On my bike it's usually the spd pedals and cleats the make noises. I put some crease to cleat and pedal then it disappear. But lately it seems I don't care anymore.. it's probably that pedal again.. so. Yes I know, I should check it or at least grease it, to see if it stop because it might be something else, that is actually important, but I always forget.
The Shimano pedals seems to creaks a lot if it not proper grease. I've been going around for a while to find where the noise coming from,found out it's the pedal all along.(I even purchased the threads pf BB from token because I thought that where the problem is from.)
You forgot to grease the pedals before removing the chain set. I had that problem with a new pair of pedals, the creaking was driving me crazy, I remove the pedals greased them and good to go
@@Jordan-uz9me Thanks for the warning, I have taken mine apart several times now and lubed up but it still creaks. I better bring it in to the bike shop and let them deal with it.
A riding partner has a whining sound between the pedals and above the bottom bracket. It sounds like "can we take a break at the top of this hill," "it's tooooooo hot" and "slow down would you".
My recent experience with a creaking on the power stroke (both sides) turned out to be my pedals. I had purchased new M530 pedals at the beginning of the season from Wiggle and by the time August rolled around there was this annoying creaking. I changed the pedals and the creaking was gone. So I thoroughly cleaned, adjusted the tension, and applied generous WD40 to the pedal springs and put them back on my road bike. Viola, no more creak. Love your work! DL
I have an old square taper BB and an alu frame. And the BB has recently started creaking like a top notch PF one in a carbon frame. So... I am going to keep it for a while just to make my bike sound like an expensive one! ;)
Great video, really helped me fix a creak that I was convinced was my BB. After trying everything you'd suggested the creak was still there, especially when putting power down. I realised it wasn't the BB and might be my rear skewer, loosened it by 1/8 turn. No more creak!
Replaced my chain recently and made the most of the time to remove my cranks and check out the bottom bracket. It was a mess! Races where moving a lot, the amount of orange rust coming from the bearings was awful. No creaks, but the difference with the new one is incredible. Nice and smooth.
I have used my phones audio recorder to record the noise when I'm riding. A lot of times bikes don't make creaking noise unless put under stress of rides. When you ride (on a place where there are no cars) Hold it real close to different parts, stem, fork, cranks (yeah, gotta lean over for this), and seatpost. Play it back and listen for differences in the loudness and tone. A noise I swore was my BB actually turned out to be my seatpost. You could hear it clear as day through the recording.
I just remove the cranks and the chain ,lower the saddle so my feet can touch the ground and use my feet to run the bike along. Problem solved. Great success!
The original bike. (Seriously, that was the first bike. You should start a back-to-the roots movement like the penny-farthing guys and go from geek to chic.)
Feel like a fool...removed fork and headset bearing, cleaned, regreased, removed chainset, cleaned and regreased bottom bracket, re-torqued lots of bolts to manufacture settings. Had all but given up and about to go to LBS (no doubt 2 week waiting list!), had a look at your comment, worth a try, 'Ta da' as you say! Thank so much
Step 1: Remove pressfit bearings. Step 2: Buy a BB Infinite bottom bracket. Step 3: install using Loctite 608 Retaining Compound. Step 4: When you n+1 DON’T get a frame with pressfit.
Some manufacturers are starting to see the light. I know Specialized and Devinci are speccing some of their high end mtb's with threaded cups again. They'll only change if they lose sales, so vote with your wallet!
Do you know if Ceramic Speed bearings still cause the creaking? I've been debating about keeping the Ceramic Speed bearings or moving on with BB Infinite for my next Sworks build.
jon , you forgot greasing the chainring bolts and skewers, if a bb30 creaks you need to add a 0.5 mm spacer to eliminate any play try FSA MS188 BB30 spacer kit
Thanks Jon, was all set to take my BB apart, watched this video first, went away checked my saddle mounts, cleaned and lubed in 5 minutes and problem solved: it pays to eliminate the easy solutions first!
Nonsense! Loads of threaded bottom brackets creak and never stop. Biggest urban myth promoted by many clueless clowns is that a threaded BB automatically stops creaks. The two quietest bb's I have ever owned are both Cervelo BBright BB bikes. Properly installed not a peep from either of them, EVER!. Meanwhile, I have seen loads of threaded bb's creak constantly on both my bike and the bikes of many others.
I have suffered with a suspected creaking bottom bracket numerous times. Every time is been either the pedals loose in the cranks or more often the rear wheel skewer not being quite tight enough after a bike clean. Gives the same creak but usually a sudden on-set and then it just gets worse very quickly!
rear wheel skewer not quite tight enough was the correct answer for the creak i had. thank you so much, postponed any bb replacement attempts (and additional tool purchases) for now. 😄
I had a press fit BB and the dreaded creak. I removed it, bought a new one only to find the creak was still there. Thinking it was my frame being susceptible to creaking, I bought a wheels manufacturing threaded/press fit bb....and the creak continued. After many hours and pounds spent, I found it was the rear quick release of all things. Definitely check the rear quick release before making the same mistake I did!
Thanks for this!! My new bike only had a few hundred km on it and I was sure it was the BB. I was going to take it back to the bike shop to look at. Turns out it was the seat tube!! Greased it up, noise went away.
Same here. Just spent an entire afternoon taking apart the front cockpit, then the handlebar, then the pedals and cranks. Each time riding up and down my steep hill, nothing worked. About to put everything away, came to this video. Proceeded to pull out my carbon seat post, it was dry as the desert. Lubed it, went for a ride, now only hear the wind and the birds. Heaven.
