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Had a small frame creak thats progressively got worse for a while.
Got pretty bad at the end of last week to the point of making me not want to ride that particular bike.
Half the time it sounded like it was coming from the headtube/ half the time it sounded like the BB lower pivot area.
Efforts to find over two day it included.
New headset bearings.
New frame linkage bearings.
New BB.
Different crank.
Different pedals.
Wheel bearings front and rear.
Linkage bearings pressed out and back in twice.
Gear hanger removed and greased.
New headset in case the headset cups/ crown race wedge were a problem.
Every step things were cleaned , greased or Loctited and torqued to spec.
Anyone care to take a guess at what was the actual problem and silenced the bike instantly?
Or regal me with tales of epic creaks that evaded finding curing and turned out to be so random it's unbelievable?
Shoes?
Clutch on the rear mech?
Frame about to fail?
Your shoes?
Too slow, clearly
Not even close.
Forgot to mention mech rebuild.
Was almost at the point of ordering a new frame though.
Grips on bars moving slightly.
Too obvious and I'd have been able to feel it in my hands.
Also greased the seatpost and seat clamp.
Wasnt anything to do with that.
Saddle??
I have been the victim of a squeeky saddle many times!
Nah.
It was a death creak from the frame when compressing the suspension.
Also forgot to mention a new fork and different shock without success.
I can't wait for the answer as I have an annoying creak that sounds very familiar on a Norco Optic.
I can guarantee that it won't be the same problem on any Norco frame.
It's very specific the a Geometron G1 frame.
I'll check back in the morning for any more guesses or epic creakery cured in the most random way tales.
Have had a couple of creaks caused by dry/dusty insertion points of cables into shifters (or cable brakes in the good old days). Intermittent problem because when it rains they don't creak. Took me ages the first time
Rear hanger?
Probably something daft like squeaky shorts/saddle interface?
I had a helmet/light bracket squeak which took a while to track down, sounded like it was right in my ear, couldn't replicate it not on the bike, bouncing it or pushing it, no one else could hear it when they rode my bike
A cable outer tapping the frame under compression
It’s very specific the a Geometron G1 frame.
Mutators.
Rear hanger was re fitted and torqued to spec.
Not that.
Cables are full run outers.
Not that.
Mutators. Good guess.
Refitted and Loctited and torqued to spec.
Not that.
When a bounced and the suspension stood up it creaked.
When I pedaled hard uphill it creaked.
When I endoed/ pivot turned on the front wheel it creaked.
When the bike was stationary if I side loaded the crank BB area it was silent.
If I pushed /pulled on the bars with the front brake on it was silent.
If I spin the bars 90 degrees and pulled up and down on the end it was silent.
Any more guesses as to the cause?
It’s very specific the a Geometron G1 frame.
Someone spilt sauerkraut on the mutator doofer.
I've just remembered - I think Geometrons have some unusual shock bearing instead of a bushing, so maybe that?
Shock has recently been serviced.
Also tried it with a different shock.
Not that.
Fork crowns/stanchion interface?
Freehub?
New fork.
Not that.
Rear hub rebuilt
Not that.
No rodents involved.
It was a creak not a squeak.
It was a creak not a squeak.
Sorry I misheard.
Are there any hinges on a Geomotron?
Your ball sack rubbing against your leg.
Batwing is normally silent for me.
Was it the faintest echo of someone telling everyone that they “ride a Geometron”?
The bolt on cable guides?
Close Mick.
Very close.
But no they had been removed and re fitted too.
Wasn't them.
I’d have said chainring bolts, but you already mentioned replacing the cranks.
The spirals of wire in the cable outer where they are clamped?...?
Spherical shock bushing.
We have a winner!!!
There's a bracket that bolts to the frame that you then bolt a bottle cage to.
It was the only part of the entire frame that hadn't been stripped cleaned inspected and replaced to torque spec.
As soon as i removed it i could see fret marks on the frame and lower bolt hole on the bracket.
The relief when I rode up and down the road in silence was immense.
The offending bolt that is supplied with the bracket was around a MM too long and bottomed out in thread hole allowing a very very small amount of movement.
Its hard to believe that a downtube and BB shell of that size can flex from endo turns but it obviously does.
The solution was a washer that was laying about on the workbench between the frame and bracket.
Total cost of actual fix was zero.
Time taken and replacement parts for the rest of it a fair bit more...
The offending bracket.
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At least I know everything is good to go for a trip out to Spain in a few days time.
Me too.
But even for me it's a tad rude on a group ride.
My recent one on the gravel bike (which I was convinced was coming from the bottom bracket) turned out to be 3 of the 4 pawls in the freehub were rusted in so only one actually picking up. I assume the twisting action thus created caused the creak and the vibration travelled along the chain and resonated in the larger tubes around the bottom bracket.
Ti frame and wheels 3 months old!
The offending bolt that is supplied with the bracket was around a MM too long and bottomed out in thread hole allowing a very very small amount of movement
Is that bottle cage mount really factory fit on a geometron? ... For the cost that's surprising.
25 quid from Geometron.
Not exactly breaking the bank.
Are you getting even tighter as you get older? ;0)
I was more thinking the cost of the frame y'know but what ever haha.
Glad you found the creak nothing more annoying.
I once chased a creak roundabout rigid ss for months ....did most things you did ...even replaced my headset bearings ....then the next time round the bike in frustration found the headset cup had parted 3/4s of the way round the frame insert and the star nut tension was holding it together.
We have a winner!!!
Yay! Do I get to choose which one of your bikes I win or will you pick one for me? 🙂
Interesting, I just fitted one to mine this week. not ridden yet. Just checked it, not sure....
It took a fair while to raise it's head but worth checking if you get a really random creak.
Do I get to choose which one of your bikes I win or will you pick one for me? 🙂
You get to win the prize of a random creak on one of your bikes at an unspecified time in the future.
You can thank me then ;o)