I've got a hope bb on a giant anthem and have been trying to locate a creaking noise for the last week, I think I may have narrowed it down to the 2 drive side plastic bb spacers which look like they have deformed slightly, i'm thinking this could be the cause of the creak which is worst when peddling and none existant when simply pushing down on the saddle.

Anyone else had this problem?

why have the spacers deformed?

My shimano one has cracked which is a bit sh1t, but it's hanging in there 😐

I had the same problem, they are very 'plastic-y'.

Replaced with metal ones – not sure 'who's', but got them from my LBS parts-bin.

Are you putting the BB in too tight to deform them?

Hope BB's now come with aluminium spacers, but you can make your own to replace the plastic ones.

You know that old cassette lying on the garage floor? Split the sprockets and you'll get some metal spacers. File off the tabs on the inside and you've made some BB spacers 🙂

I had this once with an e-type front mech 'ring' on a 73mm shell (so no spacers) but it took aaaaages to work out where the creak was coming from. If the bike was at all wet it didn't do it (which was what got me on to it) and yours has probably become more noticeable in these unseasonal and unknown trail conditions known as 'dusty'. Just try dribbling some light chain lube between frame, bb and each spacer every so often. That cured mine.

Cheers guys, have put a bit of lube on so will see if it makes a difference then i'll replace the spacers with alloy ones.

G

Got a creak on mine also, if you google for a solution..theres a thread on Bike Radar which advies to check the rear wheel skewer, to make sure it was clean and greased..I did mine and it was very loose, but also cleaned and regreased mine..Hoping that's cured mine.
Maybe worth checking also

You sure its the BB spacers and not a worn chain, we tried new BB, spacers on a team bike, ended up being a worn chain, just a thought

had a hope bb with plastic spacers, it creaked, although i wasn't aware where the creak was coming from.

The end of the story is that i decided to take the bb out to see if it was the problem, took the crank arm off gave a gentle tap on the end of the axle to get the driveside to come out and the bb cup came out with the crank arm.

The plastic spacer was deforming enough to allow a little play and this wore the threads in the frame and the cup enough so that they were no longer tight.

mrmo – Member

"The plastic spacer was deforming enough to allow a little play and this wore the threads in the frame and the cup enough so that they were no longer tight."

That sounds incredibly unlikely, the threads are also loadbearing- sounds more like the entire thing wore loose and tha was causing the creak and the play.

Just come back from a ride, creak gone…was down to a slack rear skewer
Could have sworn it came from the BB

northwind, to be honest i am not fully sure what was going on. all i know is that the bottom bracket was tight, i did it as tight as i could but was aware that you could deform the plastic (tighten and it distorts). I had taken it out and greased it before to no result. After it failed, with damaged bb shell threads I put a different bb, XT, with different spacers in and that didn't creak. Hence gut feeling is that there is some issue with the plastic spacers and that there is just enough flex/play. I have heard of a few people who have had creaky hope bottom brackets and it has seemed the spacers were also possibly at fault. (creaks disappearing once alu spacers fitted.)

For the OP it is more a warning to keep an eye on the spacers, just in case the spacers are the issue, for the sake of a few pence the frame damage that may result is both inconvenient but also very expensive.

Ive had exactly the same thing happen to my Hope BB as described by mrmo. Creaking started and investigated to find slight deformation in one of the driveside spacers. Took it all out and the spacer was cracked through – the drive side BB cup was loose and nearly completely threaded. This was a new BB and only had about 1 month of riding on it. Not impressed. Guess I maybe overtightened it when fitting?

nsaints – Member

Just come back from a ride, creak gone

result 🙂

Developed this problem today. 🙁

I read somewhere once that wherever you think the creak is coming from, look somewhere else…

“I read somewhere once that wherever you think the creak is coming from, look somewhere else…”

Every time, they’re a swine for it. I had a creak that was “definitely” coming from the forks and turned out to be from the seatpost,thin smear of lube and a problem that had been driving me batty for weeks was gone.

“I read somewhere once that wherever you think the creak is coming from, look somewhere else…”

Every time, they’re a swine for it. I had a creak that was “definitely” coming from the forks and turned out to be from the seatpost,thin smear of lube and a problem that had been driving me batty for weeks was gone.

I’ve been running a Hope Ceramic for about a year now and I’ve only just found the cause of my noisy transmission. Plastic spacers. Started with a “k-tish” noise under heavy pedalling, then did it with normal pedalling.
Then I got a “dank-dank” noise when pedalling. I stripped the Raceface Deus chainset out only to find the drive side cup loose on the BB.
Long story short, I tightened it 3 times over a few weeks. Not good.
Also replaced a Dura-Ace 7900 chain thinking it was chain stretch. Not good either.
Then I called Hope who sent me 3 alloy spacers FOC. Good. The difference is incredible. Much reduced flex in the chainset and the bike feels glued to the road.
Zero noise, and it hasn’t come undone once!
I’ve had to replace the chainring bolts but I guess that they were taking the load after the chainset stopped bending.
If you have one with plastic spacers call Hope tech. You won’t regret it!

Just to reiterate the problem, My Hope BB started creaking. Took it out to change the bearings and the drive side fell out of the shell. I had the plastic spacers as well. Looking at the non drive side, the threads were very worn. Fortunately no damage to the BB shell. I’ve sent the whole bb back to hope for hopefully a warranty replacement with the alu spacers.

and i should say, i thought my spacers looked a little deformed too!

mrmo, what chainset were you using? Just wondered if it was an FSA, as apparently not totally compatible with hope BB’s as the axle on FSA chainsets is very slightly bigger then normal ones and thus the BB bearings get stuck on them…as I found out! Although mine on stuck on instillation…

I had the same thing. I think the older Hope BB spacers were substandard. In my case I thought the BB was crook after six months so I replaced it, but when I examined it it looked ok so I used it on another bike with Shimano BB spacers and it’s been good for a further 18 months.

Ive got this problem too, can’t figure out where itscoming from….tried everything…the hope bb has alu spacerstoo…..cant figure out what it is……could be the pg990 cassete which is worn. As its mashed a new xt chain after about 3 weeks…creaking chain abd cassette? Is this possible?

The creaking problem, yeah?
Have you checked the rear skewer?
Check the chainring bolts as well – uneven tension or dry bolts in the chainset can make a right noise.
When you say that the chain’s mashed do you mean stretched beyond it’s wear limits?
Is it worse when you ride off the saddle ?

Grr, my hope BB has just done this. BB threads not looking in great shape now, hopefully they can be rechased.

Chain almost worn out from new in 3 weeks use….so suggests my cassette was shot when I put it on….tried the rear qr, chainring bolts tight and checked as new middle ring…..does it out of saddle too….sometimes its louder than others, mainly occurs on road climbing…sometimes disappears for a while then comes back….it doesn’t do it on flat or downhill pedalling though….just climbing and more so road climbing

Have you stripped the cassette from the hub body?
What cassette / rear hub do you have ?
Does it make the noise in all gears ?

james –

cassette has come off freehub, and cleaned, and smeared some grease on the body….

pro2 hub

srampg990 yeah it does it in any gear really, more so in middle ring largest rear sprocket, though its still noisy in the rest…

Hardtail or full susser ? What frame is it?