That threaded BB for press fit looks good for another reason for me. As I enjoy stripping and rebuilding my bikes every few months, this would be excellent. On my shopping list. A pleasure to meet you the other night Jon and a genuine thank you for helping with the lights.
Great video. Super helpful. My creak ended up being my adjustable dropouts (loose) on my '21 Chameleon R (Raspberry Sorbet). Tightened em' up to specified torque after removing, cleaning, and greasing. Creak free baby! BOOOOLT CHECK!! LOL. Thank you for posting these. Cheers from the Beastcoast.
I've had this problem on my mtb when I put a bit more effort into pedaling, when climbing for example... What i've found is that if you have a two-by or three-by bolt on front chainring setup, the bolts holding the chainrings to the crank arm can come loose. The bike i've had this issue on was less than a year old when it happened. If that's the case with yours, you have to clean the threads of the small bolts completely, and maybe even apply some medium strength loctite if the sound is back to haunt you after a week of riding.
Hi John! Greetings from Costa Rica! Hope you keep monitoring old videos, as this topic is as current as ever 😜. Love the show btw. Wanted tell you a rather odd story. I recently replaced the square taperd bb for a hollowtech 2 on my Look KG56 (yes, an old, but great one). It kept making noises, so I literally followed all your suggestions on this video. I could only reduce it a bit, but not eliminate it. Bummer! I gave up, thinking that might be a problem with the frame, so keep using it until the end. I’m commutting almost every day, a 30k round trip, and longer rides (50-80k) over the weekend. The funny part is that while in the office, the bike remains in an open parking lot. Today, we had a lot of rain during the afternoon. When I went back to pick it up and head back home, noticed that it was a lot smoother, and guess what, no sqweaking whatsoever. Didnt make a sound for the entire 14k/300 m ascent. Weird isn’t it? Looking forward to hear back from you. Cheers!
Loose rear skewer / grit in the seatpost. Whichever one it was, my creaks have gone after taking out skewer, applying a bit of grease to it and dropouts, tightening it up properly and cleaning seatpost then applying some gripper paste. Thanks for vid, looking elsewhere for the issue was the solution. Hope my fix helps anyone else out there with that annoying creak. We always assume it's the crank because the creaks seem to correspond to when you are putting power through the drivetrain. I'm buzzing it's fixed now. 😁😁😁
I went through the list and concluded it must be the bottom bracket that was making annoying sounds. After trying everything to fix the BB three times to no avail, my BB finally broke down completely mid ride. A clonking sound told me the real problem and the real solution. New BB. Changed it, and no more annoying sounds! Sometimes grease and anti-seaze aren't the answer...
I installed the the wheels manufacturing thread together bottom bracket in my Giant Defy bb 86 press fit using grease according to manufacturers directions. The creak was solved for a short time. After doing this several times with the same results I used Loctite 609 medium strength retaining compound. It doesn’t require a primer and is made for bearings you want to remove at a later time. So far, no creak!🤞
Yeah, but I think the point of the video is to give an overview of possible approaches. Going into detail about each one would make for a much longer video, and I believe the intention with this is to provide an initial idea about which approach(es) to try first.
Hi Jon, thanks for the videos. Ive absolutely butchered a press fit bottom bracket on a GT Grade gravel bike. I’m wondering if there is anyway back from this. Kieron
Had a creaky bike, it was only 6 months old. Yes it was a press fit bb, but I think it was the chain rings loose. As I managed to get half to three quarter turns on the bolts. I did the normal gripper paste on the seat post as the same time and degreasing the crank set. Now on my mountain bike the creaking was coming from my shoe cleats. I know a lot of people are using shimano type pedals on their road bike like me and changing your cleats costs about £10-£15, "look" cleats have 6 degrees of float compared to shimano 4 degrees. It’s worth checking you shoe cleats before buying new bottom brackets etc.
Fixed a persistent "BB" click & creak recently. How? Tightened stem bolts and stem cap bolt. Yeah, the one every mechanic on the planet warns you not to over tighten. Worked a charm.
With a SRAM GXP bottom bracket I had used the supplied spacers. The left spacer controls the horizontal position of the crankset. The right spacer just seemed to take up space. Removing it stopped the creaking without moving the crankset horizontally.
Have a square taper BB. My creak was on the power stroke. Replaced the BB, but creak returned after a couple of weeks. Problem was with the crank fit on the square taper ; I lightly greased the square taper, reinstalled the crank and it's been creak free since. (I probably could have replaced the crank. :-) )
Great Video Jon, I know now not to buy press fit after reading all the comments. Not a solution but a suggestion on showing us how to change Campagnolo Ultra Torque System BB bearings, I've had to change mine in the past due to water ingress, lesson learnt.
Great first point! It's not always BB creaking, and in fact for all my 3 bikes with pressfit BB (TCR adv 2014, one Chinese carbon frame, TCR adv disc pro 2016, all BB86, no BB30 though), it's never BB creaking. I have experienced almost all creaking mentioned here, creaking seatpost/frame, saddle/seapost, stem/bar, even ungreased thru-axle, but BB. I would say, at least try to avoid BB30. So far BB86 looks pretty good, and even Chinese frame maker could handle it without creaking.
touched about algnment a tiny bit :-) 1. might want change the BB 2. might want to upgrade bearings 3. I would never use AP-I og RC-I 4. check alignment and are the openings a nice circle
Can loose or unequally torqued chainring bolts be the cause of creaking? I noticed that mine creak at the bottom stroke on the chain drive side. I also had the chainring replaced a year ago. Let me know your thoughts.....great show BTW!
