Wheel creaking where spokes cross

Been trying to pin down a creak on my road bike for ages now. Changed the bottom bracket last week and it is still creaking.
Only having one disc wheelset for a road bike, I borrowed my mate’s wheelset off his winter bike today and tried them out – no creaks.
Contacted my lbs and spoke to the mechanic there about having the bearings replaced. He suggested that with bladed spokes (Mavic Cosmic Pro) it may be checking it is not them causing the noise from where they cross.
So, I wedged little pieces of kitchen roll in between the spokes where they cross – rode it up the hill outside my house – completely silent.
Obviously keeping little bits of kitchen roll in between the spokes is effective, but not really practical. I’m going to give them a good clean but wondered if anyone had any longer term solutions for this kind of issue? Lube or grease on the contact points?

Semi common on Mavic road rear wheels.

Check the spoke tension.

Some will be quiet for ages with a drop of oil on each cross and wipe off the excess, not a great fix (curing the symptoms) but can work.

Happens on Roval wheels too. I use a little PTFE spray which works

Grease/wax should last?

Thanks all. Put some grease on each cross which has quietened things down. Will see how that lasts. Checked the spokes – they seemed good.

It is worth watching for corrosion. A friend had similar noises on his Mavic’s and after a few months of winter use they rusted up where the contact had been.

Mavic warrantied them but it was a battle.

Grease or lube will attract grit, the movement will still be happening, you just wont hear it and the grease/grit combination will make grinding paste which will wear wear away the spokes until they fail.

I’d say go with @cynic-al ‘s suggestion. Rub a little wax between each one. wont attract dirt, will stay stuck and will provide a bit of a barrier between the spokes.

How does grease attract dirt between 2 tightly fitting parts?

Magnetic grease.

So, update on this. Took them to the nearest shop which is an authorised mavic service centre and got both wheels serviced. Spokes tensioned, wheels trued, new tape, valves etc. £100.

Have ridden about 200 miles so far and the rear is now creaking again – exactly as it did before.

I’ve now given up with them and have some new wheels on order.

Ideally I’d like to sell these – is it worth taking back into the shop that serviced them and complaining? Getting them to take another look at them? I would feel bad about selling some wheels that made noise every time you get out of the saddle, but I have got some nice wheels, freshly serviced and in good condition just sitting there. I found some stuff on the web saying that this is common with mavic bladed spokes, so am I just being fussy?

“so am I just being fussy?”

Yes, yes you are! lol,
as above it is common on bladed spokes, and also as above their are some fixes, keeping them clean and a little lube on the cross over. little bit extra work now and then, but I would still call that basic maintenance for that style of wheel.
You don’t keep replacing chains when they sound noisy and gritty? you clean and relube it.

Did you just ask for a service or for the issue to be fixed?

Have you tried the various suggestions above?

Yes. I cleaned the spokes with alcohol, greased them. This quietened them down for a couple of rides at most, then they were back to their worst. There’s a bit of rust on the edges of the spokes as well.

I did explain the problem to the shop and agreed a service to re-tension the spokes.

I have no issue with a bit of maintenance, but after cleaning and greasing I wouldn’t even get through one ride without it starting again.

It’s not just the occasional noise, it’s metal grinding against metal every time I get out if the saddle. I’d got the the point where I simply didn’t enjoy riding the bike anymore.

Got the new wheels on today. It was like riding a new bike. The dt swiss are also more forgiving, and a definite upgrade over the mavics- but I still need to decide what to do with them. Will email the shop tomorrow and see what they say.

If they’re Mavics, is it because they’re straight-pull so don’t have the same tension as regular J-bend spokes? Slightly less tension would mean a bit more flex, hence the squeaking/ movement

I had this with 2005 mavic crossmax xl.

I solved it by wiring the spokes together where they crosssed.

I was worried the wife would cut into the spokes. I still have the wheels on a bike I don’t use much. The spokes are fine but as they age the nipples are seizing in the rim.

It’s not “right”, but it’s “ok” I’m gonna ride them anyway 🙂

I’d keep them for spares.

Jeez, your wife sounds pretty extreme! 😁

😄

Yes, I don’t want to sell them to someone and disappoint them

Is this creaking something which is typically caused by bladed spokes?
I’ve got a similar creaking which I’m trying to trace and my Giant has blades spokes.
Frankly, I don’t consider lubing spokes a “maintenance” tasks and would rather get the wheels re-laced with regular spokes than having to do that, or put in with incessant creaking…