Brand-new bike creaks

[Kookas]

After a certain distance, my bike starts to make this squeak on every pedal revolution. I've greased and tightened the entire seat assembly in case that was an issue, I've ensured my pedals are clean, lubricated and tight to the crankarms, ensured the crankarms are tight to the crankshaft, tried to tighten the chainring bolts but couldn't.

Why would a new bike squeak?

 

[Goonerobes]

Shoes/cleats maybe?

 

[Kookas]

Shoes/cleats maybe?

Cleaned, greased, and refitted those too.

 

[MontyVeda]

did you lubricate the cranks before tightening them onto the BB axle?

 

[Tim Hall]

I've cured a squeak before by removing the bottom brakets, putting a turn of PTFE tape on the threads, and refitting it. This was with a cartridge bottom bracket. Don't know if this will work with these new fangled external bearing jobs.

 

[andytheflyer]

Seat post, saddle rails, stem, the locations that squeaks hide is almost endless.....has driven me to despair in the past - but eventually you find it where you think it cannot possibly be.....

 

[Kookas]

Just now, I greased the threads of the crank-bolts, then refitted them to 45Nm. Is that what people mean when they talk about greasing the crank-arm?

 

[Pikey]

Just now, I greased the threads of the crank-bolts, then refitted them to 45Nm. Is that what people mean when they talk about greasing the crank-arm?

If it's bb30 bottom bracket, clean, re grease and refit clamping the crank arm on proper tight.
Need to do that every couple of months on mine.

 

[Kookas]

If it's bb30 bottom bracket, clean, re grease and refit clamping the crank arm on proper tight.
Need to do that every couple of months on mine.

It won't be, it's an FSA square-taper.

 

[mickle]

Don't pish about. Warranty. Simple. End of thread.

 

[Kookas]

Don't pish about. Warranty. Simple. End of thread.

It was bought online, and I'm not returning it if I can help it.

 

[Kookas]

On the suggestion of an LBS, I took a very short ride with my normal pedestrian shoes, and as suspected there was no creak. It's something to do with my pedal/cleat interface.

So what should I do? Cover the cleat in lithium grease? It's an SPD system.

As my commuter, the bike gets left outside for up to 7 hours every weekday, and with some of our wet winter weather, I can just picture the oil getting washed from the pedals.

 

[MikeG]

I put vaseline on mine (on my old pedals when this was a problem).

 

[Chris1983]

could it be the rear wheel? would be more of a creek than a squeak but if you spokes are not correctly tensioned, this can cause a noisy ride.

To test this it should be possible to replicate it by loading the wheels laterally...easiest way to do this is to get on the bike against a wall and then lean side to side...you might need to roll back and forth a bit to find the "sweet spot"...but if you can replicate the noise with the bike stationary then get your LBS to check the spoke tension.

 

[Kookas]

Nah, it was the shoes. I tried the tension thing just in case, and couldn't get a noise.