Bloody Hell !! Went through all those. Worked my way back to the rear wheel. Greased the skewer and dropouts...... Bob`s your uncle. I could swear blind it was coming from the cranks.
My crankset was clicking on my last ride. Took my bike home, put it on the stand and while rotating the crank I noticed the bolts that hold the crank arm onto the drive cog. Tightened them up and all was good.
New Diverge...after a bit...creak creak. I could probably measure my power with it as it didn't happen when I pedaled too lightly or with a significant amount of effort. But at a medium effort it was infuriating unless you were on noisy gravel. Teflon tape is the only thing that has ever helped me in the 25 years I've been riding. That is what fixed it here too.
Don't forget to secure the disc brakes and cassette properly. That turned out to be the cause in my case. I had checked the saddle and already replaced the bottom bracket. 5:09
Creaking noise comes when i use 36 at front ( its 52/36) and the crank arm is at 3 o clock to 6 - driveside only ! So i have many possibilities to say its from BB ? Can i tight a pressfit BB ? If BB needs to change what i should buy? Its a Shimano / SM-BB72-41 . Thx in advance !
when you clean your BB, try to manually turn the bearing. If it's sticky and doesn't roll smoothly it means the BB bearings will need to be replaced within the next 6-9 months if you don't want annoying creeeeeks. Living in new england where salt and sand can kill bearings, I've had that happen in the past.
I recently installed a new bottom bracket and it has been creaking ever since whenever I apply significant pressure when peddling. Could this be something I've done wrong in the installation such as not tightening the bottom bracket to the correct torque? I used ASC-1 when installing the new bottom bracket. (My bottom bracket is a square taper bottom bracket.)
After Checking out your headset, stem, bars, seat post, saddle, then before you tear apart your bottom bracket, check your pedals. I found them to be a cause of a lot of my noise makers.
@@gcntech Hi, I'm from Malta, I got the clicks again on my MTB which I mainly use on-road. Seems to come from my BB (square taper) but I will remove the crank arms and grease the spindles first as well as clean, lubricate and tighten the rear QR skewer first before going for the BB which I replaced earlier this year. I get clicks with every pedal turn. Already been through this in the past. One time it was the rear QR skewer then it was a worn out BB.
Last two bikes with creaks were noise-isolated by changing out the wheels - one was spoke-related, the other TBD. Had done just about everything else including BB.
BB30 was a disaster for me, only solved by retro-fitting the frame with a Praxis, then later KCNC, hollow tech converter,. How about a video on converting a press fit frame to a screw in bottom bracket, going through the various options.
I had the same problem, after checking everything, I finally found what it was. The screws of the rear gear hanger were loose. If you can't find it maybe you need new bike 😁
On my old bike, I would pull the cranks (square taper), clean the axel and crank sockets, apply a very thin amount of grease to keep the aluminum crank from electrolysis with the steel axel, and re-torque.
GCN Tech: I have a very important question re. Gatorskin Tires sidewalls: at what point should I replace the Continental Gatorshkin tire(s) when the sidewall exposed threads are abraded and/or cut? Also, how many affected areas can be affected and the tire's integrity is still not detrimentally affected? Thanks! Ron
Ron - the first question is to be sure which threads you are talking about. Continental, and some other manufacturers, wrap a strip of fabric tape around the bead of the tire, to protect the bead and stop it sticking to the rim. This tape (I think the proper name is "chafer") is on the surface, not under the rubber, and it often gets loose and frays a bit as tires get older. Since it's not structural, it's a minor cosmetic issue only. That's very different from cut threads that are part of the carcass of the tire, which could indicate a weakened side wall that could fail. If you have loose threads that are (i) close to the rim and (ii) parallel to the rim, it's the bead tape. If you have damaged threads higher up the sidewall that are on the bias (45% angle), it's the carcass.
Might be worth GCNsplaining how bearings can be replaced in a Praxis type BB converter. I use a bearing puller and press. Saves a few quid in the longrun as Enduro 2437 bearings can be had cheapish on their own. Saves spending £60 on a new Praxis each time the bearings are farked.
Put the seat tube in a vice, near the bottom bracket. Use a breaker bar by placing it into the crank spider and against the bottom bracket to rapidly jiggle the bottom of the frame until a small crack develops on the seat tube. Contact the manufacturer and get a warranty replacement frame.
I service my tarmac bb 30 a lot riding over 1500 miles monthly it’s crucial plenty of grease is key imho i remove bearing seals and clean and grease bearings regularly and I’ve got shit tons of mileage on my bearings 🤙🏼👏🏼🚴🏼🚴🏼
I had this sound that drove me crazy for weeks and I was convinced it was coming from my crankset or bottom bracket. After many hours of searching online one article said to check the presta valve rings...
I would like ask question sir, is it okay to apply the retaining compound to carbon BB shell ? Because i only find applyment video on alloy shell. Thangkyu sir
What about creaky pedals? Is it the pedal itself, the cleat, the interface between cleat-pedal or the springs? Sure is annoying riding with someone with a noisy pedal...
