Mystery creaking/clicking

[Andy in Germany]

I've just had a customer come in with a bike that is "creaking when I pedal"

Apparently the noise began on the last day of a multi day tour, and returns whenever he rides "after the first 100m or so."

He's replaced the BB and pedals, and tried new crank & chain wheel to no avail.

He hasn't tried changing the front derailleur or the cable and the sound I heard when riding along with the description, made me wonder if it's the result of a cable stretching over the tour, and the clicking is when he starts to put pressure on the pedals. The only problem with this theory is that he claims it happens in every gear, which wasn't my impression but he's lived with it for longer than me.

Here are the parts for reference. Is there anyone who has experienced this, and if so how did you deal with it?

Also, how critical would a torque wrench and even tightening be? Could it cause a creak if that wasn't correctly fixed?

 

[Joffey]

Check seat post, saddle, cleats, stem bolts, rear wheel bearings etc - it's a nightmare trying to find the problem!

 

[ianrauk]

Yep, could be one of a multitude of problems that will take time to find.
I would also start with seat post.

 

[CXRAndy]

Most creaking is associated with the bottom bracket. I find riding alongside the noisy bike can locate the area to where the creaking is coming from

 

[ColinJ]

I had 2 saddles start creaking. That is easy to check for - pedal standing up and see if the noise goes away. Also works if the noise comes from the seat post clamp.

 

[ColinJ]

Most creaking is associated with the bottom bracket. I find riding alongside the noisy bike can locate the area to where the creaking is coming from

I once got a friend to listen close up with the bike being pedalled on my turbo trainer.

 

[All uphill]

My last ticking noise that only happened after 20 miles, and only when pedalling turned out to be a shoelace working loose and hitting the crank once per revolution!
Good luck with isolating the problem!

 

[AlanW]

Another vote for looking at the saddle. I had a similar problem a while back and I tried everything and all to no avail, then purely by chance I lent on the saddle with my elbow while pondering what to look at next. Then when I stood back up it made the noise I was trying to locate!!

It turned out to be the rear of one of saddle rails where it goes into the saddle fretting in the hole, removed the saddle and tipped it on its back and dropped 3 in 1 oil in the hole......sorted!

 

[wafter]

As Colin has said, isolate the saddle by getting out on the bike, getting to a situation where it clicks then getting out of the saddle to see if the problem persists. IME if it is the saddle it's usually due to the rails rolling axially in the clamp as weight is transferred from one side to the other - alleviated by a little lubrication in the contact areas and a decent dose of torque.

Personally I've experienced creaking at the BB in two areas - BB cups to frame (one side had worked loose) and pedal to crank arm (again, loose as well as unlubricated). If you've ruled out the saddle I'd start at the BB and work outwards - first check the bearings for wear by checking for lateral play in the crank arms, then remove the crank and BB, clean, refit with grease and re-torque (when assembled with lube I usually torque to 2/3rds the max value to start with to avoid wrecking owt).

Clean and refit the crankset with lubrication and again ensure that fixings are appropriately torqued. Finally do the same with the pedals and re-test..

Good luck

 

[Paulus]

As above, I have had success with cleaning and then applying a thin smear of grease on the BB threads to clear odd creaks.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thanks for all the responses; I suspected it would be the case but I wanted to check; perhaps there was some BB voodoo I didn't know... I'm guessing it isn't the BB as that was changed, but the trouble is I don't know how competent or conscientious the owner is, so he could have made the same mistake twice.

 

[alicat]

Is there a long German word for 'itsnothingserioussoforgetaboutit'?

 

[ColinJ]

Is there a long German word for 'itsnothingserioussoforgetaboutit'?

Sometimes, it IS serious but you don't realise that until the last possible moment!

I once heard a loud creaking noise come from the front of my MTB on a descent. I scrubbed off speed and got down to a walking pace and then the stem bolt pulled the thread out of the stem and my bars rotated through 90 degrees! Fortunately I was going slow enough to stop safely ...

 

[DRM]

I’ve had similar, putting some copper slip on the seat post cured it, note was an aluminium frame and seat post

 

[Brandane]

Recently I had similar, a click which happened at the same position on each revolution of the pedals. Replaced BB, still the same. Long story short, took the pedals off, greased the threads and tightened them up. Problem solved. Unlikely to be the solution for OP as pedals and cranks have been changed, so pointless post for today? . Might help someone else though....