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thwart
03-10-2016, 01:44 PM
No news to most of you, but a less than really tight rear quick release can cause a creak that sounds exactly like it must be coming from the crank or bottom bracket. Especially in a titanium frame bike.

Even more difficult when there's a 'red herring'... a slightly loose chainwheel screw.

Or... a PowerTorque bottom bracket with it's typical (and normal) tiny bit of play.

Ah, bikes. :rolleyes:
93legendti
03-10-2016, 01:48 PM
No news to most of you, but a less than really tight rear quick release can cause a creak that sounds exactly like it must be coming from the crank or bottom bracket. Especially in a titanium frame bike.

Even more difficult when there's a 'red herring'... a slightly loose chainwheel screw.

Or... a PowerTorque bottom bracket with it's typical (and normal) tiny bit of play.

Ah, bikes. :rolleyes:

How long did it take you to figure out that is was the QR?
weisan
03-10-2016, 01:50 PM
oooooK....but did we ever find out what actually happened on this one?
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=171690
beeatnik
03-10-2016, 01:50 PM
Yep, have had the chainring bolt creak. Had it for months, actually. But only under real power. Since it was on a steel frame, I think I assumed that my cassette had some play. One morning, pre-World Famous Montrose Ride, I was wiping down my chain and noticed that not one, but 3 bolts had unthreaded :crap:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=172926
thwart
03-10-2016, 01:52 PM
How long did it take you to figure out that is was the QR?

You really don't want to know.

Safe to say I was about ready to pull the crank and BB before I overcame the 'no, that can't be it' thinking and tried tightening the QR. Sure enough.

:crap:
thwart
03-10-2016, 01:54 PM
Yep, have had the chainring bolt creak. Had it for months, actually. But only under real power.

Yeah, but that was the 'red herring'. The QR was the culprit.
beeatnik
03-10-2016, 01:56 PM
Oh, it's always the QR on a Ti frame. Gotta use Campy or Shimano QRs always!
93legendti
03-10-2016, 02:01 PM
You really don't want to know.

Safe to say I was about ready to pull the crank and BB before I overcame the 'no, that can't be it' thinking and tried tightening the QR. Sure enough.

:crap:

Uggh...sorry to hear that.

I had a creak on my steel Santana Tandem that I found by accident after I checked all the usual suspects and had given up...

A seatpost collar that wasn't seated completely was the cause.
thwart
03-10-2016, 02:04 PM
Oh, it's always the QR on a Ti frame. Gotta use Campy or Shimano QRs always!
That's probably what made the bike turn on me. An Ultegra QR on a mostly Campy bike. ;)

Lesson learned.
Dead Man
03-10-2016, 02:35 PM
The more creaks I've had, the more I've come to realize it's literally impossible to tell where the creak is coming from just by listening.

I've had everything creaks... spokes, QRs, seatpin (or was it the clamp?), crank bolts, SHOES (that was fun), front shift bosses, spacers/stem, and most recently - cable housing rubbing the bottom of my stem. Hunted and pecked for hours in the garage, but finally figured it out mid-ride last weekend.... swiped some spit between the housing and the stem, silent bike again.

Every one of these creaks have all sounded absolutely identical. They all sound like the BB.

And... never once has a creaked turned out to be the BB.
beeatnik
03-10-2016, 02:37 PM
On my alloy frames (alu and Ti) the creaks always seem to emanate from the headset. That drives me more insane than thinking it's from the BB. Teeth, ya kno.
Dead Man
03-10-2016, 02:40 PM
On my alloy frames (alu and Ti) the creaks always seem to emanate from the headset. That drives me more insane than thinking it's from the BB. Teeth, ya kno.

TWICE I've been positive a creak was a Chris King headset.. and TWICE they've proven to me I was wrong.

Good guys for putting up with me

(I'm local, so I can just ride the bike right in there)
exapkib
03-10-2016, 02:46 PM
Not sure if I should be happy or sad that the source of the loudest creak in my drivetrain is my knee.

Doc says it's harmless, but sometimes you wonder . . .
beeatnik
03-10-2016, 02:56 PM
TWICE I've been positive a creak was a Chris King headset.. and TWICE they've proven to me I was wrong.

Good guys for putting up with me

(I'm local, so I can just ride the bike right in there)

CK would have been seeing a lot of me in 2012. But their headsets have been totally faultless. R45 hubs are another story. If you don't clamp down on those bad boys they'll be enough play in the dropouts for some nice creaking.

Speaking of headsets, I did have one long term creak on my CAAD10. Never suspected the headset as the bearing cover and spacer weren't loose. Thought it was a similar situation to the cables being too tight or housing rubbing the stem. Finally took my stem off and noticed that the compression plug had slipped slightly. The creak always occurred under extreme load (climbing out of the saddle on 15% grades) but had become more common.

Creaks, man.
cv1966
03-10-2016, 09:40 PM
Last year I was 100% certain the bottom bracket on my Ti frame needed adjustment/replacement since I only got creaking when I was out of the saddle. Mechanic found out it was due to improperly tightened front QR. Shows what I know...
R3awak3n
03-10-2016, 10:07 PM
my new wheel has a thump when I go hard over a bump, almost feels like it is coming from the headset but the wheel before did not do that so I am not really sure what it is. It does remind me to check the skewers tomorrow before my ride. For all I know the sound is not coming from the front wheel.