I’ve got a clicky noise when in the saddle, but it’s definitely not my seatpost. I usually hear it on the downstroke of my right crank, around the “4:00” mark. Help! #askgcntech.
Thanks for the video. I think it would improve if, at the same time that explains what to do, it is shown with images where and how to do it. Again, thanks for the information
A teammate has clicking spokes. and that stops when riding in the wet and start clicking again when they are dry again for a while. He says he cannot fix that (over a year now). Tension are ok of the spokes. What to do about that besides buying other wheels?
If it is indeed square taper, first make sure your crank arms are not creaking: take them off, apply grease on both spindles, install crank arms and torque them down to the recommended setting.
Maybe it will be useful to someone. After the squeaks from the bottom bracket area became unbearable for my ears, I did everything I could. Took the bottom bracket apart and greased it, greased the pedals, took the crankset apart and greased all the joints and finally replaced the bottom bracket with a new one (because the squeaking continued), but that didn't help. Finding the cause of the creaking happened by chance - after I removed the rear wheel and installed it again, the creaking became less audible. When I looked closely at the rear wheel, the quick release axle was slightly bent on one side due to which the pressure on the bike frame was unequal. After replace of the quick release axle with the new one the squeaks disappeared
I get three heavy clicks when I put pressure on the left peddle. I'm convinced it's the bracket though, as I can feel the click on the left and right peddle. It seems to happen every year then go away just as I'm about to take it apart. So annoying
Step one: never buy a frame with a pressfit bottom bracket. You know what retaining compound is? That's you apply goop to fix the manufacturer's poor build quality
I think that is perhaps inevitable with cf frames - I just googled "carbon fibre hammer handle"- got a hit with the information the one brand has "25% more bend"; creaking seems to be a common thread with titanium frames as well... suggesting it's the material compliance under load
Could this happen only on a very hot day? Went for a cycle this morning and it creacked like hell...cannot ever remember it creaking like that. It's been the hottest day of the year her at 30degrees C...
I have a creak between bar (Carbon) and Stem (Carbon, front plate metal) , and while the torque is done properly, I have used carbon paste here...I know the creak is that metal front plate of the stem. Should I use grease instead of Carbon paste ?
Have you got any methods that Jon hasn't discussed? Let us know. 👇
I added grease on threads of my pedals, now my bike is silent like an any silent thing
On my bike it's usually the spd pedals and cleats the make noises. I put some crease to cleat and pedal then it disappear. But lately it seems I don't care anymore.. it's probably that pedal again.. so. Yes I know, I should check it or at least grease it, to see if it stop because it might be something else, that is actually important, but I always forget.
The Shimano pedals seems to creaks a lot if it not proper grease. I've been going around for a while to find where the noise coming from,found out it's the pedal all along.(I even purchased the threads pf BB from token because I thought that where the problem is from.)
Light lube frame wheel dropouts, front & back
You forgot to grease the pedals before removing the chain set. I had that problem with a new pair of pedals, the creaking was driving me crazy, I remove the pedals greased them and good to go
After watching this video, the creaking seems bearable all of a sudden. Thanks for that!
I can relate... Lol
Did the same for 4 months, then my bottom bracket broke 25 miles from home. Get it fixed properly.
@@Jordan-uz9me Thanks for the warning, I have taken mine apart several times now and lubed up but it still creaks. I better bring it in to the bike shop and let them deal with it.
@@wolfura was it the bottom bracket or something else?
This is the best comment I've read in a long time. 👏 🤣
Don't forget to check your knees and ankles
haha got yahhh😂😂😂😂
Basically first 2 minutes of the video useless
@Dennis Young
I think it would be safe to say it was a joke. We were only supposed to laugh.
Yeah, as it turns out it was me squeaking afterall lol
THAT MYBE THE CASE FOR OLD DUFFERS LIKE ME NEARLY 50 COD LIVER OIL MAY HELP NOT FOR THE BIKE THO
A riding partner has a whining sound between the pedals and above the bottom bracket. It sounds like "can we take a break at the top of this hill," "it's tooooooo hot" and "slow down would you".
My recent experience with a creaking on the power stroke (both sides) turned out to be my pedals. I had purchased new M530 pedals at the beginning of the season from Wiggle and by the time August rolled around there was this annoying creaking. I changed the pedals and the creaking was gone. So I thoroughly cleaned, adjusted the tension, and applied generous WD40 to the pedal springs and put them back on my road bike. Viola, no more creak. Love your work! DL
Creaking could also be caused by pedals or cleats. Loose cleats can creak and resonate through pedals, cranks and carbon frame
Jeps.. The pedals often needs a re-grease if you get creaking or clicking when pedaling
I have an old square taper BB and an alu frame. And the BB has recently started creaking like a top notch PF one in a carbon frame. So... I am going to keep it for a while just to make my bike sound like an expensive one! ;)
Przemyslaw Sliwinski it's really NOT funny. :(
Now I know - and have already ordered a replacement.
Great video, really helped me fix a creak that I was convinced was my BB. After trying everything you'd suggested the creak was still there, especially when putting power down. I realised it wasn't the BB and might be my rear skewer, loosened it by 1/8 turn. No more creak!
same for me. mine was too loose though anyhow thanks for the tip!!
Replaced my chain recently and made the most of the time to remove my cranks and check out the bottom bracket. It was a mess! Races where moving a lot, the amount of orange rust coming from the bearings was awful. No creaks, but the difference with the new one is incredible. Nice and smooth.
