i still consider myself a novice when it comes to fixed-gear riding, as i just started back in early december. i just got back from school, and i took a really long detour to get a sweet ride in. there's this one way street (franklin, for you richmond kids) that is a 25mph zone, and i got on it where it starts and road it all the way to rhoads dorm (quarter mile?) as fast as i possibly could. i'm pretty sure it's the fastest i've ever gone. the only time i've ever had my speed tracked is when i took my bike home for christmas and my mom happened to follow me down the street as she was leaving the neighborhood. i was on a slight downhill and started sprinting, and she said she clocked me at 27mph. personally i think that is sweet. so anyway i was on franklin and i'm pretty sure i was going faster than that, and for the whole stretch. this guy started driving next to me, and i kept up with him at whatever his speed was for a good two long richmond blocks. i just got back and i'm soaking with sweat (excellent weather today) and my lungs hurt really bad. so that was sweet. i just wanted to geek about it, but i'm sure you'll all think it's silly.

for those of you who are thinking 'tl;dr,' skip ahead to this part, because i have an honest problem here:

while doing this long sprint, i started hearing a creaky sound in the cranks/chain, and i couldn't really figure out what it was. but my wheels were still spinning and i could still stop moving, so i didn't worry about it. the sound continued all the way home, so i started riding slow. when i got home and got off i screwed around with the bike trying to figure out what was making the noise. i couldn't make it repeat the noise, so i'm guessing it only comes from my full body weight on the bike. then i realized that it looks as though my left crank arm is, well, coming off. it's not loose or anything, but it looks like it's protruding further from the frame than it should be. as previously stated i am a complete novice, bought this bike pre-assembled, and am still learning the ropes... so forgive me if i've already made myself out to be a dumbass. but i'm worried this could in fact be the problem. if so, how could it have gotten that way, and how do i fix it? if not, anyone have any ideas for what causes creaky sounds after riding really hard?

thanks.

Take of the dustcap and theres a bolt underneath. Tighten it down. I once had a crank arm almost fall off on me, no fun.

(you just wanted to show off them campy dustcaps!)

while you are poking around the cranks with the caps off and a wrench in your hand, might as well take the time to remove the bolts completely, pull the cranks off, and just give a good look at the taper on the bb and the corresponding hole in the cranks for the taper. then put the thing back together, tightly!

i just tried that (i don't have dust caps and noticed i could adjust those) and i couldn't get them to move at all. they seem tight as could be. i'd take a picture of this but i don't have a camera. i'm sketched out now. i guess i'll take my bike to recycles tomorrow and ask them to give me a check-up.

ps: scratch that, i'm totally ******** and just figured out that these little black rims around that bolt were in fact dust caps and popped them off with my swiss army knife. still no movement from the bolts though. ****!

ps: i just remembered something else totally ****ing hilarious that happened on the way home today. i was at this traffic light riding little circles because i can't trackstand for ****, and i eventually had to step off, right in the middle of the crosswalk as this older couple was walking by. i backed away to give them space because i'm too polite for my own good, and as i was doing that looked up and saw the guy, whose hair was white and he was wearing a tucked in shirt on jean shorts... you know the type, he stares at my handlebars in disbelief. i just started laughing. too good. that was the first honest "what the **** no brakes" reaction i can remember getting from a total stranger in such close proximity. good times.

drac - guilty as charged

My other guess is your bb might be a little loose, or perhaps loose chain ring bolts. Those are my usual suspects for creaky noises comming from the drivetrain. But I'm an idiot.

i might do this, but fear my mechanical skillz and may still take it to recycles tomorrow. what i have to ask now is, why did you suggest i 'give a good look at the taper...'? what is looking at all that going to do for me? like, what am i looking for? or are you just encouraging me teaching myself something?

man i feel like such a noob again right now

one of my chainrings is ever so slightly warped/dinged and if the rear wheel isn't perfectly straight, the drivetrain makes its anger known.

27 mph are like 43 km/h.... for going downhill its ok... not quite darn fast but its ok... 30mph is the speed of a peloton and they keep that for hours... In a track u can get 70 - 80 km/h in road going downhill u can get 120 kms/h easily...

