ok, so despite all the negative things i'd heard i went ahead and bought an nyc bikes wheelset. track wheels with with swift rims. they arrived true and spoke tension seems good. i've been running on them on my bike for about a week. as of today they have developed a horrible creaking noise. it sounds a lot like striking the wheel when its not on the ground in the way it reverberates throughout the frame. for this reason i couldn't isolate the problem at first and took apart the whole drive train and headset, reinstalled everything. the noise is definetely coming from the wheels. any ideas?

holler at Will?




just messin'...don't mean to poke fun...it was just irresistable...I'm dealing with noise too...

Could be bearings going bad. Could be spokes that weren't stress-relieved pinging. Could be all kinds of things.

Take the wheel off the bike, and spin it. Is there inconsistent resistance? Consistent resistance is drag from the seals (if there are seals). Inconsistent resistance is grit in the bearings.

Check spoke tension again. Check the true again. If all else fails, take it to your LBS and tell them you have noisy wheels. They'll probably know how to fix 'em.

wild guess:

How are the rims joined? Are they welded or swaged? Is this coming appart at the joint?

i had a similar issue once. i finally solved it by placing a drop of lube on each spoke nipple and giving the wheel a good spin to make it penetrate.