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Bike creak; FS pivots? (Read 1391 times)

campbell_j_c Newbie Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 25 Joined: 05/11/12	Bike creak; FS pivots? 07/30/14 at 11:33pm	Print Post
	I am hoping someone might be able to help me out. I have a super loud/annoying creak coming from my FS ride. Creak happens whether or pedaling or not, whether sitting down or not. Pretty sure it is coming from the Pivots for the rear triangle. I took it to a LBS who were awfully nice, but didn't fix it. In addition to a brake bleed and new chain, they torqued all of the bolts on bike (including pivots) dropped/cleaned headset and removed/cleaned/greased bottom bracket - all in an effort to stop the creak (which they said they couldn't replicate). I took the bike out and it is still creaking loudly. I can replicate the noise easily by pushing down on rear of bike and making suspension flex. It really sounds like coming from pivots. Since the bolts are torqued to spec, what could it be? Bad bearings? Need grease? If anyone thinks they can help (and has a torque wrench) I would really appreciate it! I mostly visit WWC as it is close to house. Any thoughts/ideas/takers?

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sager Big Ring Offline Waiting for my next ride! Posts: 1343 Location: Charlotte Joined: 11/02/08	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #1 - 07/31/14 at 12:28am	Print Post
	It could be those bearing and you could pay a shop to replace them. However usually the suspension starts to fail first in the hardware used to mount the rear shock. These parts are usually designed to be replaced more reasonably. You need some tools usually to diy so a bike shop would be your best bet. For example, my giant trance used a DU bushing that basically was a yearly maintenance item.

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Tom F In The Loop Offline I'm ready. Get the bike. Posts: 2028 Location: Can-of-pooless, NC Joined: 08/06/10	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #2 - 07/31/14 at 12:28am	Print Post
	Have you checked the seat and seat rails? You do not say what bike it is. If it is in the pivot it could be a couple things: Worst case the pivot is worn and the bearings won't seat well. If there is a clamping bolt on the bearings it could be worn, or there is too much thread locker in there. I would try taking everything apart, and applying Phil's and see if that stops it temporarily. I chased a creak on my old bike for a while and threatened to take up drinking again. I am sure others will chime in with suggestions.

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sager Big Ring Offline Waiting for my next ride! Posts: 1343 Location: Charlotte Joined: 11/02/08	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #3 - 07/31/14 at 12:37am	Print Post
	Tom F wrote on 07/31/14 at 12:28am: Have you checked the seat and seat rails? He said it was seated or standing.

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msedly Small Cog Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 414 Location: Dallas, NC Joined: 09/19/09	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #4 - 07/31/14 at 2:54am	Print Post
	What kind of bike are we talking about here...? Make and model?

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DursRemote Coaster Bike Offline Work Ride Tarheel Trailblazers Posts: 189 Location: Charlotte Joined: 09/05/12	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #5 - 07/31/14 at 11:19am	Print Post
	Unfortunately there are a lot of things on a bike that can creak, and it can reverberate through the frame making it louder and harder to locate. BB and headset have been the 2 most common I've seen, so good thing the shop looked at them. I would apply some grease to the threads and cams of axles/quick releases, chainring bolts, and to the bolts on the stem (around the steerer and faceplate). DU bushings seem to show their wear through some slop, or freeplay, in the suspension, more so than making noise. The grease on the suspension bolts sounds like a good idea too.

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SCOTT_T Big Ring Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 2092 Joined: 02/16/05	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #6 - 07/31/14 at 12:49pm	Print Post
	I'm in the same boat. my Specialized has gotten so bad it's annoying as hell, I serviced everything on the bike, still no go. I just swapped over the parts too a hardtail for a while just too keep from loosing my mind.

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pughjetsound Coaster Bike Offline motorbicycling Posts: 135 Location: Shuffletown Joined: 08/04/04	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #7 - 07/31/14 at 2:37pm	Print Post
	I also live close to wwc so I could have a look at it. I've chased down plenty of creaks successfully over the years. It sounds like pivot issues. The shock bushings usually develop play and sound like clunks instead of creaks. Frame and model would help.

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bikermedic Little Ring Offline Swim, Bike, Run 140.6 Posts: 904 Joined: 04/07/09	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #8 - 07/31/14 at 2:39pm	Print Post
	Yup, chasing creaks in FS bikes can be a PIA. It can be difficult for a bike shop to reproduce the sounds. As stated above the sounds may not be coming from where you thought. A trick I have used is to loosen up the pivots one by one until the creak goes away. A loose pivot will not make any noise, it will be sloppy, but wont make any noise. Don't ride too far on the loosened pivot however. Once you can identify which pivot it is coming from, it is a relatively easy fix.

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sager Big Ring Offline Waiting for my next ride! Posts: 1343 Location: Charlotte Joined: 11/02/08	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #9 - 07/31/14 at 3:28pm	Print Post
	buy a hardtail single speed with adjustable dropouts. The quiet I experienced after doing that was very refreshing. No chain slap, no suspension creaks, nothing but rubber on dirt.

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traildog Big Ring Offline warning! SS carrier Posts: 1284 Joined: 05/12/05	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #10 - 07/31/14 at 8:44pm	Print Post
	sager wrote on 07/31/14 at 3:28pm: buy a hardtail single speed with adjustable dropouts. The quiet I experienced after doing that was very refreshing. No chain slap, no suspension creaks, nothing but rubber on dirt. +1, nothing finer!

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QueenCity Bicycles In The Loop Offline Fight for your right to Bike! Posts: 1524 Location: 128 E Park Ave SouthEnd Joined: 06/23/04	Re: Bike creak; FS pivots? Reply #11 - 08/01/14 at 2:22pm	Print Post
	check the bearings at whatever is considered the main pivot, usually closest to bb. most will have 4 bearings, that is probably your suspect if suspension related

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