Why Is A "Chimney" On A Road Bike So Terrible? | GCN Tech Clinic
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
- Why is having a head tube extender on your bike so bad? Does carbon fiber make bikes creak? What do I need to know about latex inner tubes before making the switch? We answer all these questions and more on this week's tech clinic!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:16 - Do cheap carbon frames squeak?
2:57 - What do riders at the Tour de France drink?
4:59 - What is the difference between wide and narrow handlebars?
6:33 - How do I know when to change tyres?
7:26 - Do cyclists warm up their tyres like F1 drivers?
8:52 - What do I need to know about latex inner tubes?
9:33 - What product does Ollie use on his hair?!
10:08 - When should you stop pedalling down descents?
11:32 - Why is having a chimney on a bike so bad?
13:15 - Can I leave the clutch on my gravel bike the whole time?
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On the subject of chimneys, I'm now 73. When I bought my beloved Specialized Roubaix in 2008, the fitter/wrench at my LBS left a substantial chimney on the bike. He looked at me and said something very like. "You're going to want to cut this so it looks cool but as you get older, it'll be harder to get low. You're gonna want all these spacers." He was right. That said, whatever was going on with Ollie's budget Pinarello was just wrong.
How has your stem changed since then, too?
another reason why we don't need old people in this world.
I have a small(2 cm) chimney which allows me to vary stem height when my, admittedly bad, back acts up. It allows me to keep riding at times when I would otherwise be unable.
The need to make adjustments for different days is why I still prefer quill stems.
Thanks for talking about the creaking bikes question. Mine just started doing that and it’s driving me crazy. Now I have more things to test.
Once did a 100 mile Audax ride with a guy who had a chimney that must have been close to a foot in height, and he slayed everyone.
Creaking carbon can also be caused by the spider bolts that loosen on the crank set. I check mine every month to be sure they’re torqued to spec. Blue thread lock can also be applied to ensure they don’t come loose.
I had a clicking on my gravel bike that I could've sworn was coming from the bottom bracket. Took it to my LBS and turned out it was just a screw that was coming undone at the rear derailleur but the sound was resonating up the frame to make it sound like it was at the BB. Even the mechanic had to search for it. It's not always that simple.
Very good advice with respect to creaking. Could hardly add anything to that and quite recently found the reason for the creaking on my bike which came and went to make things even worse. It was like chasing a ghost until i put a layer of isolating tape around the clamping-area of my seatpost as an experiment on a ride and it was instantly gone. In the time before I had readjusted and retightened headset, crankset (Campa), saddleclamp and cleats, changed the saddle and the seatpost. In the end reapplying a bit of carbon mounting paste and the right amount torque on the post-clamp did the trick. This issue of creaking really deserves it's own GCN-Video!
On the subject of the chimney, if you have one on a carbon steerer the tensioning plug is above the stem clamp. therefor your stem is clamping on an unsupported carbon tube which is likely to crush. An obvious safety issue.
Love that you guys mentioned cooling and performance. I am an exercise physiologist and I remember being part of a research team looking at intermittent neck cooling during wingate(30s max power on a bike) tests. Where neck cooling with ice seemed to work best but even a menthol spray which only mimics actual cooling helped to improve performance. That cool be small enough to fit in a saddle bag… food for thought. I can send you the paper Dr. Bridgewood.
Please do. Energy and water lost in sweating must also contribute to overall power spent; reducing overall power output I'd think. Or the rider overheats and risks heatstroke in lieu of bonk.
So glad you said "Saddle rails" in the creaking carbon frame segment. I never would have suspected that in a million years but my LBS demonstrated to me a few months ago that exact source causing what sounded like a creak from much lower on my bike.
Same thing here. I was lubricating, tightening things all over the lower part of the bike. Finally figured out it was the saddle rails creaking.
My Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow Bike Saddle's elastomer suspension shock absorber system creaks sometimes but the saddle's so comfortable that I don't care.
Alex and Ollie make a good combo. Keep up the great shows guys.
May have been covered already in comments about bar width, in addition to "handling" issues and positioning, it's also going to affect your breathing/chest "compaction" to a degree for comfort, especially long-term. Too narrow and it will actually restrict your ability to comfortably get full breaths, this is something not super obvious but is a factor. If you are sitting (anywhere, doesn't have to be on the bike for this), and you drop your elbows close to your sides (straight down to sides, not front or back of center), and point your fists forward, then sit with good posture and "breath normally". this should be fully comfortable. Now bring your arms closer together in front (keeping arms straight, simulating a narrower bar position) and breath, and you can easily feel the constriction happening.
