My P3-SL has developed a very annoying ticking noise. I’ve isolated the sound and it seems to come when there is any side to side pressure from the saddle. Anyone ever had this or have any suggestions to get rid of it. Does it sound like a serious problem?
Could be a low-pitched “squeak” from your seat post inching downward. That happened to me, and I think it could have been categorized as a “tick”. Try tightening your seat tube clamp (even if it already feels tight).
Here’s your checklist:
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Mark fore/aft position of your saddle ont he rails in the seat clamp. Remove the saddle and clean your saddle rails and seat clamp thoroughly. Inspect saddle for damage, especially where rails enter saddle frame. After cleaning thoroughly, reassemble to recommended torque specs which may be available on Cervelo’s website.
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Remove and inspect seatpost head from seat post (Cervelo’s are generally fixed with a bolt that facilitates either the fore or aft orientation of the head). If there are no cracks, deformations or damage, clean thoroughly and reassemble.
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Mark saddle height carefully and remove seatpost from frame. Caution: There may be a brass collar inside the seat tube that acts as a shim to help clamp your seatpost. This shim is relatively thin and should be curled at the top to prevent it from falling into the seat tube of the frame. Insure that it is in the correct orientation and the “lip” at the top of it is intact (not bent outward). Clean between the shim and the seatpost, and between the shim and the interior of the seat tube of your frame to remove grit accumulated there. You will likely need to remove the seat post clamping collar from the seat tube of the frame to do this. While you have the threaded seat collar off, clean it as well including the removal of the binder bolt, cleaning, and replacement with a small amount of anti-seize or Phil Wood or Finish Line grease.
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After the seating assemblies have been inspected, cleaned, replaced and torqued to factory spec (available from Cervelo) then mount the bike on an indoor trainer and get on the bike. *Without pedalling *vigorously shift your weight left to right on the saddle, moving your hips in an exagerated manner as those you were doing a hule dance. Listen for any creaking sounds. This weird test will hopefully determine isf the origin of the sound is from the seatpost/seat clamp/saddle area or if it originates lower on the bike in the bottom bracket region, in which case we need to go to another checklist.
Please report back with your findings at your opportunity.
Tom-
Thanks for your thorough reply. Ok, removed the saddle and inspected it and the post head. Reinstalled with the brass fitting and some carbon paste and the tick persisted. Mounted the bike back to my trainer and still rocking the saddle back and forth creates the tick. I was trying to pinpoint it, but it was pretty difficult. Also, tweaking on the bars creates the tick which leads me to believe its coming from somewhere in the frame or bottom bracket area?
Make sure your chainring bolts are greased and not dry.
do you have metal end caps on your cables?
I had a similar issue with my P3SL.
After trying everything we finally took bike down to just the frame and tick would still happen when I tapped bike side to side. It was determined to be a crack where the seat tube meets the rear wheel cut out.
Cervelo replaced with a P2c and offered an upgrade to a P3c witch I took. Great customer service since we never actually saw a crack.
Hope that helps,
Dallas.
Upon further inspection, I think I have isolated at least one cause of the ticking. It seems to be coming from where the rear brake enters the top tube. I have a metal ferrule. Should that be plastic? Any tips on how to get rid of a ticking ferrule?
Interesting that you found that. I had the exact same issue on my P2K, and it too has a metal ferrule there.
After speaking with Cervelo, if I remember correctly, the ferrule should not fit too tightly in the slot in the frame. Mine binded a bit in the slot so when it moved I would get a tick. They recommended gently filing the opening so that the ferrule fits loosely. That solved it for me…