Esteemed bike wrenchers. I am doing a confusion.
I have a creaky bike, and I am at a loss for what it could be. Creaks when pedalling, all gears, both chainrings, hard or soft, sitting or standing. Not consistently, as in, it can creak like mad, I stop and coast for 2 seconds, then the creak will be gone. Sometimes for 10 minutes at a time. Stop and coast, and creak returns on pedalling.
LBS have removed, cleaned, regressed and refit bottom bracket, cranks, chain rings, pedals, no love.
I have: checked front/rear wheels, seatpost, saddle, fork, all snug and secure and clean. This is a brand new chain, free from factory grease and rich in lubrication. Creaked before and after changing chain. Unlikely to be cleats, as creak remains when I use different non-clipless shoesies. Have eliminated any "extra bits", ie, removed both bottle cages and saddle bag, and yet the noisy boi still remains
I am limited by space, tools, and overall noobness, so I'm kind of exhausting my options, other than surrending to the almighty LBS again
Bike is Merida Silex 400, all stock components (apart from chain). About 6 months old
I am aware there is alot of unhelpful noise in the video like sloshing water, keys rattling, wind blowing, but the demon creak I think is obvious. Like a tapping, scratchy bug in my ears. And recording and riding is not easy.
by big_strong_greg
2 Comments
– chainring bolts
– seatpost binder bolt (or seatpost clamp)
– replace bottom bracket (you said your LBS re-greased it – sometimes they’re just done, the bearings don’t last forever)
– test ride with completely different pedals
– accept that the creak reminds you that you’re alive
Remove the seatpost clamp, clean it thoroughly, coat it in grease. Make sure there’s grease between all parts of the clamp. If it’s a carbon seatpost then also put a fair bit of carbon paste on that. I’ve seen this issue on a few Silexs