got a right annoying click/creak on the front end which is now getting really quite bad

frame is only 2 months old as is headset and headset is freshly greased, and bearings are fine and smooth

the forks are ~6 months old, and if i use the front brake to come to a stop on the road i get the most awful creak/click/cracking noise, the noise is also there when descending especially over anything rocky etc…..can also make the noise by pushing/riding into a curb outside the house, can sporadically produce said noise when pushing down on the bars, but only sporadically

have greased stem/bolts/faceplate and bars are carbon and seem fine, all hoses arent touching etc

even took the brake caliper off completely and noise still there ruling that out

basically leaves the forks and the front wheel (bearings seem fine but are almost 1 year old)

is there anything else ive missed/not tried before i go down the fork sending off route?!

Stanchion coming unbonded in the crown.

Wasn’t a big issue, but known on 32’s & 34’s.

Clamp the wheel between your knees and twist the bars while getting someone to listen for the sound. My first though was csu.

ive had this on my pikes last year too, and it is pretty much identical noise to them, surely the fox doesnt debond to?!?!

but ive had a new frame since the last noise, the only things that remain are the wheels and bars/stem – yet ive got the same noise as the last bike with pike on

Yep its your crown /stantion interface
Fox are notorious for it
Nothing you can do except buy new forks

Or if they’re 6 months old, get them sorted under warranty.

cool thanks for the info, so both RS and FOX are plagued by creaky stantchions then it appears!

funnily ive never ever had this before on a set of 32’s either fox or RS

ill take it the lbs first to double check but sounds very much like it is defo the CSU interface

bummer!

Steerer / crown fault very common. Turn the bike upside down and drop some lube into the crown steerer interface and leave over night. This has solved my woes on both my 32 and 36 fox forks.

There are 2 solutions and both involve removing the forks and clamping them, upside-down in a vice:

– spray some GT85 where the stanchions meet the crown ie the GT85 seeps in and stops the creak (worked for me)

– dribble some high-wick Loctite threadlok around where the stanchions meet the crown

I was weary of using threadlok but plenty of people say it works if you read through posts on mtbr.

Of course, if the forks are under warranty then return them, but I’d definitely try using GT85 first as you have nothing to lose and saves downtime and postage costs!

I take it back – perhaps there is a solution – although its hard to see how any fluid can penetrate that tight interference fit ?

But why remove the forks?
Just turn the bike upside down / prop up the bars to get the forks vertical
No?

cheers strike – a chap has kindly offered the wicking loctite solution but being in warranty i think ill go down that route first off

mojo have said it can be an issue but just to rule out grit/stem/etc before sending in, pretty sure its not that as ive regreased it just last week and its smooth and clean too

will take into shop this week to have them look over it first and foremost as they will likely send the forks in for me anyways if it is indeed that

typical just as the weather starts to pick up 🙁

just for anyone else in the future (and myself should it happen again)

forks back with new CSU and kashima legs etc and noise is completely gone – back to silence (for the time being no doubt!)