While not a deal-breaker to going a bit narrower (and arms can "pivot" in/out of straight to compensate to keep shoulders back some), there are compromises with wrist positioning (and arms not straight into the wind is generally a bit worse aero-dynamically, potentially offsetting any "aero gains" to your body, only wind testing can know for sure)...
IMO, but also common opinion, going much narrower than this "relaxed" starting point, is negative for breating, aerodynamics of the arms, wrist/elbow alignment, as well as causing twitchier bike handling mentioned in the segment, thus multiple "comfort" factors are negatively impacted. Breathing alone could cost several watts of power output when restricted, nd being more comfortable overall, has a hard-to-measure benefit, especially after 50-100 miles in the saddle.
5-10mm adjustments are probably worth playing with, but if your "comfort" width is 760mm, and you go narrower to 740mm for example... expect some challenges in one or more of the above factors.
If you already feel you have "wide" bars... do this... ride a long ride, and then "get comfortable" on the bar tops to where you feel you can keep going much longer full power without discomfort in the body, breathing, hands, etc... and see where your hands land... not perfect because it's not simulating riding in the drops, but I'd use the outside edge of each hand in that comfort position, as the narrowest position I'd consider for the width of the drops. If you can borrow bars or ride a similar bike with those width bars before committing, that is ideal.
Just some precautionary thoughts on the subject, hope someone finds use/value in the above. Oh, here is a link to a site addressing this as well that I quickly googled for support reference...
winningposition.fit/handlebar-width/
I've got a chimney on my bike. Thought about cutting it, glad i didn't. Got an injury so had to raise the stem. Nice to have the adjustability. Also nice to raise the stem for climbing rides and drop the stem for aggressive spins.
The rear thru-axle has been the culprit of the creaking on one of my bikes on many occasions. A simple loosening and re-tightening solves the issue.
Having a chimney with a carbon fork could be dangerous, if the steerer gets clamped too tight you can crack the steerer as the plug is unable to offer any inner support unless you get an extended plug.
Creaks… in the last couple of weeks I have had my group set replaced. And it came back with 2 creaks! Took a while, but I finally worked out one of them was the external cable ing on the brakes (external routing) was rubbing on each other: but it sounded just like it was coming from the forks. The second took much longer to identify. I was sure it was bottom bracket. Only happened on a pedal stroke. Finally worked it out…. The Lycra had gone slightly on my shorts and it was the gripper that was slightly catching on the top tube!
I gotta start watchin' this again, this was good, thanks Ollie and PhotoMan. And I do grin about that big photo of Alex on the wall behind Alex, tho' we need equal time from Dr. Bridgewood, perhaps even something larger. And it'd be cool if there were a Manon signature-model gravel bike called the Chimney, a little something to smoke the competition. 😀
Hardest creak I diagnosed was a pair of (non branded) Look cleats that rubbed on the front inside the pedal, only made a noise once it had warmed up and expanded, about 30 minutes of riding.
I've had two sets of Look pedals with Look cleats. They always ended up creaking and squeaking no matter how clean they were. I gave up and went Shimano Ultegra which work perfectly.
Creaks can be so frustrating. I spent years tracking down creaks on my mountain bike. I replaced the BB, the shock, and I can't tell you how many times I went through the suspension pivots.
Turns out, it was actually the seat post wasn't quite tight enough and the pedals needed more grease on the threads.
I have had noise from:
Pedals,
a dry chain,
a quickrelease seatpost clamp, the saddle frame, where it's going into the carbon or plastic of the saddle,
a loose wheel bearing,
a strap from a bag toucking a tyre.
An aquaintance had noise from a crankbracket filled with water.
Riser drop bar is the best, the flared ones with flat top.
40 cm on the hoods and wider in the drops, controls tilted inwards, super comfortable to ride.
Made rid of 2 cm with spacers under the stem on my road bike.
I only got 5mm spacer under the stem now and 3 cm saddle to handlebar drop.
Looks great and is comfortable at the same time.