Apparently as 1-28 told u maybe the noise come from the cracks... tight them using the bolts... it could be the Bottom Bracket... a sort of lose cup, nothing so dangerous anyways (the cup problem)... maybe even the chainring bolts are lose... Hope u dont suffer of mechanic DOWN sindrome...

good luck...

i'm not snide, i swear! just joshin'. i almost lost a campy dust cover to the abyss under my couch, i know how precious those little jewels are.

anything that can be tightened in or around the drive train - do it. if you cant tighten your crank bolts any more and they simply won't budge, try loosening them a bit, then tighten the holy hell out of them -- using cheater bar if neccessary. but don't too-tight bolts also creak? i fo'get.

what kind of parts are we talking here, anyhow? is the bike fairly well maintained? creaking and groans are normal, moving parts and all...

naww.. we are helping! if you have a square taper bottom bracket, the tapers should be square. the hole in the cranks that fit onto the taper should match it perfectly too... if you see cracks - replace! if you see rounding - replace! it's a metal fitting into metal, so you want to make sure where the hole interfaces with the taper (god this sounds like sex, i am trying to un-sexy this language) you want to make sure where the parts meet one another is as clean, and well shaped as possible. deformities cause noise and failure. putting a square taper through a roundish hole will be bad news, ya know?

i know It took me two months to track down a NOS pair, heh.

youth - did the mechanic from the shop you bought it at give it a look over/tune up when you first made your purchase? I don't trust straight from the factory stuff, they get assembled fast and there isn't a lot of double checking going on...

Maybe he needs to put something in the cup threads... he other thing is that if this guy it is too strong he can screw up the threads u know... OK use a cheater bar for do not abuse either u know....

lol @ 'too strong.' i am 6'1" and like 150 lbs.

so anyway

i am so appreciative of all the positive support i'm getting in this thread, and since i've got my bike right here next to the computer i am going to keep making stupid posts as long as people are willing to give constructive replies.

to start: i've taken the bolts off. the cranks still won't budge. how much force do i have to use to get them out?

secondly: there are pieces inside of the bottom bracket, or wait, maybe that IS the bottom bracket? it's like, metal inside the frame that goes from one crank to the other. it looks like it's sticking out a bit further on one side than the other, and the left side, where the crank appears to be protruding abnormally far, has visible threads there. what does that mean? god i wish i had a camera

thirdly: i don't have a bike stand or anything like that, so mechanical work is a *****. any good suggestions for ways to set your bike up when working on it without a stand?

more posts to come.

hey, the creaky noise could be anything. crank flex, and ungreased BB spindle, loose chainring bolts, saddle rails, handlebar/stem interface etcetcetc. check all those and more, and grease and torque all the bots to proper spec.

Re. you cranks: are you just saying that the gap between the left crankarm and BB shell is larger than the gap on the right side? If so, that's completely normal.

it's a long hunt indeed... for some unknown reason one of my chainring bolts is yellowish orange now... not really rusty, just like the whole thing turned a weird color. it's the same as the rest, 73 campy, but the other ones are all still shiny... no clue! but i want uniformity among my bolts, and i need that exact one... hard to find!

hey, we gotta do that campy polishing party.

to start: You need a crank puller to get them out. You wont get them off by hand unless youre quite the burly one.

secondly: cartridge bb, i'm assuming. Those are the cups that hold them into place, dont worry about that. I can see them on mine, too.

thirdly. Upside down, or being held by a friend, or leaning against a wall.. But ghetto riging a stand will really help

you need a special tool. it's called a crank puller

visible threads? sounds like your BB cups are backing out. is your frame italian threaded?

Indeed we do. Did you ever order the polishy stuff? Re finding a bolt, try calling cyclart down in LA. Thats where i found my dustcaps.

1-hello fellow tall skinny dude! i know your struggle: you've got 20 pounds on me and we are the same tallness...

2-you've taken the crank bolts off and the cranks wont come off? you can't pull them off with your hand, you have to use a crank puller or homemade tool to pull the cranks off of the bottom bracket tapers

3-the cranks won't sit right up against your frame, they should poke out just a bit... non-drive side vs. drive side will have slight variation in length. (right?)

4-no need for a bike stand. towel on the floor or sheet on the couch. don't scratch your bike and don't scratch your furniture.

man, we were actually going to polish stuff? i thought this was a veiled reference to cocaine! yikes... i dont have any polishy stuff. what did dolface suggest again?

thanks for the reference on the bolts! i will make an inquisition.

-- we are totally helpful!

look at this, three friendly guys all answering the same questions with awesome answers. faith in the internet = restored!

It was, but you just blew it. now how am I gonna polish my DUST caps and tighten the bolts on my CRANK. *SIIIGH*

I forget what that stuff was called, ill search for it.

...and turning the cranks 90 degrees in relation to their previous position on BB spindle. Your BB will live longer.

whoa, i will be in la in 2 hours... do they have a shop or something? post quick!

BUMP the thread, i think it got deRAILed...