and still the creak goes on....wot now.

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and still the creak goes on....wot now.

61 posts & 42 voices | Started 8 months ago by elaine anne | Latest reply from Lummox

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J-R - Member

Elaine Anne,
I have had the same problem with my O5 since I got it new a year ago. At one point it would sound like it was being hit with a hammer on every serious climb.

The LBS tried a few things:
- Better rear QR, nipped up tight - no effect
- Tighten up the crank arm bolts - no effect
- Remove and grease the outside of the BB

Although not so bad since that last fix, the creek is still a bit irritating, but I am trying to learn to rise above it, Zen like, as the price I must pay in this imperfect world of suffering for an otherwise fantastic bike.

Posted 8 months ago #
missingfrontallobe - Member

Cable creak, either end caps in cable stops or where the cable outer enters the routing through the swing arm. Bit of lube/furniture polish might help.

Posted 8 months ago #
CaptainMainwaring - Member

neninja - Member

Smooth a little grease in and on the drop outs and on the QR then tighten it up.

Exactly that. Even if the rear QR is done up really tight there is still likely to be a small amount of movement, especially if there's a bit of dirt in there. Rear wheel out, clean around the dropouts, small amount of grease in the dropouts and on the faces. Sorted

I've solved mysterious creaking on two bkes like this. As it only takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing it's not worth not trying

Posted 8 months ago #
Gary_C - Member

Ok, not on an Orange, but I once had a creak that took ages to trace & it was the rear mech hanger! Took it off, put a small amount of grease between the hanger & the drop-out, bolted it back up, job done, creak free !

Posted 8 months ago #
Oscillate Wildly - Member

Elaine - mentioned it once before but you never replied....try looking at the bloody rear hub for cracks around the flange...where the spokes go into the hub....I had a creak exactly like yours and spent a fortune trying to cure it:.....the hub had two hairline cracks......replaced the hub by hope and creak gone! 4 months on and still creak free.....if you want it cured try checking that out NOW

Posted 8 months ago #
elaine anne - Member

MR WILDLY ::: wHY ARE YOU SWEARING at ME FOR 'BLOODY' GODSAKE MAN..
yes ive done it NOW- NOW -now...checked for hairline cracks in the Hub where the spokes go as you have insisted....NO BLOODY CRACKS ..ive had the torch on it too....what else shall i do to it.. NUKE IT ????? hahahahha ok ive greased things as much as possible...will be a follow up shortly ..
wots 'drop outs' btw.... maybe i call it something else.lol

Posted 8 months ago #
elaine anne - Member

is the bearing in the swing arm easy to do yourself.....unscrew the black discs on either side of swing arm ( i just greased in there yesterday also...(whilst supporting the swing arm and somehow tap out the 'bearing' how do you get the bearings out.

Posted 8 months ago #
seanodav - Member

here you go
http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/features/maintenance/orange-five-pivot-bearing-service.htm

Posted 8 months ago #
big_scot_nanny - Member

Elaine, I know folks re banging down the free hub/hub route, and I have had this issue also. Simplest way to check is bang in a different wheel ASAP and give a quick run round the block to check.

I had it on my 29er and chucked in a random old 26er wheel just for a quick spin, and it was indeed the wheel that was the problem. once that was diagnosed it was down to the LBS for a check.

on the other bike it was a stripped non-drive side crank arm bolt (HT2) that was the culprit.

Kev

Posted 8 months ago #
ndg - Member

My five had a creak when I built it up (second hand frame).

Tracked it down to the swingarm not clamping the bearings fully. Ended up sanding the spacer blocks down a touch to increase the clamp load on the outer races. I found this as I was stripping down to check the bearings were smooth.

Another idea to add to the pot!

Posted 8 months ago #
flyingmonkeycorps - Member

Does the Five have replacable dropouts? My old Heckler had a horrid creak when I got it, a bit of grease in the dropout / mech hangar solved it nicely.

Posted 8 months ago #
10 - Member

Bottom bracket threads were the orgin of my creaks, and pretty much still are. Have to regularly strip and regrease. I agree with the wheel swap plan for diagnosis, there is a lot of potential in a wheel if you can swap and try without that rear wheel I think it will narrow your options considerably.