I have used my phones audio recorder to record the noise when I'm riding. A lot of times bikes don't make creaking noise unless put under stress of rides. When you ride (on a place where there are no cars) Hold it real close to different parts, stem, fork, cranks (yeah, gotta lean over for this), and seatpost. Play it back and listen for differences in the loudness and tone. A noise I swore was my BB actually turned out to be my seatpost. You could hear it clear as day through the recording.
I just remove the cranks and the chain ,lower the saddle so my feet can touch the ground and use my feet to run the bike along.
Problem solved.
Great success!
Bruh...
The original bike. (Seriously, that was the first bike. You should start a back-to-the roots movement like the penny-farthing guys and go from geek to chic.)
Flinstones style
You missed a big one - take out the rear skewer if the creak is when you're out of the saddle or giving big effort. Clean and regrease. Ta da!
alabaster I’m going to try that.. my fat bike creaks when I’m pushing hard up steep climbs, drives me friggin nuts!!!
Thanks alabaster
Amen. I've had that several times. Sometimes just a wipe and re-set of the QR is enough. Also try swapping to a different skewer if you have a spare.
Worked for me...2 minutes and job done! Thanks 😊
Feel like a fool...removed fork and headset bearing, cleaned, regreased, removed chainset, cleaned and regreased bottom bracket, re-torqued lots of bolts to manufacture settings. Had all but given up and about to go to LBS (no doubt 2 week waiting list!), had a look at your comment, worth a try, 'Ta da' as you say! Thank so much
Step 1: Remove pressfit bearings.
Step 2: Buy a BB Infinite bottom bracket.
Step 3: install using Loctite 608 Retaining Compound.
Step 4: When you n+1 DON’T get a frame with pressfit.
Finally, someone who know BBinfinite :v Their BB is just so underated.
Don't get a press fit BB bike? Good luck with that. Nearly every bike nowadays have a press fit bb. Even the alloy ones...
BB Infinite looks interesting. I will definitely have a look at this :)
Some manufacturers are starting to see the light. I know Specialized and Devinci are speccing some of their high end mtb's with threaded cups again. They'll only change if they lose sales, so vote with your wallet!
Do you know if Ceramic Speed bearings still cause the creaking? I've been debating about keeping the Ceramic Speed bearings or moving on with BB Infinite for my next Sworks build.
jon , you forgot greasing the chainring bolts and skewers, if a bb30 creaks you need to add a 0.5 mm spacer to eliminate any play try FSA MS188 BB30 spacer kit
Thanks Jon, was all set to take my BB apart, watched this video first, went away checked my saddle mounts, cleaned and lubed in 5 minutes and problem solved: it pays to eliminate the easy solutions first!
As a mechanic my number one tip is to NEVER buy a press fit BB
As a mechanic I personally don't really care.
Pretty much. Old style English thread and voila
Good luck buying a decent bike without press-fit, any decent mechanic should be able to use press fit.
@@andyw3152 pinarello and basso (both italian threads...sigh)
Why I shouldn’t get a bike with a press fit BB? I’ve heard many people had the same creaking problems with their threaded BB so what’s the point?
2 steps:
1. Sell your frame with pressfit bb
2. Buy new frame with threaded bb
krystiang987 PL Or just buy a press fit to threaded conversion for your existing frame. It costs around $20
you threaded people are so boring. do you have a cult yet?
Be quiet pressfit boy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Nonsense! Loads of threaded bottom brackets creak and never stop. Biggest urban myth promoted by many clueless clowns is that a threaded BB automatically stops creaks. The two quietest bb's I have ever owned are both Cervelo BBright BB bikes. Properly installed not a peep from either of them, EVER!. Meanwhile, I have seen loads of threaded bb's creak constantly on both my bike and the bikes of many others.
Check out Hambini BB. The best. www.hambini.com/bottom-brackets/bb30-bike-frames/bb30-to-shimano-racing-edition-silver-bottom-bracket.html
I have suffered with a suspected creaking bottom bracket numerous times. Every time is been either the pedals loose in the cranks or more often the rear wheel skewer not being quite tight enough after a bike clean. Gives the same creak but usually a sudden on-set and then it just gets worse very quickly!
rear wheel skewer not quite tight enough was the correct answer for the creak i had. thank you so much, postponed any bb replacement attempts (and additional tool purchases) for now. 😄
I had a press fit BB and the dreaded creak. I removed it, bought a new one only to find the creak was still there. Thinking it was my frame being susceptible to creaking, I bought a wheels manufacturing threaded/press fit bb....and the creak continued. After many hours and pounds spent, I found it was the rear quick release of all things.
Definitely check the rear quick release before making the same mistake I did!
I was looking at threaded BBs, only to try tightening the rear axle and problem was fixed on 2 bikes. The two BB would’ve cost $140
Thanks for this!! My new bike only had a few hundred km on it and I was sure it was the BB. I was going to take it back to the bike shop to look at. Turns out it was the seat tube!! Greased it up, noise went away.
Same here. Just spent an entire afternoon taking apart the front cockpit, then the handlebar, then the pedals and cranks. Each time riding up and down my steep hill, nothing worked. About to put everything away, came to this video. Proceeded to pull out my carbon seat post, it was dry as the desert. Lubed it, went for a ride, now only hear the wind and the birds. Heaven.
That threaded BB for press fit looks good for another reason for me. As I enjoy stripping and rebuilding my bikes every few months, this would be excellent. On my shopping list.
