I dig my Soloist. But I just can’t seem to kill a ticking/popping sound from either the post or saddle. With an aluminum frame, it’s tough to tell where noises are coming from. But when I go out of the saddle, the noise stops. So… seems obvious where it is. I have the post’s head reversed, with the saddle about mid-rail.
I have tried tightening the post binder. I have loosened the saddle clamp and then re-tightened carefully by alternating using pliers on the star nut and then the hex/allen bolt. Yet, it still makes that dreaded noise. I hate a noisy bike!
I had an occasional pop sound which seemed to originate from back there also on my Cervelo. The occasional noise happens more often on rough road surfaces. I discovered a loose headset yesterday and tightened it down so there’s no more play at all…voila…no more noise. It’s a long shot but you might as well eliminate it as a possibility.
I had a similar problem with a Dual that I had. I found that there was a small crack that initiated from the bolt that secures the saddle post to the seat tube. Bad terminology I know. It’s the bolt you need to tighten/loosen when switching the saddle to a more forward/rearward seat position. It is located very near to the top of the seat post. This was definitely the problem I had (other than explaining it of course). Worth checking.
My wifes Soloist had the same problem. It turned out to be the bushing that the cables passed through (specifically the one immediately in front of the seatpost). A little grease on the bushing and it went away.
No, I can’t be sure whether it’s the post or the rails/post head mount. All I know is that it disappears when I get up out of the saddle. Could be anything related to it. Extremely frustrating.
mate, i’ve got the exact same problem on the same bike. once in a while i think i’ve fixed it (with grease, tightening, cleaning, etc) but it always comes back. only pet peeve with an otherwise awesome bike.
Arrrrg. I thought I had it killed as well, only to find it again a few weeks later. If it sticks, I literally will change frames. Can’t stand it.
Say, anyone know of any steep bikes w/ a SHORT top tube relative to its height? That’s the beauty of the Soloist – when you flip the seatpost, you get a short top tube, and because of its higher top tube, you don’t end up with a ton of spacer under the stem. Luckily I’m 6+ months away from my next event and have lots of time to work all this out.
Like CG said, try a different saddle - your LBS probably has a demo they can loan you for a test.
I have a spare, as well as a spare post head that I can swap on. Good idea.
I have this problem every few months. I think it’s when you get dust or whatever in where the seatpost mounts. Take it out, clean the seatpost, the bushing and the inside of the seattube then apply lots of grease to the seatpost (assuming the you have the Al one) and re-insert. Ahhh … nice quiet riding
I have had a similar problem with my P3 (carbon post). It is very VERY annoying. I clean the post, clamp, bolts, blah blah. I grease the bolts, the brass shim, and NOT the seatpost. I have found that if I push the seatpost forward with one hand while tightening with the other, it lessens the creaking almost completely. This problem is one reason (among others) that I am selling my P3 for a custom ti bike (with a standard round Thomson 27.2 post). Anybody want a 58cm '04 P3 with full Campy Chorus? It’s for sale!
