Its driving me mad. creak/click from somewhere at the front of the bike.

New headset bearings, taken spring out of forks removed cables etc.., greased everything in sight and still clicking/cracking etc… when riding or if of the bike and drop the front end from more than about 6 inches. does it when you kick the front wheel also seemingly confirming its from the front end. Front wheel has no play bearings seem fine. its driving me bonkers. forks are fox 36 with avalanche cartridge , headset is works components slackset.

Ideas/experiences?

Clean your stem bolts, and in below stem clamp. Bet you that’s what it is.

Could be the junction where the fork steerer meets the fork crown.

Done the stem bolts… might try a different stem just to rule it out completely. I didnt go as far as takng the crown off, so I’ll have a go at that later.

Thanks so far!

Mine was the gear cable ferrules had grit In the mounts on the head tube. Turn the bars side to side. Does it creak? Now turn with holding one cable at a time.

I had a creak that turned out to be a rusted star fangled nut.

I didnt go as far as takng the crown off, so I’ll have a go at that later.

First off I’d turn the bike upside down and remove the front wheel.
Then stand on the bars and push /pull backwards and forwards on the fork legs.
This should give you a good indication if it’s the CSU.

Loose spoke?

Bike upside down front wheel out , hold each fork leg and move in opposite directions . Sound like the complete steerer unit . Mojo just replaced mine on a set of 2012 34s under warranty discretion .

Could just be the contact between bars and stem or stem and steerer

The loud creaking/snapping noise on the front of my bike was the the csu on my fox float 32. Sorted by replacing the csu.
The quieter creaking was coming from the funnduro stem, swapped out the stem & no more creaking.

sounds like it might be the CSU…. annoying when I’ve just spent a small fortune on Avalanche internals for my 36’s…. I’ll change the bars and stem tonight to rule out everything else… its not the cables or anything like that.

Every time this has happened to me, bizarrely the solution was the seat post. Odd I know as the creaking sound up front.

Its the CSU…..

The ‘loctite fix’ is currently curing. I’ll let you know how it goes!

I had a creak from the front of my old Kona. I stripped it to a bare frame and clamped it by the BB shell and put a brush shank through the head tube and gave it a wiggle- creak! We put a bore scope into the top tube, it was cracked internally by the head tube.

I chased that creak for ages before I discovered the crack.