Creaking!!

[jruiz]

There might have already been a thread on this before but I would like to bring up the discussion again. First of all my name is John and I'm from the East San Gabriel Valley area and I've just built up a Giant AC and have taken in out for a couple of rides. What my problem is that I've had creaking in either my pedals, cranks, or BB since I've put it together. It started on the left side and has progressed to both. I greased the bottom bracket threads before installing it thinking that it would prevent anything like this from happening. So I haven't even looked at that. What I have tried was applying blue loctite to my crank bolt and torquing it a bit more. I don't think it has anything to do with my seatpost because it is clean/greased and that I get the creaking even when I stand up and pedal. I'd like to try to fix this myself before taking it to my LBS. I have an XT hollowtech 1 crank w/ es71 bottom bracket if it helps. Thanks in advance!!

[LBmtb]

Are any cables rubbing on your frame?

[Krunk]

Take your bb apart and do this:




a. Grease threads inside bottom bracket spindle as you did. Also , Grease splines on spindle.
b. Rotate spindle so one spline aligns to top dead center, at the 12:00 position.
c. Position right crankarm on to spindle so arm points straight down at the 6:00 position. Place crankarm on spindle and thread bolt into spindle. View opposite side of spindle and check that a narrow spline is aligned to top dead center.
d. Tighten bolt fully. If possible use a torque wrench and secure to 305-391 inch-pounds.
e. Align left arm so it points directly opposite from right arm. Thread bolt into spindle and tighten fully. ... this should do it.

[jruiz]

Gonzo: Yes I do have cable rub
Krunk: I will do as you suggested and report back later. Would you suggest using loctite or grease anywhere else?

[Atrex]

What type of pedals do you have? I know that I just bought a pair of crank brothers Candy C yellow clipless pedals and they would make a creaking noise everytime I pedaled. Once I adjusted the tension it went away.

[Von-Skipp]

Originally Posted by Atrex

What type of pedals do you have? I know that I just bought a pair of crank brothers Candy C yellow clipless pedals and they would make a creaking noise everytime I pedaled. Once I adjusted the tension it went away.

How do you adjust the tension on the Candys?

[EndoMaster]

Originally Posted by Atrex

What type of pedals do you have? I know that I just bought a pair of crank brothers Candy C yellow clipless pedals and they would make a creaking noise everytime I pedaled. Once I adjusted the tension it went away.

How do you adjust the tension?

[CalEpic]

While you have the cranks off, take off the chain rings, clean the mating surfaces and bolts. grease, loctite, reassemble. Also check the the saddle rails to post interface. Clean and grease.

Good luck, it can hard to track down a creak.

C

[Neccros]

Also make sure the bottom brackett shell on your frame is faced properly... Small bits of paint for coating can cause an uneven face and could cause creaking. Also if the shell isnt totally perpendicular to the BB, it could creak as well

[Krunk]

Originally Posted by jruiz

Gonzo: Yes I do have cable rub
Krunk: I will do as you suggested and report back later. Would you suggest using loctite or grease anywhere else?

You stated: What my problem is that I've had creaking in either my pedals, cranks, or BB since I've put it together...

Most likely your BB :you don't need loctite , in fact you can have problems later when you want to take it apart ... if you use loctite and crank hard and try to take it apart later down the road it can gum up in the threads and make it alittle frustrating. as for grease that should do it, don't worry about cable rub... since your problem started when you assembled your bb.

[gurp13]

Is creaking anything more than annoying? My bike creaks, too. Should I look into it?

[dstepper]

I hate creaks, one of the reasons I mostly ride rigid singlespeeds.

I had a GT I-Drive that I dumped because I could not get ride of the creaks. Some bike are just that way.

I have found often that the creak is in the seat post...does it creak when you are up out of the saddle? If not there, start taking things apart and gease them...start with the easy stuff. The creak sound travels through the frame and it is hard to find the offending part.

[jruiz]

Thank you all for the comments. I knew I could count on the STR community for some good suggestions. I will check BB face to frame interface.

FYI: I have the Zuzu platforms and I get creaking even while out of the seat.

I was able to trace the creaking to my cranks. It looks as though my crankbolts backed off a bit even though I applied blue loctite to them. Should I be going with the red loctite or torquing them a bit more? I don't have the luxury of owning a torque wrench but this is my second set of these cranks and have not had this problem before.

[dirttorpeedo]

Originally Posted by jruiz

Thank you all for the comments. I knew I could count on the STR community for some good suggestions. I will check BB face to frame interface.

FYI: I have the Zuzu platforms and I get creaking even while out of the seat.

I was able to trace the creaking to my cranks. It looks as though my crankbolts backed off a bit even though I applied blue loctite to them. Should I be going with the red loctite or torquing them a bit more? I don't have the luxury of owning a torque wrench but this is my second set of these cranks and have not had this problem before.

if you have a square taper bottom bracket thats why your bolts seemed to be loose, your crank arms SEAted,no greese on the taper or the arms. dont use locktite. on the bolts,crankarms,threads, NONE.you dont need to gorilla grip bolts to keep them on.if splined bb let the bike shop face the bb shell.and reassemble . also check the cable ferrals, yes i know sounds silly but it happens.grease the bolts when reasembeling & the bb. my bill is in the mail.

[dirttorpeedo]

Originally Posted by jruiz

Thank you all for the comments. I knew I could count on the STR community for some good suggestions. I will check BB face to frame interface.

FYI: I have the Zuzu platforms and I get creaking even while out of the seat.

I was able to trace the creaking to my cranks. It looks as though my crankbolts backed off a bit even though I applied blue loctite to them. Should I be going with the red loctite or torquing them a bit more? I don't have the luxury of owning a torque wrench but this is my second set of these cranks and have not had this problem before.

if you have a square taper bottom bracket thats why your bolts seemed to be loose, your crank arms SEAted,no greese on the taper or the arms. dont use locktite. on the bolts,crankarms,threads, NONE.you dont need to gorilla grip bolts to keep them on.if splined bb let the bike shop face the bb shell.and reassemble . also check the cable ferrals, yes i know sounds silly but it happens.grease the bolts when reasembeling & the bb. my bill is in the mail.

[pshloss]

Agree with Dirtorpeedo. No locktite. About 80% likely to be BB is loose or not seating properly. I have had squeaks on cable ferrules, too. You can wiggle them by hand to check them sometimes, or maybe just change the housing in that area (probably the front derailleur housing) as a precaution. Can't hurt and it's cheap and easy.