creaking sound from bottom bracket

fran oconnor

i was just wondering if creaking noise's are normal in bottom brackets on carbon framed bikes,i have a Cube GTC and have had it back to the shop about four or five times with this noise,now its not just a small kind of sound its quite loud, so much so,that on a long enough spin id have to plug in my head phones(or go bloody mad).it seems to be mainly when im at high cadence,any ideas folks,im going mad at this stage its a 2000 grand bike and i dont think i should expect this.i have a Boardman that has not caused me any hassle at all and it was half the price...

Lumen

It is a common enough issue, but should be resolvable with a bit of patience.

All creaks sound like they come from the bottom bracket, but they often originate elsewhere.

fran oconnor

Lumen wrote: »

It is a common enough issue, but should be resolvable with a bit of patience.

All creaks sound like they come from the bottom bracket, but they often originate elsewhere.

na its defo from the bb,i have had it back a good few times now,the changed peddles and a good few things,it seems to go away for a while,well enough time to take it for a test run around the carpark,then when i take it up the hills and give it a good run it just bloody comes back,feckin pee'd off at this stage..

anoble66

I know your fairly certain its the BB, but it could be worth going through everything on this list to double check:-

http://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/keepitquiet.html

ashleey

Had a similar issue. I solved it by adding grease into the bottom bracket. Remove the cranks and add grease into the little gap inside the cups where the bearings are housed. Then ride a while and let the grease work in to the bearing race. Alternatively, you could have got grit in there. Even a new set of cups isn't a ridiculous price and if you have the right tool it takes 5 mins to swap them out. You can dismantle the cups according to some sites but I found that the plastic part housing the bearings is likely to break and the cups even say 'don't dismantle'.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/
and there are also some videos on youtube showing you how to do it.
Remember to grease the threads when you put the cups back on and also do that with the pedal threads. A torque wrench is useful to make sure you tighten the crank arm bolts correctly and evenly (alternate between bolts as you tighten, a little bit each time).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAqAanDsAKA&feature=related

I'm assuming you have a shimano set up.
A shop will charge you around 50 euro for that outside of parts.

fran oconnor

ashleey wrote: »

Had a similar issue. I solved it by adding grease into the bottom bracket. Remove the cranks and add grease into the little gap inside the cups where the bearings are housed. Then ride a while and let the grease work in to the bearing race. Alternatively, you could have got grit in there. Even a new set of cups isn't a ridiculous price and if you have the right tool it takes 5 mins to swap them out. You can dismantle the cups according to some sites but I found that the plastic part housing the bearings is likely to break and the cups even say 'don't dismantle'.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/
and there are also some videos on youtube showing you how to do it.
Remember to grease the threads when you put the cups back on and also do that with the pedal threads. A torque wrench is useful to make sure you tighten the crank arm bolts correctly and evenly (alternate between bolts as you tighten, a little bit each time).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAqAanDsAKA&feature=related

I'm assuming you have a shimano set up.
A shop will charge you around 50 euro for that outside of parts.

cheers mate,i only have the bike since march,so the shop can cover the cost,im going to bring it down now,they had it in the the css for a few days and done all the above,i left it with them for all of last weekend and its still doing the same crap..

ashleey

For some reason, a lot of bike shops get funny when you mention bottom brackets and they will do everything else but look at the bb. It is honestly really easy to do with the external cups. I did my wife's and my bike this week having never done it before and the second one took 5 mins. Often you just need to grease the threads of the cups and the pedals. As you cycle you tighten the cups (hence the warnings about over tightening) and that can cause that really annoying clicking. When I took mine off there where a few shavings in there from when the bike was assembled that drop down through the frame and stick in the grease. Clean with a paper towel and then re grease. Insist the shop do all that. Unfortunately, the clicking won't show unless you are pedaling on the road and won't show on the stand so unless the mechanic goes round the block he can't tell. Once he's put it all back together he might be disinclined to start again also if he has 20 other bikes needing a service.
I got fed up with shops recently and haven't looked back.

Sacred_git

Lumen wrote: »

It is a common enough issue, but should be resolvable with a bit of patience.

All creaks sound like they come from the bottom bracket, but they often originate elsewhere.

no truer words, had terrible creaks coming from mine, tood everything apart, still the creeks, really worried, decide to take of the wheels and then put them back on and tighten them, voila,creeks gone, it was the back wheel not being on tight enough!!