giant defy 1 creaking

[Chris1972]

After hearing a creaking noise on my giant defy what I thought was a bottom bracket problem after full strip down and rebuilt turned out to be the two bolts witch attach the rear derailleur to the frame not tight enough problem solved posting this as there are a few posts online with same problems hope this can help someone

 

[Banjo]

Amazing how hardit is to work out where a creak is coming from. On my Scott cleaning and greasing the seat post and inside the seat tube cures it. The creak never sounds like its coming from that area though.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

I was 100% i had a creak from the bottombracket, my local LBS said no it will be the hub in the back wheel, and so i changed the wheel , and low and behold it was gone.
As Banjo and Chris say , bikes have a strange way of transferring the sound to different points just to confuse the rider.

 

[downfader]

Had an annoying creak for ages on my Kinesis. Did an "M" check, no frame cracks, hubs and BB fine. Pedals fine.. check the bolts - all tight. It was really bugging me on friday riding home so I stopped and did another M check. Still couldnt find anything broken or loose. Rode another 2 miles and suddenly had a brainwave - no good checking the bike if you dont pull the mudguards about too. Turns out the clamp that holds the SKS guards at the top had become a little loose and the vibration/friction is creating the squeaks.

 

[John Edmondson]

After hearing a creaking noise on my giant defy what I thought was a bottom bracket problem after full strip down and rebuilt turned out to be the two bolts witch attach the rear derailleur to the frame not tight enough problem solved posting this as there are a few posts online with same problems hope this can help someone

You my friend are a legend. I just finished stripping greasing my BB to no avail. The creak has been pecking my head in and i was just about start looking for a replacement BB until I read you post. Sorted. Thank You for posting

 

[mrbikerboy73]

After hearing a creaking noise on my giant defy what I thought was a bottom bracket problem after full strip down and rebuilt turned out to be the two bolts witch attach the rear derailleur to the frame not tight enough problem solved posting this as there are a few posts online with same problems hope this can help someone

This is interesting as I had the 2 screws that attach the deralleur hangar to the frame come loose on my Defy 1 after just 500 miles. No creaking but I discovered it when cleaning it one day.

 

[John Edmondson]

This is interesting as I had the 2 screws that attach the deralleur hangar to the frame come loose on my Defy 1 after just 500 miles. No creaking but I discovered it when cleaning it one day.

In my case it was the the large, singular bolt which attaches the derailleur to the hanger rather than the two tiny bolts attaching the hanger to the frame. This made sense as despite constant adjusting I could never get my shifting sweet...

Incidentally, the two tiny frame bolts you talk of are really very small with star shaped heads. More like something you'd see on an electrical circuit board than a bike?!

 

[maltloaf]

I had a very similar creak which I was convinced was bottom bracket or pedals and it turned out almost the same problem as the op's one. Clack clack clack whilst pedalling along but I couldn't feel anything in any of the bearings. Did my head in for a fortnight, greased everything and even changed the saddle !

My derailleur hanger had come loose from the frame, only by a tiny amount, I could just see it moving when pulling on the crank arms with the bike bolted to my turbo. 5mm Allen key and a big heave and no more clicking.

 

[bpsmith]

I have a Defy 1 and have a creak when putting load on the bike. Just looking online for dust cover tool to remove the crank and clean and grease it up and thought I would do a quick search on here first. Cheers for the post, will check out the hanger later. Its a creak when putting power down and mostly on drive side, but you can never tell exactly where its coming from!

Was going to try seatpost and pedals, followed by the crank. Would probably have been a long way down the list before I checked the rear mech hanger.

Chain ring bolts is also something I have read could be the source.

 

[Deleted member 22722]

I can't wait to get home tonight to check if this is the source of my creaking. I was convinced it was coming from the front end of my bike (forks, bars etc) but I've greased up everything including the BB, cranks, pedals, cleats, saddle, seat post but that persistant creaking is still there when I'm climbing hills.

I also noticed last week that one of those 2 tiny frame bolts that attach the rear derailleur has gone missing. The other was loose so it's now been tightened. Does anyone know what size these are and where I could get a couple of replacements from?

 

[bpsmith]

I investigated a little bit and found my front mech bracket was slightly loose. Crank bolts were solid though. I just replaced my wheels with new tyres and cassette too and now the creaking has gone. Who knows which item was the cause, but I could have sworn it was the crank. Happy days!

 

[Stevo999]

I've just signed up here to say a MASSIVE THANKS to OP Chris1972... I thought I'd google my creaking issue before completely disassembling my bike and found this thread. Turns out one of the derailleur screws was loose and needed replacing ... Quick trip to my lbs and problem solved. It was driving me mental, not anymore! Thanks bro.

 

[morrisman]

Checked mine (Defy 2) after today's ride and they were loose as well, seems to have improved the slightly erratic changing/chain noise

 

[Dezil]

After hearing a creaking noise on my giant defy what I thought was a bottom bracket problem after full strip down and rebuilt turned out to be the two bolts witch attach the rear derailleur to the frame not tight enough problem solved posting this as there are a few posts online with same problems hope this can help someone

Hello sorry to be dim but where are the two bolts because I have same issue

 

[Deleted member 22722]

Hello sorry to be dim but where are the two bolts because I have same issue

They connect the rear derailleur hanger to the frame. The rear derailleur then connects to the hanger. There's 2 tiny little bolts holding the hanger in place. Thanks to this thread I noticed that one of mine had gone and the other was coming loose.

Anyone know what size these are and where I can get replacements? Don't want to have to buy a new hanger just for the bolts.