Creak - any more ideas?

[inappropriate_bike]

My good bike has developed a highly annoying creak.

It happens when pressure is being applied to the drive-side pedal at the 3 o'clock position (i.e. once per revolution).

 - Happens when clipped in or not, on both sides of the pedal.
 - Swapped the pedal, cleaned and greased the threads. No change.
 - Swapped the bottom bracket (it had done 11k miles anyway) and cleaned the BB shell threads. No change.

There's no creak when pedalling using my left leg only, no matter how hard I try.

The creak is slightly worse when in the bigger chain ring.

Any ideas on things to try? 

[eckagain]

Chainring bolts?

Front wheel QR?? Srsly. DAHIKT 

[zigzag]

i had headset bearings ticking like bottom bracket, stopped after cleaning/re-greasing.

[Davef]

Right Knee ?


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[psyclist]

Saddle bolt.

A few years ago I had a bottom bracket creak that I couldn't resolve ... until one morning on my commute when the saddle came flying off as I went over a raised bridge. A bolt had sheered. So the creaking would have been a loosening of the bolt.

[Jurek]

My good bike has developed a highly annoying creak.

It happens when pressure is being applied to the drive-side pedal at the 3 o'clock position (i.e. once per revolution).

 - Happens when clipped in or not, on both sides of the pedal.
 - Swapped the pedal, cleaned and greased the threads. No change.
 - Swapped the bottom bracket (it had done 11k miles anyway) and cleaned the BB shell threads. No change.

There's no creak when pedalling using my left leg only, no matter how hard I try.

The creak is slightly worse when in the bigger chain ring.

Any ideas on things to try? 

LH bar end plug should be replaced with one that has been lubricated with lanolin.

[inappropriate_bike]

Hah.

OK. Narrowing it down.

Press on pedal - creak.
Press on crank arm - no creak.
Swap pedal for another identical pedal - creak on this bike, no creak on donor bike.

So must be some dirt in the pedal threads, right?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Do you use pedal washers? Lots of grease? Sometimes the face of the cranks can get chewed up a bit, which results in differential contact pressure with the pedal shoulder and potential creaks.

Otherwise, cracked pedal eye? What sort of crank?

[inappropriate_bike]

Do you use pedal washers? Lots of grease? Sometimes the face of the cranks can get chewed up a bit, which results in differential contact pressure with the pedal shoulder and potential creaks.

Otherwise, cracked pedal eye? What sort of crank?

It's an ultegra 6800 crank, with M430 pedals.

Normally just a little copaslip & no washers.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Don’t those cranks break with a higher than normal frequency, mostly from bonding failures?

https://www.bikeradar.com/features/shimano-crank-failure

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=112701.0

[Robh]

These creaks are very irritating, I have one I can’t locate at the moment on my utility bike. But just to throw another possibility into the pot, I’ve tracked creaks down to spoke-on-spoke pressure in the past: might be worth going around your wheels giving them a squeeze.

[Paul]

Nuke from orbit?

[Hair_Today_Gone_Tomorrow]

My good bike has developed a highly annoying creak.

It happens when pressure is being applied to the drive-side pedal at the 3 o'clock position (i.e. once per revolution).

 - Happens when clipped in or not, on both sides of the pedal.
 - Swapped the pedal, cleaned and greased the threads. No change.
 - Swapped the bottom bracket (it had done 11k miles anyway) and cleaned the BB shell threads. No change.

There's no creak when pedalling using my left leg only, no matter how hard I try.

The creak is slightly worse when in the bigger chain ring.

Any ideas on things to try? 

I have same issue. Be interesting to see what solution you come up with

[inappropriate_bike]

I swapped the crank with an identical one from another bike* and the creak has mostly gone from the recipient.

I haven't checked the donor yet to see if that's ok! Will check it and report back.



*My bike. I didn't just find another bike in the work bike shed with the same crank and swap it over when no one was around.

[De Sisti]

I had a creak on one of my bikes and I was certain it was the bottom bracket. After watching one of the GCN videos*,
I followed their instructions on what the cause could be. The first thing I tackled was the pedals.
I removed them, cleaned the threads and those on the crank arm and then re-inserted (no particular torque).
 
Rode the bike round the block, creaking was reduced. Went inside, tightened the pedals even more (no particular torque),
rode the bike round the block; no creaks. Problem solved (for me).
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEiIFbIklJg

[T42]

Dry chain?  I had a creak years ago when I de-lubed my chain too enthusiastically and didn't re-lube it sufficiently.  And in fact, having switched to wax lube recently, I'm wondering if I haven't got it again.

[inappropriate_bike]

Well, the creak is now on the recipient bike.

Only part swapped was the [BSA hollowtech axle, chainrings, crank arm] so the creak is in there somewhere.

Will dismantle and clean the chainrings next to see if that helps. Otherwise it's £150++ for a new chainset which is a bit of a pain.

[hatler]

It's gotta be chainring bolts, surely ?

[Brucey]

if you have not yet done so clean all the chainring interfaces and reassemble everything clean and dry apart from the male and female threaded parts in the chainring bolts; these should be greased.

If the creak still persists then it might be either

a) the crank cracking and/or coming unbonded along the seams or
b) the crank loosening where the BB spindle is bonded to it.

cheers

[Duckfoot1606]

Just a few words on a recent experience. My Bike developed a rhythmic light knock, once per crank revolution. Stopped when I coasted. I was certain it was from the crank area, would have have put money on it. Long story short, eventually realised the handlebar clamp nuts were a bit loose, tightened up and knock gone.

I’m always amazed how noises can move around a bike

A

[BrundonBianchi]

Well, the creak is now on the recipient bike.

Only part swapped was the [BSA hollowtech axle, chainrings, crank arm] so the creak is in there somewhere.

Will dismantle and clean the chainrings next to see if that helps. Otherwise it's £150++ for a new chainset which is a bit of a pain.

The give away was when you mentioned the HT2 Crank arms. The creak is probably coming from where the arms clamp the splines on the spindle. Put a load of grease on the splines, and see if that sorts it.

[hatler]

I appeared to have a once a wheel turn squeak on one of the MTBs last week. It was a bloke walking a bit ahead of me wearing squeaky flip flops.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Tightening the pedal is usually the answer when it happens to me. 

[Brucey]

I appeared to have a once a wheel turn squeak on one of the MTBs last week. It was a bloke walking a bit ahead of me wearing squeaky flip flops.

I have occasionally been riding with others at about the same cadence and it hasn't been entirely clear to me if the squeak I can hear is mine or someone else's!   If the freewheels are noisy, freewheeling means you can't hear the squeak any more, maybe because it stops, but then again the freewheel noise might be drowning it out.  I have resorted to changing gear before now (different cadence) in an attempt  to convince myself it isn't my bike!

cheers

[SpaceBadger]

My money was on a creaky saddle until the crank swap update. I've made peace with my creaky saddle*. There's nothing to tighten or adjust.


*might not be true.