Another noise but with some diagnostics

[martint235]

Ok so last week my commuting bike was making the kind of noise that suggested it was time to take the BB off and do some general cleaning which I did on Saturday. Now the noise is ten times worse. I'd started off with a kind of clicking noise and now I've got a creak. The creak is under power both in and out of the saddle,. My history in Incident Management suggests when something goes wrong look at what's changed so here's what I've done:

On Saturday:

• took the wheels off
• took the crank and BB off
• jet sprayed what was left on the frame (note handlebars were left on)
• changed the cassette
• greased everything and put it all back together

Yesterday:

• Took the cranks and BB off again
• Greased it with much more grease.
• Put a small amount of grease in the seat tube below the collar level

What I haven't done:

• taken the headset off
• taken the handlebars off
• greased the actual bolts on the left hand crank arm
• replaced the BB. I've found there isn't actually too much that can go wrong with a Shimano BB so it's last on my list of actions.

So I'm at a loss. A guy a work has suggested it may be the freehub. Whilst I certainly don't want to try taking that apart, I am going to take the cassette off again tonight and re-grease the splines under the cassette just in case.

Any other ideas of what I may have missed?

 

[ianrauk]

Take pedals off and grease threads.

 

[martint235]

Take pedals off and grease threads.

Ah yes that's also on my list for tonight.

In the aid of diagnostics though, I didn't do much to the cranks on Saturday other than wipe them down.

 

[Andrew_P]

For the relatively low cost and easy replacement I would get a Tiagra/105 BB just to eliminate it.

 

[martint235]

For the relatively low cost and easy replacement I would get a Tiagra/105 BB just to eliminate it.

I've got an Ultegra BB lined up but loathe to buy it just yet. I think I've replaced a BB 4 times on my road bikes over the years and every time the issue has turned out to be elsewhere.

 

[GlenBen]

Headset and bars worth looking at if its under power? Likely youre pulling/pushing the bars.

 

[Andrew_P]

I've got an Ultegra BB lined up but loathe to buy it just yet. I think I've replaced a BB 4 times on my road bikes over the years and every time the issue has turned out to be elsewhere.

Hadn't noticed it was under power only so I would look at the headset as per @GlenBen but it doesn't explain why it has got worse since you did you DIY over the weekend. Freehubs would be a constant noise I would have thought.

 

[mjr]

A loosen-regrease-tighten on the pedals seems like a good idea. Can you feel anything unusual when spinning the pedals by hand with the bike in a stand or inverted?

Did you clean the bits of the wheels that clamp the dropouts? Not that I've ever forgotten and ended up with a creak

And I expect someone will flame me for this: did you do the BB and cranks up to the correct torque?

 

[martint235]

A loosen-regrease-tighten on the pedals seems like a good idea. Can you feel anything unusual when spinning the pedals by hand with the bike in a stand or inverted?

Did you clean the bits of the wheels that clamp the dropouts? Not that I've ever forgotten and ended up with a creak

And I expect someone will flame me for this: did you do the BB and cranks up to the correct torque?

Pedals are top of my list when I get home. All felt ok on the stand on Saturday.

Never considered it, will add it to this evening's list. This evening's list is limited to what I can do without the workstand.

Of course*






*the correct torque being where it feels just right in the hand.

 

[Ajax Bay]

the bits of the wheels that clamp the dropouts

Which bits of the wheel are those?

 

[mjr]

Which bits of the wheel are those?

I can't remember the flipping name. Maybe it's technically a bit of the skewer. It still gets shoot in it in winter.

 

[martint235]

Right pedals off, cleaned and greased. Cassette off, splines greased put back in on again. Headset I'm a bit limited with what I can do until I can get the bike outside in daylight but did what I could. New BB should arrive before weekend. If none of this works it's off to the bike hospital

May or may not be important but as I was struggling to get the cassette lockring to bite today, I realised I also struggled on Saturday with this.

 

[martint235]

[QUOTE 4692499, member: 9609"]have someone else try the bike so as you can rule your own body parts out.[/QUOTE]
That'll be in the bike hospital.

And my body doesn't creak. Yet. Quite a few clicks but no creaks

 

[Deleted member 22722]

I get creaking on my commuter every couple of months. It nearly always ends up being either the pedals or cleats. A quick spray of GT85 on both sites of the pedals and around my cleats sorts it out.

I also had a bit of a squeak type noise which I could hear whenever I event touched the bike. Turns out I just needed to really tighten the quick release skewers to eliminate it. It only happens on one particular set of wheels.

 

[roadrash]

may be worth having a look here....
http://jimlangley.net/wrench/keepitquiet.html