Drivetrain Noise

[shep]

Hey

I have a 99 Specialized S.J. FSR XC. I have been getting a lot of drivetrain squeaks and creaks when I pedal. The harder I pedal, the louder the noise, usually. I've tightened everything down there: crank arms, bottom bracket, pedals, rear suspension linkage, etc, and nothing seems to fix it. My chain is also relatively new, I put it on late last year.

Any ideas on what's causing this? I can't figure it out.

Thanks.

[gopherhockey]

I had a similar noise on my last bike... I doubt this is it, but do you know what mine was caused by? My shoes rubbing on the crank arms as they went around... DOH! Funny how you can chase these kinds of noises..

:confused:

[Kingbozo]

Does it make a difference if you are seated or standing? May be your seatpost or seat clamp if it only happens when your but is planted.

I had a weird, rattle/vibration issue that drove me nuts for a while. Turns out the lockring on my cassette was loose.

[igor]

I had the same problem a few years ago and it was the bottom bracket had water in it.

[SickBoy]

1. Tear all aforementioned bolt assemblies apart and lubricate them appropriately with either grease or oil
2. Pull out your bottom bracket, clean threads, and reassemble using liberal application of grease and also some plumber's teflon tape on the threads
3. tighten rear hub skewer

"Take two of these and call me in the morning." e.g. do all this and check back.

[manual63]

A few things I have had issues with were chainring bolts and chain lube. It's amazing how much noise a chain can make. On my Badlands trip, my whole drivetrain was creaking and I tightened my cranks. It still creaked and I got off and pedaled the bike to hear a grinding noise from the chain. I knew we had some White Lightening and put that on my chain. It become very quiet and I was now able to hear the birds and snakes again.

[grizzly adam]

stiff link??

[Trevize1138]

Problem: noisy chain.

Solution: apply WD40 liberally.

:crazy:

[CinderCone18]

for god sake do not use WD40! unscrew your pedals conpletely and try some teflon tape on the threads. Make sure when putting the pedals back on you do not cross thread them. but no wd40(it will be a death to your bike) good luck

[Kingbozo]

WD40 has it's uses-lubricating a drivetrain is NOT one of them.

[CinderCone18]

wd40 has no use on a bike accept distruction. WD40 is a water based lubricant this means it attracts water, and dirt sticks to it. This in turn causes rust and in the long run the end of your bike components. What is needed is a waxed based lubricant or a teflon based lubricant this does not attract water and lubricates better any ways.

[Kingbozo]

It's good for cleaning gunk and crap off of your bike. The key is to let it dry and then lube with the right stuff. The important distinction is the word "cleaning". Never use WD-40 to lube anything.

[CinderCone18]

a few specialized i've worked on have had a creeks in the seat post clamp check that. But you want to find the source some what quick. one i work on had a creek in the drive train and it ended up that the pedal was loose and over time it thrashed the threads in the crank arm and they had to buy a new one.

[jjrsds]

My stumpjumper was creaking like mad and all I did was grease the seatpost a little bit and that took care of my creak.

[Kingbozo]

Originally posted by jjrsds
My stumpjumper was creaking like mad and all I did was grease the seatpost a little bit and that took care of my creak.

Same thing on my old grey M2 S-Works

[nigel]

possibly try to squirt a little tri flow in the rear derailleur pully wheels.

[Trevize1138]

Originally posted by jjrsds
My stumpjumper was creaking like mad and all I did was grease the seatpost a little bit and that took care of my creak.

Some WD40 would have fixed that right up!

:crazy2:

[Trevize1138]

Originally posted by CinderCone18
for god sake do not use WD40! unscrew your pedals conpletely and try some teflon tape on the threads. Make sure when putting the pedals back on you do not cross thread them. but no wd40(it will be a death to your bike) good luck

No, no, you guys weren't listening!

Apply WD40 liberally! That means use an absolute crapload of it!

Sure, it'll ruin your bike if you only use a little and then ride it for 3 or 4 miles, that's why you take 4 or 5 cans of WD40 with you on every ride to ensure everything stays lubed up nicely.

Why do you think I bought a Camelbak Hawg?

:crazy2: :crazy2: :crazy2:

[Kingbozo]

I'm beginning to suspect that Chris owns stock in WD40. Unless of course he carries a small paper bag along with all those spray cans......:p

[DeepC]

WD stands for "water displacement" it will displace water and strip lubricants. WD-40 is not a lubricant. If you use WD-40 dry it off and make sure to use a lubricant afterwards. I find that most of the time noises and shifting problems in the drive train are a stiff link in the chain. Clean the chain well, lubricate and try bending it back and forth to loosen it up the stiff link.

[SilverAthlon]

As nick stated, use WD-40 for a cleaning agent, but be sure to actually lube the part afterwards. if the chain is sqeaking, be sure to lube the chain first.
There are 2 types of lube you can use:
1. Synthetic/oil based. This is a wet lube, very susceptible to attracting dirt, debris. Clean chain more often if you use this solution
2. wax/paraffin based. This is a dry (it applies wet, then it dries) lube, and sheds dirt, makes for a cleaner chain. Apply more often than oil based.

Also the stiff link trick works very well, pedal backwards, if there is a hop, consistently in the same spot, most likely there is a stiff link. Bend left/right to loosen.

If that does not fix the problem, there are too many options to mention. Pedals, cleats, bb, rear der (pulley wheels)...etc. post results for further diagnosis.

[Don Youngdahl]

My aluminum frame Giant had a persistant creaking noise associated with the pedal stroke, which didn't completely go away until I had: loc-tighted the drive side of the bottom bracket threads & greased the other side; greased the seatpost & increased the clamping force;and loc-tighted the chainring bolts.


The biggest improvement was when I greased the seatpost. It has an adapter sleeve to fit the post to the tube diameter, and that may be a contibutor to the problem. I greased both sides of the adapter sleeve.

Don Youngdahl