hi,
i’ve been having a bit of a creak and squeak coming from my crank/BB area for a little while. i’ve safely determined that it is not my BB/frame, etc
chain is ok as well
but, some of the teeth on my big ring are squared off or shark finned. would this be causing the noise? is this affecting my power output? do i need new cranks (they’re ultegra 9spd, about 2.5 yrs old, 10 000+ km)
thanks
not enough info, cowboy…
Do you have a metal-framed bike and a metal seatpost?
If so: Remove your seatpost. Clean the seatpost of grease and grime. Attempt to clean seattube on bike. Liberally apply new grease to seatpost. Reinsert seatpost. Ride.
You would be amazed that that may be your creak. I took my whole BB apart looking for the farging creak before greasing the post and it going away.
Excellent points.
Having lost my mind on more than one occasion due to squeaks, I’ve usually found these to be suspects as well:
Loose chainring bolts - make sure contact points between crankarm and chainrings are clean as well. Tighten the bolts evenly
Loose cleats
Loose pedal - lube the threads and tighten it down
Broken pedal - pray it doesn’t fall off during a sprint
Also, I usually put teflon tape around the threads of my bottom bracket.
Excellent points.
Having lost my mind on more than one occasion due to squeaks, I’ve usually found these to be suspects as well:
Loose chainring bolts - make sure contact points between crankarm and chainrings are clean as well. Tighten the bolts evenly
Loose cleats
Loose pedal - lube the threads and tighten it down
Broken pedal - pray it doesn’t fall off during a sprint
Also, I usually put teflon tape around the threads of my bottom bracket.
I must say that more often than not squeaking has been a product of my cleat/pedal connection and that is the last place I looked. Also, less of a squeaking but more of a clicking that sounds like your rear hub has been due to a loose cassette (i.e. lockring not tightened all the way) and this also proves to be quite a disaster when your 11-15 fall off the rest of the cassette. just thought i would share that
Time for my “loose crank” story.
During pedaling last month, I kept hearing a steady, rhythmic “creak” whenver I pushed down on the pedals. At the same time, I was pulling my hair out trying to adjust the derailleurs, front and back to prevent the chain rub sound, in various gears. I was doing everything by the book. Bought new cables, adjusted the tension in all the set screws correctly, still it rattled on the front der and still I had that “creak” sound. I was about to take it to the shop.
I then decided to just no matter what figure it out myself. I put the bike up on cycle ops and slowly, moved the pedals around, watching for the chain to hit the front der guide and slowly noticing when the “Creak” occurred. During this, I looked straight down over the crank rings and noticed that the crank rings were ever so slightly oblong. I got off the bike and wiggled the rings and crank and it was loose. When the rings on the front came around, they were off kilter and took the chain into the front der.
After all of that, after all that time spent, it turns out all I needed to have done was merely tighten the crank. I had never had to do that before, and never even considered regularly doing this, but its something you have to check.
Also check out the saddle. I had a squeaker one time.
Your chain rings are supposed to be that way. It is Shimano’s way of helping your chain shift up.
More then likely it’s either your cranks or bb. Pull both off or have your shop do it. Teflon tape your bb and then reinsert in the frame to proper torque specs. Then reinstall your cranks. Do NOT grease them prior to putting them back on. Make sure all of your chainring bolts are greased and tightened.
Alum frames are tough because the noise travels but normally the teflon tape is the cure.
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/creaking_and_squeaking.shtml
this page is park tool’s guide to “troubleshooting a creaking and squeaking drivetrain”.
the two most common for me were seatpost and cranks.