What bottom bracket is installed in your frame?

It's hard to tell anything from your description. Is it a ticking that happens with each pedal stroke? Does it happen all the time or just when you stand? It's tempting to think these things are the BB but they can literally come from anywhere on the bike as every pedal stroke you put pressure on most areas of the bike. Usually it's something a bit loose, particularly on a new bike, but could just need a drop of grease or wax somewhere. Places to check: BB (make sure it's lubed and there's no play), pedals (tight, lubed), chainring bolts (tight), front and rear skewers (tight), spokes (no loose spokes), cassette (tight), seatpost (tight, lubed), stem (both ends), headset (lubed, tight), even little things like derailleur hangers can tick if loose, etc etc etc Just go through them one by one, easiest ones first.

Thanks so much for the response. The ticking happens with each pedal stroke, whether seated or standing. The pedals are lubed and tight, I have several different wheel sets, spokes are tight and there is no difference in sound using any of them, skewers are tight, cassettes are tight, I just replaced the stock stem with a 120, headset is tight and lubed, and rear derailleur was just replaced. My seat post is tight, but I will remove and lube it as you suggest. Again, this does not occur when I single leg pedal, as I did that to see if it was being caused by one side or the other. The rear brake cable is tight across the bottom of the bottom bracket and I was thinking that maybe the flex in the frame while pedaling was causing the cable to relax and then contact the frame.

Sometimes its the least obvious thing you could imagine. Several years ago I built up a QR Lucero, and had the same issue. No matter what I re-torqued/greased/replaced, the creak on the left downstroke continued. A friend told me that he once had the same issue, and the problem turned out to be the downtube bottle cage bolts creaking. I greased the cage bolts, and it hasn't creaked since...

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"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

So many possibilities of where it could be coming from. I had a similar issue in the past and the ticking noise was coming from the pedal and shoe combo... but like you it didn't do it when I single leg pedaled. I guess the angle/force on my single leg pedaling didn't activate the noise. I put on a different set of pedals I had, and used a different pair of shoes and the noise went away. Something to check... Good Luck

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Member of the Litespeed Factory Team
www.litespeed.com

What bottom bracket is installed in your frame?

Shimano Hollowtech BSA threaded

Not sure this is much help...

I have a felt IA 2 and had a similar sound... I swore it was the bottom bracket. Turns out it was the seat I had on there that was creaking and literally echoing down the frame. What I swore was happening with every pedal stroke was just happening with my slight pelvis tilt with each pedal stroke.

Hollowtech or Hollowtech II ?

+1 anecdote with pedals.

The same issue, creaking every revolution coming from BB area. Complained to LBS, they didn’t find anything.

It was left PowerTap P1 pedal and the creaking comes and goes every so often. May be it depends on pedals getting wet.

As others have said, could be 1,000,000+ things and it usually comes from the least expected source.

Easiest thing to do or let the forum know is....
- Clicking or creak?
- is it a rotational sound or kind or random/no pattern - does the clicking occur in a pattern. Ever wheel spin, every chain rotation (would change speeds in different gears), every crank rotation, etc.....


Rotational/patterned noises could be bearings somewhere, bad chain link/master link, bent chain ring tooth....
Randomness sounds could be seat post/clamp, stem loose....

Carbon frames......no matter where the problem is, it ALWAYS sounds like it is coming from the bottom bracket :)

Two easiest things to look at first is remove and clean your seat post & clamp as well as your stem bolts and clamp area.
Good luck!

Do you happen to have a DuraAce9100 cassette installed?

Hollowtech

Ultra CS 6800

The few times I've tracked down a creak I've done it by cycling around a quiet area and varying as much as I can. The same way you did in and out of the saddle. You can try cycling with running shoes, hands off the bars (which is why it's a quiet area), weight as far back/forward as you can. As a quick test you can spray something like GT80 on one area at a time.

Some thoughts here that might give you some things to try.

From my original post: "It is in synch with my pedal strokes and sounds like a ticking clock. If I single leg pedal the noise isn't there, regardless of which leg I use. "

I have removed and cleaned the seat post and will see if that helps when I ride tomorrow

Hollowtech bottom brackets have an Octalink axle in them and Shimano stopped making them quite a long time ago.

Are you sure that you don't have a Hollowtech II bottom bracket?

I copied and pasted directly from the Felt website.

The Felt website is probably wrong.

What model number is your crankset?

Chainring bolts can be a source of ticking with every pedal stroke.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

Check that the right crank isn't hitting the front derailleur cable that was not cut short enough.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

I have had mystery clicks a few times and thought all of them were coming from the bottom bracket. One ended up being my saddle rails. One was the interface between the stem and handle bars. The last was the dumbest of all, it was the spoke mounted magnet for the bike computer hitting the sensor.

It’s is bottom bracket bearings. It’s always the bb30 bearings on that bike. The bike is fine. Your options are to become zen and learn to live with it, do something drastic like epoxy the bearings in the frame, or get rid of the bike.