A pleasure to meet you the other night Jon and a genuine thank you for helping with the lights.
Great video. Super helpful. My creak ended up being my adjustable dropouts (loose) on my '21 Chameleon R (Raspberry Sorbet). Tightened em' up to specified torque after removing, cleaning, and greasing. Creak free baby! BOOOOLT CHECK!! LOL. Thank you for posting these. Cheers from the Beastcoast.
Agree with checking other parts first, I recently traced a creak to worn rear wheel bearings when I would have put money on it being the bb.
I've had this problem on my mtb when I put a bit more effort into pedaling, when climbing for example... What i've found is that if you have a two-by or three-by bolt on front chainring setup, the bolts holding the chainrings to the crank arm can come loose. The bike i've had this issue on was less than a year old when it happened. If that's the case with yours, you have to clean the threads of the small bolts completely, and maybe even apply some medium strength loctite if the sound is back to haunt you after a week of riding.
Friendly advice: before you touch the BB check your rear mech hanger! I bought a new BB just to found my hanger losened up due to crappy bolts
Hi John! Greetings from Costa Rica! Hope you keep monitoring old videos, as this topic is as current as ever 😜. Love the show btw. Wanted tell you a rather odd story. I recently replaced the square taperd bb for a hollowtech 2 on my Look KG56 (yes, an old, but great one). It kept making noises, so I literally followed all your suggestions on this video. I could only reduce it a bit, but not eliminate it. Bummer! I gave up, thinking that might be a problem with the frame, so keep using it until the end. I’m commutting almost every day, a 30k round trip, and longer rides (50-80k) over the weekend. The funny part is that while in the office, the bike remains in an open parking lot. Today, we had a lot of rain during the afternoon. When I went back to pick it up and head back home, noticed that it was a lot smoother, and guess what, no sqweaking whatsoever. Didnt make a sound for the entire 14k/300 m ascent. Weird isn’t it? Looking forward to hear back from you. Cheers!
Loose rear skewer / grit in the seatpost. Whichever one it was, my creaks have gone after taking out skewer, applying a bit of grease to it and dropouts, tightening it up properly and cleaning seatpost then applying some gripper paste. Thanks for vid, looking elsewhere for the issue was the solution. Hope my fix helps anyone else out there with that annoying creak. We always assume it's the crank because the creaks seem to correspond to when you are putting power through the drivetrain. I'm buzzing it's fixed now. 😁😁😁
We need to see Jon riding that canyon! Let this happen!!
Thank you! Not sure what fixed it but I greased
Seat and rear skewer and sound was gone. So nice to have a quiet ride again,
Don’t forget to check the bolts between the two chainrings.
They can cause a click as well if they are not tightened well.
I went through the list and concluded it must be the bottom bracket that was making annoying sounds. After trying everything to fix the BB three times to no avail, my BB finally broke down completely mid ride. A clonking sound told me the real problem and the real solution. New BB. Changed it, and no more annoying sounds! Sometimes grease and anti-seaze aren't the answer...
I installed the the wheels manufacturing thread together bottom bracket in my Giant Defy bb 86 press fit using grease according to manufacturers directions. The creak was solved for a short time. After doing this several times with the same results I used Loctite 609 medium strength retaining compound. It doesn’t require a primer and is made for bearings you want to remove at a later time. So far, no creak!🤞
Anyone else find his technical instructions hard to follow? Tell us where exactly to apply it, don't just show us the materials...
Excatly
Yeah, but I think the point of the video is to give an overview of possible approaches. Going into detail about each one would make for a much longer video, and I believe the intention with this is to provide an initial idea about which approach(es) to try first.
Hi Jon, thanks for the videos. Ive absolutely butchered a press fit bottom bracket on a GT Grade gravel bike. I’m wondering if there is anyway back from this. Kieron
Mine only creaks under a load. Solution? Only ride down hill.
Had a creaky bike, it was only 6 months old. Yes it was a press fit bb, but I think it was the chain rings loose. As I managed to get half to three quarter turns on the bolts. I did the normal gripper paste on the seat post as the same time and degreasing the crank set.
Now on my mountain bike the creaking was coming from my shoe cleats. I know a lot of people are using shimano type pedals on their road bike like me and changing your cleats costs about £10-£15, "look" cleats have 6 degrees of float compared to shimano 4 degrees.
It’s worth checking you shoe cleats before buying new bottom brackets etc.
Fixed a persistent "BB" click & creak recently. How? Tightened stem bolts and stem cap bolt. Yeah, the one every mechanic on the planet warns you not to over tighten. Worked a charm.
With a SRAM GXP bottom bracket I had used the supplied spacers. The left spacer controls the horizontal position of the crankset. The right spacer just seemed to take up space. Removing it stopped the creaking without moving the crankset horizontally.
Have a square taper BB. My creak was on the power stroke. Replaced the BB, but creak returned after a couple of weeks. Problem was with the crank fit on the square taper ; I lightly greased the square taper, reinstalled the crank and it's been creak free since. (I probably could have replaced the crank. :-) )
Thank you. Just about to replace the bottom bracket. Watched this and thought last thing not checked was the wheel skewer. Unbelievable 👍👍
Great Video Jon, I know now not to buy press fit after reading all the comments.
Not a solution but a suggestion on showing us how to change Campagnolo Ultra Torque System BB bearings, I've had to change mine in the past due to water ingress, lesson learnt.
