Creaky bikes

[Fnaar]

(Have put this here coz it's more of a topic of conversation, rather than a 'know how')

Did a sportive yesterday (Virgin Money Cyclone) and was quietly amazed by the number of high end bikes that make very strange noises... I actually asked one bloke what the noise was, and he said it was his seat post creaking. I noticed 4 or 5 others making similar noises, and one bike I followed for a bit that looked like it had been designed by super-intelligent robots in a wind tunnel using the best available technology, but that appeared to have no lube (or dry lube maybe??) on chain/sprockets etc. It was making the most horrible metal-on-metal noise. I don't have a top end bike, and this is not meant to be bitter, or inverted snobbery etc, but I just think I would find it hard to put up with such horrid noises if I'd paid a fortune for a top end bike.
Comments on a postcard.

 

[gbb]

Depends on the noise...I don't get paranoid about every squeak and creak, but that dry chain noise would have me running for the oil can.
Mine creaks in certain gears, not horribly, but I don't overly worry about it.

 

[TVC]

This thread is just an excuse for Fnaar to mention lube. Anywho... on my last ride out, my bike developed a horrid squeak in the right pedal when I pushed down hard. Fearing for something loose I eased up and checked everything but couldn't spot it. Only when I got home did I find a small stone lodged in the cleat of my right shoe.... idiot

 

[MattHB]

My chain sounds like a randy couples suspension when it goes dry, it's horrible!

 

[MrJamie]

A couple of months ago I saw a guy on an old bike that sounded like it hadnt been oiled in 30-40 years. It was really hard not to laugh, seriously loud several different creaks and squeaks like some kind of advert for oil.

 

[betty swollocks]

I will not tolerate any untoward noise. It must be searched out and destroyed!!
On a touring bike, when you spend hours in the saddle, it's especially important to eliminate all untoward noises. What, to begin with, is merely irksome, soon becomes akin to a Chinese water torture, leading to madness. Regular noises are the worst...........

 

[HovR]

Hundreds of squeaky bikes around here. Mostly commuters, and mostly due to a dry chain. The bikes of riders not on their commute tend to sound better though - Haven't heard a high end bike squeaking for a little while.

My bikes aren't even that expensive (Reynolds 531 framed Dawes Echelon, and a cheapy mountain bike/commuter) but I make sure they're not making any unwanted sounds. Drives me insane otherwise!

 

[biggs682]

the most annoying noise when following another cyclist close has to his wind surely...............................

 

[DCLane]

The Secteur's sometimes squeaky and I'm struggling to track it down. It's coming from the frame somewhere, possibly due to a lack of lubrication on the seat post. It'll be checked properly shortly ...

 

[CopperCyclist]

My Boardman CX Team has started creaking like a... um... really creaky thing. I thought it was the bearings on the front wheel, so had them done - nope. My second thought was headset, but on the way home tonight I THINK I've tracked it down to the saddle. I've tightened the nuts underneath back to their recommend 12NM, and given it a liberal dose of GT85, and hope to report its feeling much better tomorrow...

 

[Accy cyclist]

Some bike sounds are worrying, but the most worrying must be the pssssttttt!! 2 second sound of the air leaving your tyres after you've hit that evil tiny sharp object!

 

[Globalti]

Gti Junior ignored a noise from his rear derailleur and next thing it dived into the spokes and caused a Godawful mechanical disaster. A new hanger, second-hand derailleur, rebuilt wheel, cable and a severe bollocking later and he was back on the road.

So last night he comes in all worried: "Dad! Dad! There's a funny clicking noise coming from my bike!" Out I go to find he's got the bike upside-down and he's turning the pedals and.... the front derailleur cable has got bent over and the tit on the end is going tick-tick-tick on the crank. Great was his relief when I just bent the cable out of the way and the noise stopped!

 

[GetAGrip]

Gti Junior ignored a noise from his rear derailleur and next thing it dived into the spokes and caused a Godawful mechanical disaster. A new hanger, second-hand derailleur, rebuilt wheel, cable and a severe bollocking later and he was back on the road.

So last night he comes in all worried: "Dad! Dad! There's a funny clicking noise coming from my bike!" Out I go to find he's got the bike upside-down and he's turning the pedals and.... the front derailleur cable has got bent over and the tit on the end is going tick-tick-tick on the crank. Great was his relief when I just bent the cable out of the way and the noise stopped!

Friend of yours was it?

 

[asterix]

Why I don't like a bike that creaks..

I'd a bike that creaked. I kept looking at the usual suspects but nothing.. Then one day in Kilburn (the proper one in N. Yorks) I stopped just before the ascent of White Horse Bank and discovered a radial crack in the down tube just by the gears cable stop. At which point I decided to turn for home rather carefully with frequent checks. The crack didn't get any worse and I must have riding with it for weeks.

Eighteen months earlier I had been T-boned by a smidsy. The rear wheel was bent and the LBS who fixed it gave the frame the all-clear.
I'd let off the errant drive with payment for just the back wheel but in fact the impact had put a tiny dent in the tube and it bent very slightly, eventually cracking and making the bike a write-off.

So if your bike creaks, do you assume it's normal or fix it? I am with Globalti - don't ignore those funny noises.

 

[ASC1951]

.. a smidsy.

T-boned, ok, but I had to look that up. And I'm glad I did.