It’s a hollow tech 2. Felt ars came with bb30 bearings, adapter cups, and shimano 2 piece cranks.

Dip bike in bath of WD40. Wipe clean.

I have an Ia1 that does the same thing. I've never been able to identify the source. Seems to be more prevalent with heavy force/low RPM i.e. climbing. Comes and goes. Shoes don't seem to make a difference. Frustrating. I just changed chainrings and haven't really noticed it, but will have to pay more attention this weekend.

One time I had a creaking problem that I thought was the BB turned out to be the front axle/quick release.

Also, if you have deep rim wheels the valves can often make a ticking noise when riding.

Most of my ticking has been the interface of the axle and bearings. And also where the axle end that attaches to the left crank.
My best guess is to grease the crank axle well and the end of the axle that inserts into the left crank.

other possibility is bad pedal bearings. Did you try another set of pedals?

I've chased a noise like this before, turned out to be my cleats.

Bolts are tight.

Cable is not touching the derailleur.

That was the first thing I checked because years ago I had a cleat that had a metal backing plate that was creating a similar sound when I pedaled. My current (new) cleats are good.

Been rocking the new gen Felt Aero Road since they released that bad boy. I've had creaks from everywhere over the years and the more difficult ones are the hanger being a touch loose and a bad headset. Easing up on the bars, i.e. loosening your grip, can sometimes rule that one out. Another thought, do you have segmented housing for the rear brake cable? Mine ticks a bit when I get out of the saddle (I know you said in or out).

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My YouTubes

It's just going to be a process of elimination....
Ride around the neighborhood in sneakers to eliminate a cleat issue, swap to some old pedals or flats to eliminate pedals.....from there you are starting to rebuild - if the BB is older you just may want to replace (usually an inexpensive part)........ Like I mentioned above, good luck as you have seen, may have had this type of problem and finding the source can be VERY frustrating.

Hey, I am not sure if you saw Geek_Fit's comment or not, but I have a Felt 3X as well with the Prologo saddle and it was making the exact same noise you described and that Geek_Fit said. It is where the saddle attached to the top of the seat post. It seemed tight but it was not, once I tightened it more the noise went away. Comes back every once in a while and drove me crazy as it was a brand new bike. Hope that helps.

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I miss you "Sports Night"

+1

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I miss you "Sports Night"

In my case, I didn't figure it out until I moved the seat to a different bike. It's literally the seat.

no wonder that ISM saddle was cheap on ebay...haha

My guess is the Hollowtech II BB is the source of the problem, if the noise is indeed coming from that area. It doesn't take much to swap that out and see if the noise is still there. That would be the first thing I do.

I had the same problem on a bike. Finally sent the frame back, they figured out the front derailleur was loose. Try in tighten all the screws/bolts on your bike, drove me nuts for 6 months.

I believe that only the 2019 Felt AR5 frame is English threaded and will accept a Shimano Hollowtech II bottom bracket.

If the OP's frame is older, then I believe that it is BB30 and would need to have some adapters installed so that it would work with a Shimano crankset.

Thanks for that info...my bike is a 2016 and I have a 105 crankset. I just got back from a ride and that noise is still there. I'm going to take into my LBS tomorrow and ask them to check the BB.

You could simply remove the crankset and check the bottom bracket yourself.

Provided he has the Shimano tool to remove the plastic tightening bolt or whatever it's called. Anyone who owns a Shimano crankset should go buy one asap.

I would be happy to send one to him for free.

My LBS owes me one!

Why?

I have had noises like this and made assumptions based on the direction I think the sound comes from and whether it happens when I am pedalling or not. I have come to the conclusion that noises can travel in strange ways, and nearly everything on the bike is stressed differently depending on where your feet are in the pedal stroke. You move around, grip things differently, weight and un-weight different parts of the bike, and things push and pull against one another depending on whether the cranks are turning the wheels or the bike is being forced to accelerate, decelerate or steer.

Saying "that'll be the bottom bracket, mate" might be true pretty often but don't jump to conclusions.

In summary, it isn't always what you think it is and it could be almost anything.

I know that doesn't help.

I have had noises like this being caused by, amongst others;

- Badly fitted bottom brackets
- Work bottom brackets
- Badly installed crank arms (too much or too little preload, for example)
- Chainring bolts
- Stem (tririg sigma cable covers can squeak when you pull on the bars)
- Headset (think how you load and unload the
- Creaky saddle rails (creaking where rails meet the saddle body)
- Rear cassette chewing into the freehub body splines, thereby creating the possibility of play under torque
- Front or rear wheels/skewers mystically creating noise and needing to be removed and reinstalled
- Pedals - poorly installed, worn or needing grease (speedplay in my case)
- Cleats - loose bolts or spring clips needing lubrication (speedplay)
- Probably a bunch of other things

I did once spend about 3 months swapping out almost everything to do with the drive chain until I looked properly at the rear wheel and found the issue with the cassette and the freehub splines. Throw another wheel on if you have one, to at least rule that out.