Thin carbon fiber is an excellent conductor of sound. That's why carbon fiber violins for instance. So a lot of creaks that would otherwise get muffled and muted on metal frames really transmit and are heard on carbon frames.
Did Ollie adlib the hair product comment? That reference is just too funny :o)
My old bike used to have a creak if the rear through axle wasn't perfectly (goldilocks) tight.... my new bike had a creak after I first built it that I swore was the BB. I had the cranks in and out, BB out and refitted, a number of times... turned out to be the direct mount chainring spider.
Last really bad creak I had on my Aeroad was a badly worn shoe cleat. Moved when I put some power down.
Another one, rear skewer on the trainer, nearly as bad. Wasn’t loose - but needed a bit of grease against the frame contact points…
Just a quick anatomy point for Ollie from a surgeon across the pond- your spleen is located in your left flank not your chest. That steerer tube must have had a few twists and turns. Love the channel
Regarding chimney height. Some of us may want to sell our bikes and loping off 10 or 15 cm can make the bike unusable by potential buyers. Once you have cut a steerer tube, it can be very expensive for next rider to replace the fork, if he/she can even find one.
I had a creak which I thought was the bb. Turned out it was the rear derailleur mount. Used loctite on the mounting screws and some grease between the frame and mount. This sorted the problem having spent ages checking quick releases, seat post, cranks etc!
Regarding the creak, my local Giant store Helston, ended up swapping out my rear wheel after eliminating everything else. That solved the problem on my TCR.
Weirdest experience I've had so far with creaking was caused by one of my cogs coming loose (rivets gone). Of course, I blamed my BB. Glad I caught in time though, I could just imagine what damage or accidents it would have caused.
On the first one, the creak, delamination of the bb shell can be the cullprit. Along all those other creaking suspects. GL!
I had a creak/squeak noise turned out to be my Speedplay cleats once replaced sorted 🤩🚴👍
Stem length has a greater effect on steering geometry than handlebar width. Width is more about bike fit - you want the hoods to match the width of your shoulder blades. My fitter swapped the 44mm stock bars on my gravel bike with 40mm and it was an immediate improvement in comfort.
I see gravel bikes with laughably wide and flared out handlebars, it's at least partly a fashion thing along with the mustaches and flannel.
I was hearing a squeaking noise with every revolution of the cranks on my road bikes. I was riding with my wife and daughter, so I was wearing sneakers instead of bike shoes, so I wasn't cleated to the pedals. It turned out the squeak was the edge of my shoe rubbing against the crank arm.
I've had this too.
My latest BB creak adventure resulted in me having to tighten the bolts securing my chainrings to the cranks. involved me holding a screwdriver with some vicegrips to get the leverage needed to loosen and tighten those bolts.
The creaking carbon frame: It could be the wheels too. I had that problem once and it was driving me nuts. Turned out it was my rear wheel and the sound just carried through the frame making it hard to pin down where it was coming from. Some grease on the through axle and torque to spec took care of it. Side note, found it by accident. Cleaned my cassette and lubed it up when I reinstalled.
Yes I have encountered this a number of times.
I'm dealing with this problem right now. Thanks for the tips. Out to the garage to give it a try!
Yep, can also be spokes when the tension is a bit low, especially if they cross and rub against each other
I’ve had the same
Tambien me ha pasado eso, apretar el cassete y la rueda suele arreglar el problema
RE first question/carbon creak… I had similar issue and tightened my chain rings and all good!
With regard to the creak, it may be chainring bolts and where the rings attach to the spider.
So I developed a clicking with each pedal stroke right after I had lowered my saddle. But it stopped when I sat upright, so it was stroke specific. Checked all the normal things even frame cracks. Turns out the left middle set of lugs on my Siding mountain shoes had come loose and were causing the noise. Tightened up all the lugs on both shoes... Silence.
I have that exact creaking bb area on carbon framed MTB! Swapped out bb even glued it in place
Re the first question about the creaking, it's probably the quick release or through axles. Spray some lube onto the contact points of your axles and the fork.
I had an incredibly loud creak. I changed bottom bracket, it still creaked - I checked the pedals, crank bolts etc. It turned out to be the rear derailleur jockey wheels. I would never have imagined they could have made such a racket.
Still pretty new to wrenching on my bike and while cleaning it I was just wondering what that on off switch on my rear mech meant. I did not know you could switch off the clutch! Thanks!
