Is the SCR2 the creakiest bike around ?

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goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
This is really starting to annoy me xx(

It took me a month to get a silent ride on my new SCR2, and that lasted a couple of days and it's been creaking, cracking and squeaking again like it's in its death-throes ever since. I've heard rusted-up clunkers make less noise.

The original causes were the seatpost, seatpost clamp, saddle-rails and the metal on the end of the cable-sheaths rubbing in the lugs where the brake-cables join the head-tube. So last night I re-greased and lubed the appropriate points / parts once again in the vain hope that they were to blame again. Nope. Still sounding like a metallic percussion section as I ride, and this morning there was a squeak just to add to the cacophony.

Noticed that it's now continuing when I'm out of the saddle, so I suspect that the cranks, BB threads etc need looked at next. Sigh. A quick Google this morning reveals that others have had exactly the same problems and the same causes (including the rear wheel snappng spokes like no-one's business, which I was also afflicted with). I have to say that it's not showing Giant up in a good light - even my Halfords Carerra MTB was near silent 99% of the time !

Does anyone else have a creakier bike than a Giant ?
 

Mortiroloboy

New Member
Goo, my SCR4 has it's moments, I did all the investigations changed the Alex rims for better wheels Mavic Aksiums (since passed on to JTM) as I'm going Campag. My seat rails, post interface seem to be the worst offenders, I'm reluctant to change saddle as the Generic seat that came is soooooooo comfy. Everything else on the bike components wise was on nice and tight, I know because when I dismanted it in the week, I had to get the LBS to loosen the drive side of the Truvativ power spline BB as it was in so tight.

All my componemts( full groupset) being sold as seperates to raise funds for my Campag groupset, are on ebay at the moment, if I was clever I'd create a link.xx(
 
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goo_mason

goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
Changed to Aksiums too last Monday, as Halfords wanted the wheel back to send to their Head Office for their 'expert wheel builder' to rebuild. I didn't want to be without the bike for an unknown period so I treated myself to better wheels, and plan on keeping the Alex wheels as spares.

This post lists the same issues that I have, and this one mentions BB creaking issues on various SCRs.

Don't get me wrong - I love the bike but the racket it makes is both annoying and highly embarrassing (people turn to see where the weird noises are coming from !)
 

Mortiroloboy

New Member
ha , not as annoying as freewheeling on Fulcrum R 7's:ohmy::blush: I took mine off my Wilier, as they were so noisy, I kept them , and they are going to be my winter wheels as they were Campag, and I'm going all Campy (Oo er missus) Club members will again have the opportunity to tease me as I free wheel down hill!!!!

It is annoying though when your bike creaks for no apparent reason.
 

walker

New Member
Location
Bromley, Kent
I've had a TCR 1 for some time, and Had problems with the cable exploding inside the frame, making a nasty scraping sound everytime I turned the bars.

Although not the most looked after bike on the planet, it is cleaned and looked over once a month the whole thing just creaks all over under power.
 

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
The seatpost/clamp/saddle rails do creak (I don't think the seat post is particularly good, tbh, never seems to hold the saddle at the right angle for long). Not noticed anything else that couldn't be traced to stuff in the saddle bag or the mudguards otherwise though.

(Rather embarassingly, I did trace one noise to the keys in one of my pockets, after ten minutes of spinning pedals, bouncing wheels on the ground etc)
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
bummer

I oiled the chain on the three month old Fratello last week and it went from silky to silent barring a quiet and pleasing hiss from the china when I go quick

there's a tiny rattle from the front light mounting

sorry
 

girofan

New Member
Yes, I've had trouble with SCR2 bottom bracket coming loose and causing a clicking noise. Tightened it, but it still came loose!! :rolleyes:
So, took the whole chainset off and extracted bottom bracket including both cups. Cleaned off all the grease, a dab of Loctite on the end of the threads on cups and re-assembled. :angry:
No clicks, and has stayed tight since. :biggrin::biggrin:
 

mondobongo

Über Member
The BB on the SCR is definitely a cost saving component from Giant, replaced mine after just a couple of months as it was foo-bahed. Wheels I have up-graded as the alex/formulas were pretty cack having had 3 Giants previously this set of wheels were the worst of the formulas I have had, replaced with Kore Gradient 2 massive improvement.

Goo the cable caps into the frame lugs is going to be a regular maintenance job I feel as the noise is horrible and lube is easily washed off there might try a smear of grease instead.

Still love it and its a great frame.
 
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goo_mason

goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
The BB was still OK, though there was a lot of muck in the frame when I took it out; the drive-train side of the BB wasn't tight at all so I guess the rain and wet had got in. Cleaned it all out, liberally applied Finish Line Teflon grease to the threads and caps and put it all back together again. The crank splines were ungreased so they got a slathering before I put the cranks back on them, so hopefully that's one less metal-on-metal creaking opportunity.

The seatpost still creaks and cracks despite liberal greasing of the post, the tube and the clamp surfaces. It only lessens and stops if I slacken the clamp off to the point where I could move the saddle with a little applied force.

Oh well. I'll see if the BB / crank servicing has got rid of one of the causes when I'm back on the bike on Tuesday !
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
The cable end-stop creak can be mostly fixed with a drop of grease liberally applied. Have the same on my TCR. My cycling budy has an SCR and it's been pretty much faultless.
 
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