Posted 8 months ago #
elaine anne - Member

whilst re-tightening random bolts up on the bike i found my pedal bolt was really loose (had been at lee quarry yesterday maybe it came too loose (lol) hence the creaking strain on the pedal when force applied. (hope it was that ...anyway cleaned any muck n grit off that loose pedal and greased that too...so c how i go.... its wet outside at the mo, seems like the bike just likes creaking when its bone dry outside too..lol im certainly on with the creaking quest

BTW...cheers for the above link..

Posted 8 months ago #
duffle - Member

Hopefully you have cured it with the above but I found that a different ie less torque on the bearing pivot pinch bolt sorted the creaking on my 5.

Posted 8 months ago #
neilpaterson1969 - Member

Had an anoying creak on my bike for a while turned out I'd tightened myhollotech crank too much the plastic pretensioner doesn't need much tightening

Posted 8 months ago #
old_mtber - Member

I had this problem on my 5.
Either replace the pivot bearings or check that the alloy wedge that holds them in place is clean on the machined inside face and is properly aligned with the swingarm. Also torque up the 2 bolts correctly (12-14 nm)

Posted 8 months ago #
elaine anne - Member

so originally when i rang 'orange' up he said they dont like to change the pivot bearings too often they are sealed...so those of you with orange fives..how often do you change yours ?

Posted 8 months ago #
duffle - Member

My apologies in advance for this but.........
When they need changing!

Disconnect the shock (only one end) and manually move the swing arm through its travel if rough change if not leave em!
sorry but this is all I do

Posted 8 months ago #
bainbrge - Member

Have you checked it isn't slack spokes on the rear wheel? I went through this whole process with my 5 and it was the spokes rubbing and creaking against each other.

Posted 8 months ago #
van cough cough - Member

lol this thread

you might as well just johnny 5 the whole bike Stephanie!

Posted 8 months ago #
old_mtber - Member

I changed the bearings on my 5 after 3 1/2 years of weekly riding. They were full of mud and the outer shell was broken on one hence the cracking noise. However they still worked and had no obvious sideways play when the shock was disconnected.

Posted 8 months ago #
old_mtber - Member

Changing the bearings is easy. Orange will send you an instruction sheet with a new bearing kit and there are plenty of references on the Internet with video etc. All you need are 3 & 5mm hex wrenches, a soft faced mallet and some copperslip grease. When tapping the swingarm off the old bearings make sure you only hit the welds. The most time consuming bit is to properly align the swingarm on the new bearings. If you can't get the instruction sheet mail me and I'll send a copy of mine. I also used the link mentioned above which shows exactly how to do it.

Posted 8 months ago #
seanodav - Member

Mates pivot bearing was shot after a year, but we do ride in some crap.

Posted 8 months ago #
phil50 - Member

I had a creak on my Cube Ams Pro, that sounded as if it came from the bottom bracket. I had to strip and clean the right pedal after it started the click. After the pedal strip clean the creak has gone. Mybe
coincidence.

Posted 8 months ago #
elaine anne - Member

well last nite after general tightening of bolts etc i did come across a not so tight bolt on the pedal...-i hardly had to turn it... (i did say under pressure i thort the noise was coming from crank area (which was put down to numerous theorys.. anyway after greasing the pedal thread - today i went on the 3 biggest hills i could find here in the 'calderdale valley' (which there are plenty of ! i purpously started out on a very dry hill and no creaking wot so ever ! carried on over the bridleways then back into town then up a slow long tarmac hill at the end of my ride just to check out the pedals agin, no creaking for a couple of hours (ahh bliss)....for the moment touch wood no creaking....so will see what happens over the next few weeks...so for me it was a looser than normal pedal bolt...
i will use that above link for future ref in the next few weeks if needed....thanks all for your input.....some good advice for once.. even if my speling lets me down sometimes...lol (i blame the wind in the calder valley it does tend to blow your brains somewhat...hahah

Posted 8 months ago #
Lummox - Member

Well done on tracing the creak, looks like it wasn't the fault of the frame ( unlucky 5 haters)

Another fault causing a creak on my five was a snapped pro 2 bolt through axle, changed the pro 2 hub for a bulb and silence as well as IMO a sturdier axle design.

Posted 8 months ago #