Great first point! It's not always BB creaking, and in fact for all my 3 bikes with pressfit BB (TCR adv 2014, one Chinese carbon frame, TCR adv disc pro 2016, all BB86, no BB30 though),
it's never BB creaking.
I have experienced almost all creaking mentioned here, creaking seatpost/frame, saddle/seapost, stem/bar, even ungreased thru-axle, but BB.
I would say, at least try to avoid BB30. So far BB86 looks pretty good, and even Chinese frame maker could handle it without creaking.
touched about algnment a tiny bit :-)
1. might want change the BB
2. might want to upgrade bearings
3. I would never use AP-I og RC-I
4. check alignment and are the openings a nice circle
Can loose or unequally torqued chainring bolts be the cause of creaking? I noticed that mine creak at the bottom stroke on the chain drive side. I also had the chainring replaced a year ago. Let me know your thoughts.....great show BTW!
Bloody Hell !! Went through all those. Worked my way back to the rear wheel. Greased the skewer and dropouts...... Bob`s your uncle. I could swear blind it was coming from the cranks.
My crankset was clicking on my last ride. Took my bike home, put it on the stand and while rotating the crank I noticed the bolts that hold the crank arm onto the drive cog. Tightened them up and all was good.
Can a creaky BB cause damage to a bike long term? Or can I just ignore it?
New Diverge...after a bit...creak creak. I could probably measure my power with it as it didn't happen when I pedaled too lightly or with a significant amount of effort. But at a medium effort it was infuriating unless you were on noisy gravel. Teflon tape is the only thing that has ever helped me in the 25 years I've been riding. That is what fixed it here too.
Thanks so much! I would have *never* thought it was the seat post that was creaking, but it was!
My BB started clicking hard, I fixed it with one easy step, installed a new one :D Good for me, that Shimano RS500 BB's are cheap as hell.
will the retaining compound and adhesive primer work on a threaded bottom bracket, and you would recommend using it???
Don't forget to secure the disc brakes and cassette properly. That turned out to be the cause in my case. I had checked the saddle and already replaced the bottom bracket. 5:09
I love a bit of Jonathan Creek.
Creaking noise comes when i use 36 at front ( its 52/36) and the crank arm is at 3 o clock to 6 - driveside only ! So i have many possibilities to say its from BB ? Can i tight a pressfit BB ? If BB needs to change what i should buy? Its a Shimano / SM-BB72-41 .
Thx in advance !
when you clean your BB, try to manually turn the bearing. If it's sticky and doesn't roll smoothly it means the BB bearings will need to be replaced within the next 6-9 months if you don't want annoying creeeeeks. Living in new england where salt and sand can kill bearings, I've had that happen in the past.
I recently installed a new bottom bracket and it has been creaking ever since whenever I apply significant pressure when peddling. Could this be something I've done wrong in the installation such as not tightening the bottom bracket to the correct torque? I used ASC-1 when installing the new bottom bracket. (My bottom bracket is a square taper bottom bracket.)
After Checking out your headset, stem, bars, seat post, saddle, then before you tear apart your bottom bracket, check your pedals. I found them to be a cause of a lot of my noise makers.
Brand new giant talon 1 creaking in BB. Do I really have to take this B apart after 2 rides?
So, don't use carbon grip paste on a new install carbon frame with a nylon press fit bottom bracket? Grease or dry?
used some marine grease that got from the Malta shipyards, works a treat
I love Malta. Jon.
@@gcntech Hi, I'm from Malta, I got the clicks again on my MTB which I mainly use on-road. Seems to come from my BB (square taper) but I will remove the crank arms and grease the spindles first as well as clean, lubricate and tighten the rear QR skewer first before going for the BB which I replaced earlier this year. I get clicks with every pedal turn. Already been through this in the past. One time it was the rear QR skewer then it was a worn out BB.
Last two bikes with creaks were noise-isolated by changing out the wheels - one was spoke-related, the other TBD. Had done just about everything else including BB.
BB30 was a disaster for me, only solved by retro-fitting the frame with a Praxis, then later KCNC, hollow tech converter,. How about a video on converting a press fit frame to a screw in bottom bracket, going through the various options.
I had the same problem, after checking everything, I finally found what it was. The screws of the rear gear hanger were loose.
If you can't find it maybe you need new bike 😁
What if we do not repire this problem...and going on with thisbike, one the mechanic told that noice is common nothing will happen. Is it true??
Finally a video for people with a creaky bottom
On my old bike, I would pull the cranks (square taper), clean the axel and crank sockets, apply a very thin amount of grease to keep the aluminum crank from electrolysis with the steel axel, and re-torque.
Can you make a video about seating a tyre on the rim properly?
GCN Tech: I have a very important question re. Gatorskin Tires sidewalls: at what point should I replace the Continental Gatorshkin tire(s) when the sidewall exposed threads are abraded and/or cut? Also, how many affected areas can be affected and the tire's integrity is still not detrimentally affected? Thanks! Ron
replace a tire as soon as you see any inner fibers showing, especially if those inner fibers are abraded or cut
The Gatorshkin sidewall threads are on the OUTSIDE of the tire, not on the inside of the tire.
Ron - the first question is to be sure which threads you are talking about. Continental, and some other manufacturers, wrap a strip of fabric tape around the bead of the tire, to protect the bead and stop it sticking to the rim. This tape (I think the proper name is "chafer") is on the surface, not under the rubber, and it often gets loose and frays a bit as tires get older. Since it's not structural, it's a minor cosmetic issue only. That's very different from cut threads that are part of the carcass of the tire, which could indicate a weakened side wall that could fail.