Cheers,
Rich.

So my new bike quickly developed a godawful creaking which I noticed was in the first three gears, big or small ring, in or out of the saddle. Genius wrench at the LBS heard that story and quickly diagnosed it: the new cassette (R8000) was dry (the biggest 3 cogs are riveted on). Pull cassette, tri-flow thoroughly around the rivets, reinstall, and silent, glorious perfection was restored.

Could it be this?

+1 to the crank bolts (you said you looked at) and the front fork (had an aluminum / stainless steel interface that creaked really bad one time, but it was only when I was out of the saddle).

Good luck!

-Eric

Because I've had it in there several times for the same problem. They are going to replace the bearings in the BB, which I hope is the answer.

What did they discover that would warrant replacing the bearings?

Cheapest and simplest solution is probably:

https://www.amazon.com/...etooth/dp/B01MTRWNRU

How about just replacing the bearings, would that not work?

LBS replaced BB bearings and that seems to have finally fixed the noise issue. Thank you all for your valuable input...much appreciated!

Was it BB30?

Yes

I've got some gnarly creaking in my frame and have a strong feeling it's the BB as well.

Do you know what type of bearings they replaced yours with? I've been looking at some angular contact bearings, but not sure if they'll be better than standard bearings.

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Strava

I don't know, but I will ask them.

Typically the creak in BB30 is the bearing moving within the frame. So how the bearings move with the spindle isn't the problem. The bearings aren't held in the frame by anything like a thread so they can move a little and that can be the creak. You can get specific retaining compounds (like loctite 609) that are meant to hold the bearing in place and stop that little movement. Try different bearings by all means but if you do that google the installation method (degrease, retaining compound) so you are covering all the bases.

I have been running Wheels angular contact bearing in a pressfit BB frames for a few years now. I think they last longer and they way they are designed to handle the force load of you cranks better resulting in a lower friction. They won't help with the creaking side unless your standard bearings are worn out. If you have a BB30 frame it is regular maintenance and placing grease around the bearing to stop it creaking thats just the way it is I have had Cannondales since they invented BB30. If you have a PF30 frame get this bottom bracket being tensioned into the frame it is a long period between creaks...

https://wheelsmfg.com/...s-shimano-black.html

Good to know because I have the exact same bike and have the same noise, stopped riding it and started riding my IA in June and need to take it in to get it fixed as I get back on it and put the IA on the trainer in a couple weeks for the winter. Thanks for the info.

I'm running the same Wheels BB on my Specialized cross/gravel bike that had terrible BB noise issues (PF30) and it solved all noise issues immediately!

reviving this for the benefit of others, my "pay it forward..."

My bike picked up a nasty creek. sounded like the BB. So I changed:

3 BB's (all used but should have been good)
3 cranks, (also used),
different chain rings and bolts.

No help!
Cleaned and tightened steering head, etc.
No help!

greased cassette splines and changed cassette. But...
(drum roll please) in taking off rear wheel I noticed the skewer was not very tight.

Put wheel back on with (changed and greased cassette splines) with tight skewer!

Perfecto!!!

Lesson learned - I would have bet a grand it was the BB - or worse yet, the carbon frame was fatigued and toast. The ears sure can play tricks.

Enjoy the journey.

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

I had a very similar problem with my old Scott, ended up sending it back to the manufacturer, it ended up being the front derailleur was loose...make sure to check every little bolt that could be loose around the area. Also, make sure you pedal threads are well greased.....

I also once had noises with my TT which seemed to come from the BB and it turned out to be a skewer.
With my gravel bike the noise came from a loosened crank.

Slightly off-topic, although it also makes noise: I had the rear rim of my TT touching my brake pads especially when standing. I constantly played with the position of my brake pads and even with the forward/backword position of my rear wheel. I had this issue a couple of years until I finally came to the idea of tensioning my spokes which solved the problem once and for all. I just never thought of that because it is a system wheel (808 FC), whereby you can take less care about spokes than with the classic spoked wheels.

Sounds like you solved this and this thread helped me as well, so thought I would post my solution in case someone searches in the future.

I took out the bearings and adapters on my Felt 3X and went back in with a Rotor BB30-24 Bottom Bracket converter. There were many choices such as Wheels Mfg, etc. but went with what was available that I could get. I was super easy to install and it has been excellent so far (super quiet and no more creaking).

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I miss you "Sports Night"

Felt IA FRD noise sounded like loose ball bearings could not find it. Finally my salesman from the shop hopped on a bike and rode along side me. It was the carbon fiber nose cone rubbing together. Some friction grease a little tape fixed the problem. Carbon fiber transmit sounds through the bike....look for carbon rubbing someplace.