Creaking

[Trevrev]

I ride an Specialized Crosstrail Elite and all of a sudden it's got this annoying creaking noise going on.
I've cleaned it and tightened everything, oiled and greased. It's still there! Really bugging me.
I have determined that it stops when I stand up. Could it be the seat post?

I'm hoping it's not my bones!

Any comments would be grateful.

Trev.

 

[johnnyb47]

My boardman mtb had a really annoying creak and it took ages to track it down. Like you it disappeared when i was out of the saddle, and it actually turned out to be the saddle. I quick nip up of the saddle bolt and a small amount of grease on the clamp sorted it. I hope this is of any use to you buddy

 

[Bazzer]

Had a similar experience as @johnnyb47 but on a Cannondale synapse. Only I took it one stage further. Removed the seat post, a light smear of grease where it meets the frame and refitted, but I put a smear on the seat rails too.

 

[ianrauk]

The seatpost is a good place to look first for unidentified creaks..
Take out post, clean. smear of grease and put back.

 

[roadrash]

clicks and creaks, take a look here....
https://jimlangley.net/wrench/keepitquiet.html

 

[iluvmybike]

Handlebar clamp bolts can also cause creak - remove, clean, dob of grease & re-torque

 

[Globalti]

If it's coming from the pedals it will be the BB axle fretting inside the bearing races. Is it?

 

[Salty seadog]

As said before , remove clean and lightly grease seat post. Very common.

 

[gbb]

An extremely unlikely scenario but one that can be checked in seconds, yet easily overlooked....look for cracks around the BB/downtube/seat tube junctions.
I had an irritating crack/creak for a couple weeks...cracked in the welds. I didnt see it till i had the bike upturned.

 

[Trevrev]

If it's coming from the pedals it will be the BB axle fretting inside the bearing races. Is it?

It stops when I stand up. So I don't think it's the crank.

The seatpost is a good place to look first for unidentified creaks..
Take out post, clean. smear of grease and put back.

Seat post cleaned and greased during my lunch break. Hopefully my ride home will be a quiet one!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

My boardman mtb had a really annoying creak and it took ages to track it down. Like you it disappeared when i was out of the saddle, and it actually turned out to be the saddle. I quick nip up of the saddle bolt and a small amount of grease on the clamp sorted it. I hope this is of any use to you buddy

Ah, yes, you didn't do like me.
I ignored the creak, thinking it was the BB on it's way out, eventually the saddle clamp bolt split at 6am, on a dark, icy morning, on the commute.
I had to ride 4 miles standing up

 

[Trevrev]

Well, it was the seat post. Nice and quiet again now. Thanks for you helpful comments.

 

[Lavender Rose]

I too have been having this problem! It drives me mad! I will look at tightening it later and see if it's still there - I feel like its the saddle too.

What grease do people use for the saddle stem? It wasn't very lubed the last time I changed it with the other saddle stem...

 

[ianrauk]

I too have been having this problem! It drives me mad! I will look at tightening it later and see if it's still there - I feel like its the saddle too.

What grease do people use for the saddle stem? It wasn't very lubed the last time I changed it with the other saddle stem...

Any grease will do. You dont need a lot. Just clean the seat post, give the inside of the seat tube a clean and put back together

 

[Lavender Rose]

Any grease will do. You dont need a lot. Just clean the seat post, give the inside of the seat tube and put back together

Thanks! I am hoping that lubing the seat post and tightening the nuts () will stop the creaking