I have a pair of 2015 pikes. They have been creaking at the csu for years and I’m finally fed up.

They are awesome! I did two days at the Dyif bike park and had no complaints others than the creaking. They have the original charger damper and latest air spring..

Previously turning them upside down and sticking thread lock into the crown cured the creak for 3 to 6 months, but that has stopped working this winter.

They are on a Geometron G13 that mostly get used for trail riding with very occasional uplift days and once or twice a year gets used for bike packing.

So

A) new steerer tube pressed in. £100 or so. Might not stop the creak

B) new lyrik ultimate at £750ish (:wish I’d bought a £500 a few months ago!)

C) fox 36 grip factory jobber at £1000ish or the non factory at £900ish

D) cane creek air or coil at £700is

E) something else?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Send to somewhere decent for a service and ask them to check (before doing the service).

Bearing retainer on the underside of the CSU (stanchion interface rather than steerer) fixed mine. Think I had 2 years creak free before they were sold on

It was bearing retainer That I’ve been putting in.

Thanks @mashr. I’ll try putting some in at the stanchion interface and see if that reduces the creaking.

Pikes of that era were a bit creaky. I warrantied a few sets at the time.

Fox have consistently been a bit creaky, and they only have a 12 month warranty. Having now had 2 sets of creaking 38’s I don’t hold out much hope for the rest of the range 🙄

Pikes of that era were a bit creaky. I warrantied a few sets at the time.

I think my 2021 Pikes are a bit better, perhaps, than the ones I had in 2015. But they’re still a bit creaky after a year’s use. It’s kind of annoying but they otherwise work well and I’ve never heard of any sets failing here so it’s more an annoyance rather than an actual problem (though, I don’t know if the creaking signifies a loss of stiffness?).

As above, I think it’s the crown/stanchion interface though I don’t really know why I think that. I tried dribbling some Loctite 638 in and it didn’t really work for me.

If you’re happy with them I would have a new steerer tube fitted,does the slight movement of the steerer tube wear the crown over time ?
https://www.rsfsus.co.uk/

If the steerer tube is not damaged you dont have to replace it to de creak. The stanchions are probably also creaking in the crown.

When I “de creak” a CSU I press out both stanchions and the steerer.

Steerer only would be to replace a steerer that is too short or damaged.

(Assuming nothing else is damaged)

Interesting. @bigyan do you do this as a service? Presumably you need access to a rather large hydraulic press to do this? When you press the stanchions out, how do you replace them and why does that stop them creaking? How long does a fix last?

Yes, you need a press and tooling to support the fork crown, threaded inserts to fit the stanchions. Not the easiest DIY for a one off unless you have access to a well equipped workshop and time to make tools, or want to invest in ND Tuned stock + tools or Blue Liquid Lab tools.

Once the stanchions and steerer are removed you can clean the everything up (there will be black oxide). Apply Loctite 609 or another suitable retaining compound for press fits. The stanchions and steerer are then pressed back in. I have never had any creak again (so far). They are now bonded in as well as being a press fit, all the micro pits and surface imperfections between the mating surfaces are filled with the retaining compound.

Obviously if the crown has been crash damaged and deformed, or the steerer is loose in the crown etc it can be another issue.

They creak to due fretting corrosion (link below explains it) longer travel, lighter forks with shorter crowns and slacker head angles are all exacerbating the problem.

http://blueliquidlabs.com/suspension/article-two/

Best time is during a full service, or you will be paying labour to strip down anyway. If you DIY service you can obviously strip to a CSU yourself

@bigyan

How much does it cost to do all that? Are you doing it professionally or just your stuff?

Are you doing it professionally

Yes, but I am not advertising on the forum or looking for work, just discussing options/the process. Sorry

Double check the torque on the top caps. My creak was from a slightly too loose air side cap.

Silent after sorting that out.

Thanks!

Chrisdw- I have serviced them recently. I’ll give the top caps some more torque

There are places doing this kind of work in the UK.

Slick and Slide in Macc sometimes post vids of forks being fixed.

Maybe give him a bell to discuss?