I had a creak coming from my bike, it was there for months. After much searching, it turned out to be dry spoke nipples. Some lubricant applied, silent bike and sanity saved
I feel like this is a good example of why not to worry too much about creaks. a lot of the time it's nothing
If you use metal cable housing ends (I think that's what they are called) I've found them to creak if they get dirty and on my aluminum framed bike I would hear it whenever I'd turn the bars the slightest. Might be worth checking out and they are a cheap fix.
Could also be the chainrings.
If you've a creak, best to go through and check all the bolts on everything. Is your derailleur hanger loose?
It could even be a spoke
After weeks of diagnosis and checking against lists online, new parts etc. It was grit between spokes on rear wheel.
It's kinda dangerous on a carbon bike to have a chimney if you have a short compression plug. The stem is clamping on a hollow steer tube.
This is why I purposely swapped out my FSA expander plug for a 50 mm long Neco. I don't care about weight on this part, I want reinforcement.
Took a ride today and I absolutely felt fatigue due to the heat. I'm okay no heat stroke, but I definitely felt it toward the end
My old mid-nineties mtb is now used for commute, put chimney and drop bars monstercross style. The fork is steel and strong enough.
I spent ages looking for a creak on my bike that turned out to be the rubber sole of a new pair of touring shoes rubbing against the pedal body 😆
Ah, the creak. Very much something I recognise. I had a creak on my carbon gravel bike. Thought it was the BB, it was as smooth as butter. Eventually I checked the rear through axle. Not quite tight enough. Small adjustment and the creak went.
For the creacking I would also check spokes, I had creacking wich seems to come from bottom bracket, but it was comming from spoke or rather It seemed that spoke is fine but I had little microfructure in the wheel rim and rim had to be replaced.. Fracture was smaler then 3mm and thin as a hair but it had affect on the spoke which could not be tighten properly. Whole wheel rim had to be replaced. And also I have strange creacking comming from where wheel is touching frame or rather from where back wheel axel is touching bike frame... cleaning and bit of grease helped that one though... this one was cheap to fix...
CREAKING CARBON FRAME? Had a creaking prob too on my Colnago C59, then figured out it was the cassette. I had done a really good washing of the bike including using a brush and soap to clean the cassette and found a few days later that when the cassette had dried the 28T (3) sprocket cluster was actually creaking. It would only make noise when on the 28 tooth sprocket. So I removed the cluster, turned it over and added one drop of thin chain oil to each of the rivets on the back of the cluster. The rivets sit in a shallow countersink, so when the oil was added and I let it sit for about 10 mins, creaking gone. This happened twice in about 8 months and was always after cleaning. Now I don't clean the cassette with bike wash, I remove it and clean each sprocket with a rag.
Impossible creaking to find on my bike ended up being my aluminum bottle cage! Replaced BB and checked and lubed a dozen other things before sorting that.
#askgcntech on the subject of creaking - check the spoke crossings on the back wheel - especially if bladed spokes and on the drive side. These can get dry and a little loose and start moving against each other and creaking.
How can you get rid of the chimney? I refuse to do it myself. Local bike shop? I had a creaking carbon frame. Turned out to be the crank bearings but then all the other parts of the drivetrain were finito too. Changed the bearings, chain, cassette and the big chainring. It’s like having a brand new bike. So much more efficient power transfer and no creaks. 👍😊
I had a clicking sound from my bottombracket area.
Problem solved when I opened it, regreased it and thightened the plastic bolt that removes play on the ultegra crank really thight with my fingers.
@AskGCNTech - I recently had a small puncture in a tubeless tire, my first ever. It was a small nick, which sealed very quickly, So quickly, in fact, that I didn't lose much pressure and there was no tell-tale sealant spray pattern on my frame or wheel, as you so often see. Should I top off my sealant, to be safe? I had just put in a top-up of about 20 ml 3 weeks before.
Don't worry about it, I have a small chimney since I use a usb charger on my bike that is in the steerertube.
On the subject of chimneys. I would really love it if manufacturers would leave a bit more on the bike to be trimmed at a later date if one wants to.
Certainly rather than a tall top tube that can't be trimmed.
The creaking: I had the same issue and it was the pedals. I just put a bit of dry chain lube on it and in my clips (in the shoe) and problem solved!!!
