# Creaking Noise In My Crank Set



## Cabaku (Sep 8, 2006)

I have a '07 Specialized Rockhopper. Got it about 3-4 weeks ago and I have been riding XC/Road about 100 miles a week on it. Starting last Thursday I got a really bad creaking noise coming out of the crank, so I took it to my LBS and got it tightened up. That fixed the problem for the rest of that day, but the next day the noise was back. Took it to the LBS again to get tightened w/ some threadlock this time. Left the shop and about 4 miles out on my ride the noise was back AGAIN! So pretty much do I need to be planning on replacing/upgrading my crank set, or is there something I can do to save it? If I need an upgrade, any particular suggestions?


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

Cranks are a notorious source or creaks. Could be any number of things really.

Common culprits are loose crank bolts, no grease on the bottom bracket spindles where they enter the crank arms, bottom bracket cups not greased before install, dry or worn bearings in the bottom bracket. 

Being new bike it's up to the shop to sort it out for you.


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## Cabaku (Sep 8, 2006)

My LBS told me that I might just be riding too much for that crankset. Dont really know if that is true, maybe they are just trying to sell me something! Anyways thanks for the suggestions, I'll take them with me to the bike shop and see what they have to say about it. My friend had a similiar sound coming out of his bike and about 5 miles into our ride he just snapped off his pedal. Had to pull him back using his belt! Dont really want it to come to that, but we'll just have to see.


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

Cabaku said:


> My LBS told me that I might just be riding too much for that crankset. Dont really know if that is true, maybe they are just trying to sell me something!


Sounds like horsepuckey to me.

By "riding too much" I'm ussuming they mean you might be testing it's durability. Um, it's a 2007 model bike. It's still 2006. Could this be the first bike ever worn out before it's model year??

Cranks don't normally "wear out" from normal riding. Chainrings do - after a lot of use. Crank arms occasionally break - very rarely and not often from normal trail riding. Other damage that can occur is the crank arms being damaged by being used with the crank bolts loose, so the crank arms can flop around on the spindle and damage the hole the bottom bracket spindle fits into.

Bottom brackets DO wear out - quite regularly, depending on usage, rider weight and power etc. That is not a particularly expensive fix. Normally you can check for worn bearings by shifting to the middle ring, moving the chain off the ring onto the side of the bottom bracket shell, and spinning the crank. If it feels silky smooth and not gritty, and you can't wiggle the cranks from side to side, all is probably well with the bearings.

Really, it's a case of the shop checking the bottom bracket as above, removing the cranks, removing the bottom bracket, and reinstalling it (assuming it's not worn out) with some grease to prevent galling and metal to metal dry creaking, reininstalling the cranks with some grease on the spindle (same anti galling / creaking reason) and tightening it all up properly. It's not a big job and a bike mechanic could do it in 30 minutes.


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## KevinB (Oct 5, 2004)

Cabaku said:


> My LBS told me that I might just be riding too much for that crankset. Dont really know if that is true, maybe they are just trying to sell me something! Anyways thanks for the suggestions, I'll take them with me to the bike shop and see what they have to say about it. My friend had a similiar sound coming out of his bike and about 5 miles into our ride he just snapped off his pedal. Had to pull him back using his belt! Dont really want it to come to that, but we'll just have to see.


I agree with Sideknob on this matter. You haven't put that many miles on the bike yet so your new bike & crankset ought to be creak free. It sounds to me as though your LBS is being lazy about fixing this problem. As Sideknob says, they should be removing the cranks and BB and they should regrease the threads and all interfaces. Chances are good that doing just that will fix the problem. (There should be no need to replace anything. A four week old BB should not be worn out!!)

I'll add that you're absolutely doing the right thing in not ignoring the problem. As you found out from your friend's experience, odd noises coming from your bike are warnings that something could be wrong. Some noises are annoying, but innocuous (like a seatpost creaking), while others indicate a potentially dangerous condition that demands attention. It does sound like your LBS is dropping the ball on this one, however, in the long run, you'll be better off if you can diagnose and fix these problems yourself. I'm not saying that you should necessarily start now, with this problem, but you'll ultimately be happier if you can take your LBS out of the loop altogether. Get a book on bicycle maintenance - Zinn's book is good - and start reading. Sheldon Brown's site and the Park Tool site are good online resources.


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## SteveUK (Apr 16, 2006)

"My LBS told me that I might just be riding too much for that crankset"

Fantastic. How do these folk find emplyoment, let alone keep it?
I had a similar problem with a set of used Hollowtech cranks I bought last year. I fitted them myself and after couple of days they started 'clicking'. Everytime I'd tighten them, they'd quieten down for a while, then start off again. Because the noise could be stopped by tightening the cranks bolts, they were obviously the root of the problem.
I got some Thread Lock Pro made by a company called Silver Hook; it's a clear anaerobic adhesive/sealant and it totally sorted the problem. It sets up much harder than Loctite 243 (blue) and it only takes a couple of tiny drops on each spindle thread. It need a littl ebit more torque to crack it off again, but only a little. If you can't get it Stateside, try edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk. (£3 for 7g). I use it on the crank bolts and stem bolts.
Peace,
Steve


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## Ken in KC (Jan 12, 2004)

*Agree with Sideknob....*



Cabaku said:


> I have a '07 Specialized Rockhopper. Got it about 3-4 weeks ago and I have been riding XC/Road about 100 miles a week on it. Starting last Thursday I got a really bad creaking noise coming out of the crank, so I took it to my LBS and got it tightened up. That fixed the problem for the rest of that day, but the next day the noise was back. Took it to the LBS again to get tightened w/ some threadlock this time. Left the shop and about 4 miles out on my ride the noise was back AGAIN! So pretty much do I need to be planning on replacing/upgrading my crank set, or is there something I can do to save it? If I need an upgrade, any particular suggestions?


