As usual, i’m plagued with a creaky clicky intermittent noise… sometimes quiet as a mouse, sometimes irritating as hell.

My seat seems particularly prone to noise, so i’ve just ordered a new seatpost, but today, even with it cleaned it’s there … then not…. then is…. well, you know how it is.

So, i’ve just swapped pedals, just to makes sure, but the Wellgo B54’s were over a year last time, this pair are just a few months old. I’m on a fairly new XTR bottom bracket, installed using the video on here, so i’m 99% sure it’s not the BB bearings. When installing it though i cleaned out the thread, but didn’t grease it.. my thoughts being that the locktite type stuff they put on would do the job..

So the first question is, do you grease the frame/bb threads ?

Secondly, does anyone have noise from a chain ? I’m running a 10 speed HG-X chain, which has been split and re-pinned about 5 times due to swapping chainguides, using the shimano pins, not a quick-link.

Thanks for now.

grease or coppaslip on the BB threads.

I just spent a not so happy half hour trying to extract the dry BB off a ready built bike I bought. I ended up lowering the bike in the stand and standing on the BB spanner.

Getting mine out won’t be an issue, it’s only been in there 4-6 weeks 🙂

I normally grease the threads too.

Don’t know if the bike is a full sus but i get a creaking noise from my suspension bushes when they are worn. It has been know for creaking noises to come from QR skewers, a bit of grease on the skewer normally sorts that.

i recently solved a BB noise in a new way (to me). bb was not loose in frame. bearings were fine.
took the cranks off, thoroughly cleaned the splines on both the axle and LH crank (toothbrush and alcohol). took pinch bolts out and cleaned them too. greased again, and refitted, properly tightened. noise gone 🙂

Nah, it’s a HT. done the skewers last week. Front is a 15mm

Well i’ve stripped cleaned and greased it. BB still smooth as silk so i’m sure it’s not that…

We’ll see 🙂

thanks gents.

Copperease used here.

Grease liberally and don’t overtighten. Also grease the axle.

Also check pedal threads & chainring bolts. I’ve had the same issue twice. Once was solved as per smiff’s method. The other was loose chainring bolts.

Sometimes saddle rails can make a click. Well, that’s what I found out with some Ti rails on a WTB jobbie. A squirt of WD where the saddle touched the moulding sorted it for a year or so.

Reasonably easy to eliminate by pedalling whilst out of the saddle (if your click is associated with the pedalling motion, of course)…

shimano anti-seize for me (I use it instead of copperslip as I know it won’t degrade plastic/rubber parts). If I didn’t have the anti-seize I would probably use something like a teflon fortified grease.

Hardtail or full suss?

Nah, it’s a HT. done the skewers last week. Front is a 15mm

My Tiagra road bike has been making a ticking noise ever since I have ridden it ( 3 weeks) I have rechased the BB threads, Bb seems smooth, coppaslipped the Bb back in. Cleaned everything ( all new) and re-assembled. Then stripped it again at the weekend to find the BB had hardly any grease in it whatsoever. So, packed some grease in it . Has muffled the noise for a bit, until the grease has moved around. I have bought another bottom bracket, so we will see if that was the clicking I was getting. Sadly leisure lakes wont warranty it, as I have stripped and regreased a ‘sealed unit’. OK not expensive, but a bit miffed of the lack of grease put in. If that isnt it ( most certain but not 100%) I wonder about the chain. its a shimano one, which I dont particulary like, due to needing pins to repair it, if it breaks.

it’s very easy to over tension the bearings in the BB when fitting cranks, you could quite conceivably have worn them out within weeks if they were too tight in the first place.

chojin – Member
it’s very easy to over tension the bearings in the BB when fitting cranks, you could quite conceivably have worn them out within weeks if they were too tight in the first place

I’ve made that mistake in the past, i’m 100% it’s not that this time.

Freehub bearings?

Brand new wheels, 3 days old. Same noise before on the old wheels.

it’s very easy to over tension the bearings in the BB when fitting cranks, you could quite conceivably have worn them out within weeks if they were too tight in the first place

Very true. Before I even rode it, the bearings were too tight and actually loosened the preload off.

I have always , for years greased the bb threads and put plumbers tape around the bb threads, ive never had to remove one for dirt ingress…

^ +1

Plumbers ptfe thread tape on the bb cups if your convinced it’s the cups moving in the frame.

Well happly i’ve resolved the issues 🙂

However i’m still not 100% which of the items caused it LOL. I’ve swapped the pedals and done a strip of BB, cleaned cranks, cleaned seatpost, greased Maxle and spindle… but one (or more than) of them has resolved it and i had a nice silent ride this morning 🙂

Worn bearings don’t creak.