Bike making weird cracking noises

GBX

I have an Ideal bike (racer style with straight bars) which I use for commuting to and from work. Not too far. about 2 miles each way. Its started to get a bit noisy lately. I dont think its the bottom bracket as the pedal shafts are holding solid when I checked them. if im sitting and pedalling it makes noises but when I stand to cycle the noise more or less goes.
I dont think its the durailer* catching the chain so it could be the back wheel or back cogs?

anybody any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks id advance.

uberwolf

if you don't think it's the bb, how about one of your pedals?

see how much play there is in the pair of them and compare vs. the other.

shy of that your seat post clamp / seat rails could be issue?

Morgan

GBX wrote:

if im sitting and pedalling it makes noises but when I stand to cycle the noise more or less goes.

If that's definitely the case then it could be your seatpost or saddle-rails creaking. Take them off, give them a clean and re-fit.

el tel

Odd that it goes when you stand, any similar noises I've had only appear when standing (causes: loose spoke on a standard wheel in once case and a delamintaed rim on a spinergy rev-xin the other)

seamus

Of the two that I got recently, one was a pedal (just stripped it down and regreased the bearings), and the other was the rear sus - I had the damping just a little too high.

The problem is that you'll get a creak anywhere there's a bolt, so it could be anywhere. As suggested, the saddle is a good start.

philstar

i'm currently getting a "squeek squeek" from my new mountain bike, its driving me crazy.

Don't think its the saddle, cause when i take my ass off it going up hills i still get the noise...i oiled everything but to no avail:(

Morgan

philstar wrote:

i'm currently getting a "squeek squeek" from my new mountain bike, its driving me crazy.

Don't think its the saddle, cause when i take my ass off it going up hills i still get the noise...i oiled everything but to no avail:(

Mouse trapped in the frame?

GBX

Ok .. I found the source of my problem.
I was cycling around the resovoir in Bohernabreena this evening with a mate and came back out onto the main road heading in the direction of the Old Mill, the bike started making a worse noise than before which I still couldnt figure out. I was cycling quite fast and as we went down the road I head a clang of metal. I though ok .. somethings come off the bike, so I turned around and we found the culprit. A piece of the frame from the "bar" that the saddle sits into came off. It is from right down where the derailer is or to be exact, right above where the water bottle holder was set.
Ive no idea how its came out or how the frame has ended up in such a bad way.
I got the bike second hand or actually 3rd hand. My friend who is a very keen cyclist sold me it as he had too many. He had only had "my bike" for 2 months before I bought it. When I bought it was in good condition. I use the bike for commuting and avoid kerbs, bumps etc. I tend to look after it.

Im not sure if the water bottle holder was on the bike as new, but it looks like the top screw(?) holding it in place seems to have been the starting point of the frame disentegrating.

Ive attached a small pic from my phone of the gap left in the frame. its not a great pic.

Let me know your thoughts.
GB :mad:

kenmc

Not a great picture right enough, but is that a solid ring missing from the frame? :eek: I doubt it's even repairable, and certainly not going to withstand much more cycling. Looks like a new frame I think!

seamus

Yeah, can't really tell from that pic, but from what you say, a piece of the seat tube just sheared off? :eek:

Contact the manufacturer. I know many of them carry extended warranties on their frames - one of them (I think it's Schwinn) used to guarantee that if you broke a frame of their's at any point ever, under normal use, they would replace it.

Quigs Snr

Hmm, I wonder was the cage overtightened, causing a small stress fracture which eventually cause the failure in the pic. I have seen a cheaper mountainbike once destroyed by something similar.

Stereophonic

Morgan wrote:

Mouse trapped in the frame?

LOL:D

blorg

GBX wrote:

Ive attached a small pic from my phone of the gap left in the frame. its not a great pic.

What's that, the Loch Ness monster? ;-)

Seriously, you are lucky if you survived a frame failure without serious injury, sounds like you broke the right tube. Could be the waterbottle cage as Quigs suggests. Unlikely to be economically repairable- how much is the bike worth? Components may be worth a transfer onto a new frame.

seamus

These are the UK & Ireland importers for Ideal:
http://www.ideal-cycles.co.uk/

I recommend giving them a shout first.

GBX

Yeah .. basically it looks like its been sheared off. for the life of me, ive no idea how. Possibly to do with the bottle cage, I didnt fit them nor did my mate who I bought it from. The bike is still mobile and the frame is still solid. even with the bit missing from the middle.

I'll give Ideal a shout and see what they say. Ill take some better pics and show them

Chips Lovell

GBX wrote:

The bike is still mobile and the frame is still solid. even with the bit missing from the middle.

Are you still riding it with a lump missing out of the frame?

GBX

No .. Ive not been using it.
I had another look at it today. Im seriously doubting if there is an issue with the frame strenght. On both the piece that came off and the bar just above where it came from, it looks slightly bent/dented. I havent had any falls on it since ive owned it, nor did my mate when he did. I dont know if it may have been intentionally damaged by somebody, because even if say a stone popped up, it wouldnt cause a dent too big.
Im at a loss what else might have happened.

attached a slightly better pic of the frame.