If you have loose threads that are (i) close to the rim and (ii) parallel to the rim, it's the bead tape. If you have damaged threads higher up the sidewall that are on the bias (45% angle), it's the carcass.
Ron - are you talking about the brown "Duraskin" protection layer? That protects the casing or carcass of the tire, but is not structural.
yes
Might be worth GCNsplaining how bearings can be replaced in a Praxis type BB converter. I use a bearing puller and press. Saves a few quid in the longrun as Enduro 2437 bearings can be had cheapish on their own. Saves spending £60 on a new Praxis each time the bearings are farked.
Put the seat tube in a vice, near the bottom bracket. Use a breaker bar by placing it into the crank spider and against the bottom bracket to rapidly jiggle the bottom of the frame until a small crack develops on the seat tube. Contact the manufacturer and get a warranty replacement frame.
I service my tarmac bb 30 a lot riding over 1500 miles monthly it’s crucial plenty of grease is key imho i remove bearing seals and clean and grease bearings regularly and I’ve got shit tons of mileage on my bearings 🤙🏼👏🏼🚴🏼🚴🏼
I had this sound that drove me crazy for weeks and I was convinced it was coming from my crankset or bottom bracket. After many hours of searching online one article said to check the presta valve rings...
What if there is no sound but a rough feel; would that be bottom bracket?
On Cannondale BB30 type I poured engine oil down inside seat post allowing to drip through and out onto a rag - creak solved.
What is the best all-round type of grease for threaded BBs and the rest of the bike components?
I would like ask question sir, is it okay to apply the retaining compound to carbon BB shell ? Because i only find applyment video on alloy shell. Thangkyu sir
What about creaky pedals? Is it the pedal itself, the cleat, the interface between cleat-pedal or the springs? Sure is annoying riding with someone with a noisy pedal...
Press fit BB's seem silly I get it for carbon hard to put threads in plastic but anything else whats the point
Rear skewer. I had the DT Swiss screw on ones that creaked. Need to tighten it quite a bit.
I’ve got a clicky noise when in the saddle, but it’s definitely not my seatpost. I usually hear it on the downstroke of my right crank, around the “4:00” mark. Help! #askgcntech.
I‘ve got the exact same thing. Were you able to solve it?
does Bottom brackets have the same sizes?
Thanks for the video. I think it would improve if, at the same time that explains what to do, it is shown with images where and how to do it. Again, thanks for the information
A teammate has clicking spokes. and that stops when riding in the wet and start clicking again when they are dry again for a while. He says he cannot fix that (over a year now). Tension are ok of the spokes.
What to do about that besides buying other wheels?
How do you torque a Hollowtech BB to spec?
what watch are you wearing? :)
Embarking on a new build with a Wheels Manufacturing PF30. Fingers crossed...
Hi I have a fixie with a square taper bottom bracket (I think) and it’s creaking any suggestions? thank you
If it is indeed square taper, first make sure your crank arms are not creaking: take them off, apply grease on both spindles, install crank arms and torque them down to the recommended setting.
Check the chainring bolts. On my fixed gear with square taper they were loose, and creaking. Grease before tightening.
Is it not worth just replacing your bearings
The mechanic who has helped my bike kiss creaks good bye used break grease. They are sticky, greasy and sticky. Perfect
Jon, I think you forgot creaking from the pedals! My Look pedals are creaking these days - guilty of having an overdue servicing.
Pedals can often be a hard one to find!
Just get a Hambini bottom bracket......job done!
Maybe it will be useful to someone. After the squeaks from the bottom bracket area became unbearable for my ears, I did everything I could. Took the bottom bracket apart and greased it, greased the pedals, took the crankset apart and greased all the joints and finally replaced the bottom bracket with a new one (because the squeaking continued), but that didn't help. Finding the cause of the creaking happened by chance - after I removed the rear wheel and installed it again, the creaking became less audible. When I looked closely at the rear wheel, the quick release axle was slightly bent on one side due to which the pressure on the bike frame was unequal. After replace of the quick release axle with the new one the squeaks disappeared
If it's a square taper bottom bracket check that the crank bolts are tight. It's an easy fix that I've had to do a few times
The price of AP-1 is stupid, is there something else that be used as a primer?
I get three heavy clicks when I put pressure on the left peddle. I'm convinced it's the bracket though, as I can feel the click on the left and right peddle. It seems to happen every year then go away just as I'm about to take it apart. So annoying
Step one: never buy a frame with a pressfit bottom bracket. You know what retaining compound is? That's you apply goop to fix the manufacturer's poor build quality
I think that is perhaps inevitable with cf frames - I just googled "carbon fibre hammer handle"- got a hit with the information the one brand has "25% more bend"; creaking seems to be a common thread with titanium frames as well... suggesting it's the material compliance under load
hie i bought new brakkets but my bike still making noise when im riding
Could this happen only on a very hot day? Went for a cycle this morning and it creacked like hell...cannot ever remember it creaking like that. It's been the hottest day of the year her at 30degrees C...
I have a creak between bar (Carbon) and Stem (Carbon, front plate metal) , and while the torque is done properly, I have used carbon paste here...I know the creak is that metal front plate of the stem. Should I use grease instead of Carbon paste ?