbon prep on it since the part of the post that touches the frame is an aluminum to aluminum connection.

BarracksSi

You put tape around the carbon or the aluminum wedge? Or does it matter?

Yaniel

on the carbon, by the opening in the frame.

BarracksSi

Ok, I'll put a bit of tape there. I threw out what bits of screen protector I had when we were cleaning house a few weeks ago because I didn't think I'd need it for anything.

Yaniel

let us know how it goes. It worked out for me, I was to the point I wanted to get rid of the bike because it was so frustrating.

BarracksSi

The seatpost stayed quiet for my hour-ish ride.

I think I'm down to my last creak -- the left pedal or crankarm. It happens whether I sit or stand, and it happens when I'm pedaling with only my left foot.

Man, it's a fun bike. I can see why they market it as a sprinter's special.

Yaniel

haha, mine has a BB creak now. It annoyed me after I got dropped on saturday and had to ride 20 miles back alone. Luckily I'm upgrading the entire group tomorrow so the creak should vanish.

BarracksSi

I won't be upgrading mine anytime soon -- it's got DA 7800 shifters and previous-gen Ultegra derailleurs. I may get a standard crank to replace my R700 compact (I like the new silver Ultegra), but I virtually never use the top gear now. If I get any groupset stuff, it'll be to convert my flat bar commuter -- and even then it'll probably just be Tiagra shifters.

Yaniel

ooh well, 7800 shifters are great, along with ultegra.. my move is more lateral, but I consider it an upgrade since it's lighter and better ergonomics for me. 105 with ultegra SL crank, to full Rival.

hansel

yeah i have a sl-01 and it did the same thing, i used carbon prep and and some tape and it worked. I run my post at the 22 mark. no more creaking

BarracksSi

I keep thinking of Sram for its ergonomics, but it's so hard to justify with those 7800's already in my possession. Maybe I should convert the commuter to 10sp... Or maybe someone with Force or Red would swap..

Pub Ken

Man am I happy to find this thread. I just bought a SLR 01 team machine. I love this bike. I live in Hong Kong. If you know the area you understand how steep the roads are. This bike climbs like a rocket and goes down hill faster than I am willing to go as solid as any bicycle I have ridden. But all this said I really hated the loud creak. It was driving me nuts. I though it was the saddle which was a great excuse to buy a much more expensive carbon throne. Still had the creak. I am going to get some chain stay tape tomorrow and give that a whirl. I will let you know. It is forecast to rain all weekend so I might not get to check it on the road for a few days. Thanks for the great site.

Pub Ken

Last night I pulled out the seat post (1/4 turn bottom clamp style) and wrapped the seat post with clear 2" packing tape just bellow where it insets into the seat tube. In fact you can see it peaking out in the front since the seat tube is at an angle. The fit was a lot more snug when I put the post back in and I had to give the seat a few bops of the palm of my hand to get it back in. I did not want to force it too much because I did not want to bunch up the tape. I woke up this morning and it was overcast but dry. On the raod there was a huge change right off the bat. 80% to 90% of the creak is gone. I only notice it when I sit after being out of the saddle and on power efforts. I will lube the bottom of the post next and listen closly to the bottom bracket to see if the effort creak is coming from there. Other wise this bike is awesome. Hong Kong has some pretty bad roads and the chatter that translates up through the integrated bar is better than I had hoped. Oh, and kind of nice, all roadies wave and smile at each other here. We are rare enough that there is an instant comunity. Coming from Socal and being out of shape enough to not consider racing anymore it is kind of nice. No more Rose Bowl Growl for me.

Jeepnut22 

Man, was gone for 5 days and I come back to a lot of action on this thread! Glad to know I am not the only one...

I got rid of over 90% of the creak (only 1 ride so far), by getting carbon prep all over the post, and on all surfaces of the wedge.

ALSO, I put carbon prep on the entire seat rail clamp area on the TOP of the seat post. The lower part of the seat rail clamp rests on the top of the carbon seat post. I made sure to cover the WHOLE area. So, second ride this weekend and I will see if this continues to be the fix for me. I tried electrical tape at first, but no matter what I tried, it bunched up when putting the post back into the seat tube. The cell phone protector sounds like a good solution too. Thinner than electrical tape. May try that if the creaking comes back.

obie

Well, my SL01 is creaking now too. Not all the time...mostly when I'm climbing in the saddle. So off I go to get some of that cell-phone screen protector material.

The noise is loud too....thought I had dodged this for a couple of weeks after I got the bike built (by a good LBS) but, it has been consistently doing the 'creaky' thing the past few weeks.

Pub Ken

"I tried electrical tape at first, but no matter what I tried, it bunched up when putting the post back into the seat tube." That is why I went with a good quality 3M 2 inch Packing tape. Very slim and high tack.

Now I noticed that the seat slipped 1cm on my last ride. I tried to tighten the allen head screw on the bottom of the seat post but it is really tight and I try not to force bolts on bicycles. Is this how you tighten the seat post?

Yaniel

The wedge on the bottom has a line on it, as does the carbon part of the post. They should be close to even. Insert the post into the frame and turn the cam lock bolt on the top of the post. The cam lock should be firm, but you shouldn't really have to force it too hard.

Pub Ken

Yaniel,

I was only trying to tighten the bolt on the bottom of the seat tube. I cleaned out the seat tube and went for another ride. All better. There was some light grey dust in the seat tube. maybe from the factory or shipping. I put another band of packing tape on the carbon seat post right above the expanding rubber part. I only creak when I first sit for 1 peddle stroke and when I really pull push while seated for the first peddle stroke. I almost got this thing licked.

Still really like this bike.