UKC

Having bought my first new bike for ten years and spending a reasonable amount, it is irritating that it is creaking after a few months use.  It seems to be pedal/bottom bracket related.  On creak per revolution of the cranks, particularly under load.  I have checked, pedals, crank,seat post, spider bolts, saddle for tightness and all seem good.  What do I look at next?

In reply to MG:

Is it the chain? In which case clean and lube.

Or is it the bottom bracket? In which case bike shop, unless you know what you’re doing.

In reply to VSisjustascramble:

Not the chain.

Will be unimpressed if its the bottom bracket, but I agree there are few other options.

In reply to MG:

Have you got any accessories bolted on that you can remove to eliminate them?

Also, creaky noises travel through the frame and can sound like they are coming from somewhere else. I had a creak like yours that seemed to come from the bottom bracket once per revolution. One day I removed the pannier rack and the creak disappeared.

In reply to Hooo:

Yes, I have read similar and have tried a few things.  I am not 100% its the BB-  when I stand on the pedals I don't think it is there.

In reply to MG:

If it goes when you stand up it could be the seatpost/saddle. Had this on my GFs bike, bit of grease on the seatpost sorted it out.

In reply to MG:

Do you mean that if you pedal standing up it doesn't creak? Sounds like the seat or post then. My new bike started doing a little click after a few months, not really a full blown creak. It didn't happen when I was standing though. I removed, cleaned and greased the seat post and that fixed it.

In reply to MG:

It always sounds like the bottom bracket but rarely is (except for the times it is!). It's a subject that has been done extensively on bike forums so maybe google is your friend but from what you've said already I'd loosen off the QRs on the wheels and re-tighten, check/re-tighten headset and stem, then remove cassette and clean and lube where you thread it onto the freehub.

In reply to MG:

Just read your comment about it disappearing when standing which does make it sound like a seatpost or saddle issue as others have said. Don't just check for tightness - remove, clean and grease (or fibre grip etc) any potential contact points like your seat post into the tube.

In reply to MG:

If it’s got quick releases that should always be the first thing to check. Cleaning the mating surfaces and do them up a bit tighter. 

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

I had the same issue, drove me nuts. Turned out it was the cassette

In reply to MG:

All those suggesting to check tightness of everything are giving good advice. 

However, do you know if your new bike has a pressfit bottom bracket?  If so, you've joined a club of frustrated new-ish bike owners and you will do well to google the model of your bottom bracket and read/watch how to solve your bottom bracket's particular issue.  If you've eliminated the likelihood of the creak coming from somehwere else, you may want to talk to your bike retailer pointing the likely known issue of their bottom brackets creaking before you do anything yourself.  It should be something they are willing to sort but it'll depend on the quality of their after-sales service I suspect.

In reply to Crazylegs:

Thanks all. I will investigate various linea further!

In reply to Yanis Nayu:

It's a through  axel. Same issues??

In reply to MG:

If your bike has Shimano cranks check that the two bolts that hold the crank arms onto the spindle are set at the correct torque if these are slightly under-torque you will get creaks. Another one would be to check that your headset is well greased.

In reply to David Cannon:

My “creak” was in this area.  Left hand crank. Where it tightened onto the splines of the bottom bracket axle.  I ended up buying a new crank.

In reply to MG:

I’m not sure - I’d guess not but I can’t articulate why. I’d focus on saddle (where it clamps onto the seat post) and the seat post itself given what you’ve said about it not happening when you stand up. When I’ve had that it was the saddle moving slightly where it clamps onto the seat post. 

In reply to Crazylegs:

Exactly what I was thinking, my gravel bike has a press fit BB, needs removing, cleaning and refitting a couple of times a year to stop the creak. If it's not sufficiently greased when new it'll soon start creaking. 

In reply to MG:

I had this and it turned out to be chain rings bolts loosening. Worth double checking

In reply to Mooncat:

Nothing wrong with press fit.  If its creaking or needs attention that often, its either not been installed properly, or the BB shell of the frame is no long true/round.

In reply to MG:

Crashed my bike a year ago and had a real irritating creak afterwards, specially in the inner ring going uphill. Drove me nuts. Took it to the LBS as I assumed it was the BB and after some analysis they said it was the back wheel. It was a bit buckled anyway so I bought another wheel, like for like. But the new one had the same problem, creak, creak, creak. Turns out I'd used the skewer from the old wheel as I lost the new one in some cellar chaos, and when I finally found it it became clear that the creak came from the old skewer, which must have been slightly bent in the crash. Problem solved.

In reply to MG:

Weirdest 'creak' I had turned out to be the heel of my left shoe brushing the excess brake cable on my rear brake caliper. The noise synched with crank revolutions and would sometimes disappear when I shifted my foot a degree or two -as when standing. Silent when I wasn't on the bike... Stripped cleaned and relubed every bearing including the headset, checked all the bolt tensions and spoke tensions. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry when finally realised what it was -when I noticed the brake cable frayed at the pinch nut.

Good luck!

In reply to MG:

Worth looking at old GCN videos - I remember one going through a long check list.  If you have wheels with skewers, an easy one is to clean, regressed and properly tighten them.  Another easy one is check your cleats !

In reply to MG:

I don't want to add to the burden of potential remedies you have to check out, but...

I had very similar symptoms to these, including the noise disappearing when standing on the pedals. I even changed the saddle. Turned out to be the SPD pedals/cleats just rubbing against each other - nothing obviously loose. The solution was to put a bit of lubricant on the mating surfaces! Other brands of squeaky pedals are available, but if you Google something like 'SPD pedals squeaking' you'll see it's quite a common problem.

Good luck with getting it sorted - random noises are really annoying, aren't they?

I'm gonna bring this thread back because of a bike creaking question I've got. Pretty new bike, 2.5 months old, done 1600km on it in good weather, cleaned after every use. The drive side rear wheel bearing started to squeak. I suspected some crap or even degreaser having made it in there, so I took the cassette and axle out and found it using cartridge bearings. There is a rubber gasket on the drive side bearing, sealing with a rubber piece on the axle itself, in a bed of grease. There was no sign of anything having gotten through there and the grease being entirely intact would indicate to me that degreaser didn't make it through either. Nonetheless, the bearing was squeaking and catching when I was moving it with my finger. I called the retailer and they agreed that that bearing shouldn't fail, so they'd just replace the freehub itself under warranty.

This was on Saturday. Didn't touch the wheel on Sunday. Come Monday, I grab it to drive it over and... it's smooth and silent. It still feels like it may have a bit more friction than the other side but I'm worried the mechanic might think I've gone mad. I have a video of it catching and squeaking, at least. All I can think of is that something had indeed made it in there and then dried out but I cannot really see how. 

Has anyone had anything similar?

In reply to Basemetal: Ha ha, at least you had a thoroughly checked over bike after looking elsewhere I guess. I generally try to laugh now, when not sure which to do, it's cheerier than an 'argh'.

'Happy days, this is funny, tum tee tum...'