400 miles isn't "too much riding".... but the problem may not be your crankset. It may sound like your crankset but it could also be:

- Seat
- Seatpost

Does the sound stay when you stand up and pedal? Then it could also be the stem/bars/headset.

It would be that your wheels aren't set in the drop outs correctly.

I'm not saying it's not the crankset, but creaks are hard to nail down sometimes. Try standing as see if you still get the creak. If it goes away, I'd look to the seat.

Basically, check everything. Twice.

Ken


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## Bob_Element50 (Jun 16, 2006)

*Same problem different bike*

I had the same creaking problem on a stumpjumper. I would tighten the BB and it would stop for a short time then return. I tried grease, antiseize compound, and removable locktight. Same result, noise would return. I finally used teflon tape and it cured the problem longer term. Eventually, I went with an external bearing LX crankset and solved the problem for good. As stated in previous replies, make sure it is the BB since many other components will create similar symptoms. If you use the teflon tape fix, don't put too many wraps on the BB threads. It works well and was suggested by a bike mechanic at an LBS.


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## Cabaku (Sep 8, 2006)

I thought that the "riding it too much" was a bunch of crap. Found out today when I went by the shop that they guy I talked to earlier is selling parts off of his old bike. Seems that maybe he had different interests then just making my creaking stop. Talk to the actual lead mechanic today and he told me to bring it by tommorow and he would check it out. I place quite a bit more trust in the lead mechanic as he is the one that helped my pick out my bike, size it, and get everything set up for my first ride. Hopefully I can get this problem fixed tommorow. Wrote down what you guys have been saying and I'm going to bring those ideas up to the mech, but from the sound of it he already was thinking about most of these issues. I let you guys know what ends up happening after tommorow.


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

Cool. Good luck and keep your MTB brethren posted.


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## Cabaku (Sep 8, 2006)

Sorry it took so long to get back to you guys, bet you've just been sitting there all day waiting for my response.  Anyways got my bike over to the shop again today and handed it over to the lead mechanic. He road it around the parking lot a bit, but before he could even get out the door it was creaking bad on him. Brings it back in and of course all of you were right, it was the BB. It took it out and it had barely any lube on it and it wasn't tightened in very hard. Mech slapped some grease on the puppy and screwed it back in with some manly force. Got back on it and HOLY CRAP it stopped that infernal noise! Was so excited that it was gone I went and hit my favorite trail. That was the fastest Ive ever taken that trail and it was AMAZING! Can't believe it took me this many years to even think about going into this sport. MTBing is the most awesome thing since something really awesome! Thanks again for all of your guys quick and helpful response!


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

*Good stuff!!*

:thumbsup:


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## Runlong1 (Sep 24, 2006)

Could also be that your suspension pivot points (do you have a rear shock?) need to be tightened! They DO come loose sometimes, and should be "firmed up." I have that problem with my Trek Fuel 100, and the shifting went out of wack because of it.


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## nickygggggggggg (Jul 3, 2011)

*Crank shaft Does NOT feel smooth when i pedal.*

I bought a NEW reflex samuri mountain bike yesterday and later that evening,took it on a 10 mile ride and noticed that when i start pedaling,its NOT nice and smooth pedaling.
It feels like to me,that it could be the crankshaft bearing.
ITS not really bad but NOTICABLE.As its a brand new bike only one day old,i should not be having this Problem.

CAN ANYONE SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS?????? and has this happened to anyone else??????

Thanks guys.....

Nick.


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## Delirious (Jun 12, 2011)

Its alive!!!!!!!


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

nickygggggggggg said:


> reflex samuri mountain bike


I'd say there's your problem.

With the specificity of your description of the problem, it could be anywhere in the drivetrain. It's going to be near-impossible to replace anything (except the chain anyway) for less than $60. Then something else will break, or perform below your expectations.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=30921

Can you return it?


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## KevinB (Oct 5, 2004)

nickygggggggggg said:


> I bought a NEW reflex samuri mountain bike yesterday and later that evening,took it on a 10 mile ride and noticed that when i start pedaling,its NOT nice and smooth pedaling.
> It feels like to me,that it could be the crankshaft bearing.
> ITS not really bad but NOTICABLE.As its a brand new bike only one day old,i should not be having this Problem.
> 
> CAN ANYONE SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS?????? and has this happened to anyone else??????


I've purchased new bikes that creaked when I first bought them. I even had one that had a suspension pivot bolt back out to the point where it interfered with the small chainring and made it impossible to pedal. I assemble my own bikes now and am very careful about properly torquing each component. (Prior to putting a frame into use, I remove all suspension bolts and put blue thread locker on each bolt. I also make sure that each suspension bolt is torqued to spec.)

Anyway, with regard to your problem, one likely scenario is that the bottom bracket cups were either not greased properly or not torqued properly. That's just one possibility; there are many other possible causes for the creaking.

Since it's a new bike, the best thing for you to do is to take it back to the seller and ask that it be fixed. Most reputable shops want their customers to be happy and will do this free of charge for very new bikes.

It is good that you are aware of noises such as your crank creaking. I learned the hard way that those little (or not so little) noises might mean nothing or they might mean that something serious could go wrong very soon. It is best to not ignore these noises. Once this initial problem is fixed, you would do well to learn something about bike maintenance so that you can eventually fix all of these niggling problems yourself.


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