#ASKGCNTECH - Grt show and advice! I've got a quite aggressive Road bike that was setup for me following a Retul Bike Fit.
Just bought a Gravel bike but how should I set it up?.....namely use current bike fit measurements, get another specific gravel bike fit done, base it on my Road bike measurements but tweak certain measurement and if so which ones and by how much? Many Thx
Creaking: the spokes on my Mavic wheels made a lot of noise when climbing. A drop of oil after each wash cured the problem.
I have also had an issue where I had "creaking" from a gear cable.. I was to tight inside the frame (so lots of slack on the outside and when steering, but the grommet where the cable was going inside the frame was holding the cable kinda tight). And when I put power into the pedals something moved a tiny bit in the frame and the cable was rubbing near the bb, and creating a creaking kinda noise.
hi GCN, i am currently riding the 2022 Canyon Endurace CF SL8 size XXS. As it is using 650b wheels, it is super hard to find 650b 30mm tires and inner tubes. Is there any way for it to fit a 700c wheel or any recommendation on wheels/tires? #askGCNtech
Also on the subject of chimneys - On carbon forks you want to tighten the stem around the steerer tube where there is support from the inside from the compression plug. Otherwise the risk of steerer tube cracking and therefore using face as a brake pad is much higher.
Many comments concerning the creaking. So, yup. It's definitely a thing. I was on that kind of search myself. And I ended up greasing my rear thru axle, which finally fixed it for me. That was literally the last thing on my list to be checked...
in my case there was no shortage of grease on the rear axle, but simply taking it apart and reassembling with careful torque force, fixed the clicking.
I find the rear axle to be the most common thing. I have swapped out a frame failing to find that.
Hi GCN clinic, I’m wanting to upgrade my wheels on a rim brake and a disc brake bike. I don’t know where to start to know if they’re compatible with the frame/cassette/brake option.
#AskGCNtech I’m new to the 1x setup with my new gravel bike. I have the rival xplr 1x with 42 front chainring and 10-44 cassette. On 2 descents on a recent ride, I was quickly moving down the cassette and dropped my chain. Any tips other than not shifting as quickly?
Another thing that’s bad is removing the saddle and just sitting on the seatpost. Also bicycles with no wheels are not ideal imho. Thanks for the amazing info.
Ollie - I want to thank you for making me spit my drink on my desk with your Something About Mary comment!
#ASKGCNTECH
Currently riding on an 'entry level' bike from way back in 2009/10 (Cube Peloton), got back into cycling a lot more over the last 12 months or so.
Did a Triathlon this year and loved it, do you think I'd be better off upgrading to a shiny new road bike to do all the things or keep the one I have and add a TT/Tri bike since that's *mostly* what I'm training for?
#AskGCNTech Hey all. When working on fixed gear bikes, how does one know how much sag to leave on the chain? From seeing bikes at events it almost seems like personal preference. Also since I haven't been able to find track wheelsets, could I build wheels with any road rim? Thanks!
Wow! Who would have thought, in cycling cooling is a hot item!
On squecking frames (especially out of the saddle & on climbs): in my case front wheel spikes were too loose...
Cassette locking nut washer caused a hard to find noise a while ago!
#askgcntech Hi first off all great channel and great content!!! I did ask Alex at the global bike festival what frame material to go for with the gravel bike I was going to get. Now for past weeks I did ride my dads old road bike just to check if my shoulder (had a fracture off my caput humeri while racing DH a few years back) and I have to admit (don't tell the GMBN guys ;-) ) I really enjoyed the road rides and for techy gravel and single trail riding I take my XC Hardtail. So now I am wondering if an Allroad Bike isn't better for me. I want the bike for my ride to work, milde gravel, long rides and maybe a bit of bike packing?
Hello, recently aquired an older HED Disc wheel, flat sided so at least 10yrs old. Ive cant seem to get a Pirelli PZero TT on. Tried Vittoria Corsa also. Only tyre that I can get on is an older Corsa . It is as if the wheel is oversized. Any ideas?
#AskGCNTech Hi, after snapping a carbon crank arm during an uphill effort (and naturally falling over), I started to worry about the rest of my bike, and what would happen if something similar happen to other parts, like e.g. the seat post. According to the manual, the bike should have yearly professional inspections. However, I don't have any nearby professionals I trust. Do you have any tips on how one can inspect fork, frame, seat post and handlebar oneself?
#ASKGCNTECH I'm a heavier rider (~100kg) and sometimes find my disc brakes slightly less powerful than I would like, can I fit larger rotors to a road bike, or is there anything else I can do to help like using brake pads with integrated cooling fins? Thanks
Having sorted all the major creaks on my bike (headset bearings, freehub bearings, thru axels, saddle), it was finally quiet enough to hear a creaking bottom bracket - only a year old and the bearings were shot. Who would have thought?!
I had problem with bb creacking. It is common problem foe press fit bb. I solved it by buying new bb from wheels manufacturing with treading parts. After installation creacking disappeared. And the second reason for creack is too high torque force for crank bolts on shimano cranks. Too high force and then bike creacks from bb.
I rode motorcycles for years always gave the tires a few miles-km's to warm up, I kind of do the same on my bicycle I don't push it the first few minutes to give my muscles time to warm up and I guess I'm giving my bike a chance to warm up to.
@gcntech if I decide to ride my bike all road for a 100km, is it any better with the clutch off
Narrow bars also gives you (pros) a .little more room in the tight peloton. XC MTBRs will do this. Helps you fit in the tight holes and less of a chance of banging bars.
My crank creaks at 9 O'Clock when putting more pressure on up hills. I gave up even bothering trying to work out what it is.
Facetious is one of my favourite words, it has all the vowels arranged in the correct order!
huh, the more you know!
Finding a buyer for your used bike is easier if you leave a chimney. Gives a potential buyer more fit options. But whether you cut or not you should make sure your expansion plug is long enough to reinforce the stem clamping forces.
The crecking on my bike is my old body!!!
The ol' creaky knees. 😂
Same creaking problem, but mine is at the free-hub bearing, damaged due to overuse and not maintained by the previous owner
I had a creak like the one person mentioned and my mechanic found it to be the aluminum rear wheel. It had hairline cracks in it. Interesting huh? It was none of the culprits that you mentioned. Creaks suck!
My creaking sound turned out to be the pedals. Noise cleared after I removed pedals and clean and lube threads and put back on nice and tight.
#AskGCNTech Hi guys. A lot of advice tells me to run low tyre pressures (say 5 bar) yet my Mavic Yksion UST say not to go below (say) 6 bar printed on the sidewall. This occurs on other tyres i have too (different brands). Will they fall off if I run them below the stated min pressure? Is this the manufacturer being ultra cautious? (note this is subtly different to the question asked a couple of weeks ago by another viewer; I am not using inserts and this is a 25 mm road tyre issue). Cheers!
Regarding creaks, don’t forget to check your cleats!
That Geraint Thomas story is giving me real Pulp Fiction vibes lol
Could be the pedals could be his STEM headset. Could be his wheel. It could even be the shoes. But I'm thinking it's the wheel.
I agree! The wheel is often overlooked.
I had a creak and was convinced it was the BB. It ended up being the spokes rubbing against each other, especially under force. The tension was too low and therefore allowed more flex. Sent them to the wheel builder and the problem was fixed.
The derailleur/derailleur hanger can also cause creaking.
Yep. I had the same problem
I’ve had this issue and discovered it was coming from my knees 🤣. Seriously though, it was coming from my pedals
Ha ha ha ha 🤣
The axle/frame-interface is also a great source of creaks, as is stem/bars and stem/fork.
I used to ride Carnac shoes and Look pedals back in the day and those were NEVER without a creak
My headset has a huge creek in it, I think it's the integrated cables, it doesn't bother me at all, but it's not bad for the bike right?
#AskGCNTech Hi gcn just a question, does a shimano 105 r7000 inner shifter paddle is it normal for it to rust? How can I remove it if it is normal
On getting aero vs pedaling, I personally have a 53-11 and as soon as I outspin (around 55kmh) I make my self as small as possible, bum on the seat and chest on the bars end ride it out like I’m holding a Ducati. So far my max speed is 81.7kmh
You must live somewhere pretty flat. I have descents I can easily hit +90kph on without pedaling at all at the start. That's without tucking and not getting in the drops.
On the creak subject.. I thought I had BB creak. Nope, it was a pedal. Re-greased the pedal spindles and the creak was gone.