# Spokes are creaking. What does that mean?



## BigPoser

I'm still new to what certain sounds mean and I'm positive that my spokes are creaking quite a bit; only when I'm out of the saddle however. 

So, are my spokes loose? Is there a trick? I didn't see anything in my Zinn book about it. 

Thanks in advance. 

Brandon
Chive On


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## redondoaveb

Bladed or round spokes?


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## BigPoser

They are round.


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## rruff

Check the rim eyelets and hub for cracks. If that looks ok, then where the spokes touch, pull them apart and put a little lube. Do the same at the nipple/rim and spoke/hub interfaces.


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## Kerry Irons

BigPoser said:


> I'm still new to what certain sounds mean and I'm positive that my spokes are creaking quite a bit; only when I'm out of the saddle however.
> 
> So, are my spokes loose? Is there a trick? I didn't see anything in my Zinn book about it.


Don't kid yourself - the noise could be coming from anywhere. But if it is the spokes then in addition to the lube at the crossing points put a drop of oil right where each nipple enters the rim and another where the spoke enters the nipple. But like I said the noise could be coming from anywhere. Do a search on clicks and read all the threads.

It is fairly common to have clicking noises, but ticks and clicks are very hard to eliminate sometimes. What seems like it is tied to the pedals may be coming from the seat post, etc. Sometimes things like temperature and humidity can affect noises as well. Also, things like the front derailleur cage just hitting the crank, loose bottle cage bolts, or the front derailleur cable sticking out and hitting your shoe can seem like they are clicks but really aren't. Another thing to consider is that the frame and components are flexing from pedaling forces, and so you can get a click or creak sound where you think it couldn’t be – for example the seat post & clamp can make noise even when you are standing and pedaling due the frame flexing. Here’s a link if you don’t like reading the rest of this post: Bicycle Touring Tips, Lessons Learned, and Tricks of the Trade

Clicks tied to your pedaling can come from
- BB (grease all threads in contact with the frame and BB, all metal to metal contact surfaces, and torque to the recommended settings, which can be quite high), the faces of tapered BB axles if they have a little corrosion
- bolt holding the BB cable guide onto the frame (grease threads and make sure the bolt is not touching the BB shell inside the frame)
- crank bolts (grease threads and washers)
- chain ring bolts (take them all out and grease the threads, the faces where they contact the CRs, and the CRs where they contact the crank spider arms)
- a dirty chain, inadequately lubed chain, stiff link in a chain or a burr on one of the "break off" special links used to assemble the chain
- front derailleur clamp (clean and put a light film of grease on the inside of the clamp where it touches the seat tube)
- the pedals (grease the threads and the shoulders of the axle where it butts against the crank arm, get some wax, silicone etc. on the cleats, check for play in the bearings, squirt some lube into the guts of the pedal machinery if possible)
- shoes/cleats - loose cleat nut rattling around in the shoe sole, shoe/cleat interface, cleat bolts, cleats touching pedals (wax lube, silicone, or furniture polish)
- seat post and saddle (grease the post, seat post bolts, saddle rails, and add some oil to where the rails go into the saddle body)
- bars and stem (grease the stem where it clamps to steerer or goes into the steerer if quill type, top cap, stem bolts at both ends, h'bar bolt if quill stem, and h'bar where it goes through the stem)
- grease/tighten QRs and where the hub axle contacts the frame
- tighten cassette lock ring, grease cassette hub body and cassette spacers
- grease steerer tube spacers (if threadless)
- replaceable derailleur hangers (remove, clean, grease all parts and threads, reassemble)
- any other bolt (bottle cages, derailleur clamps, derailleur bolts, shift cable casing stops, etc.)
- cables hitting the frame (cable donuts), or shifting in their end ferrules (lube contact points). 

Wheels can make noises when pedaling or coasting (check for spoke tension, particularly on the rear non drive side, put a drop of lube where each pair of spokes cross and where each spoke enters the rim and the hub flange, check for loose metal bits or spoke nipples in the body of the rim and cracks in the rim at spoke holes.).


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## BigPoser

Thanks Kerry, I'll try the lube option and see if that helps. It ONLY happens when I'm out of the saddle and really powering down. I supposed it could be in the crank or BB perhaps, but I'm almost positive that it's the spokes. I'll work on this tomorrow and see what happens.


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## rruff

BigPoser said:


> It ONLY happens when I'm out of the saddle and really powering down.


You were so sure that it was the spokes, so I thought I'd let you "fix" that first... but IME if there is a creaking noise that only happens when out of the saddle, it is by far most likely the front QR and/or the dropout-axle interface. 

2nd guess would be the bars, fork, stem, brake hoods, etc. It could be something about to catastrophically break, so it's a good idea to figure it out asap.


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## BigPoser

rruff said:


> You were so sure that it was the spokes, so I thought I'd let you "fix" that first... but IME if there is a creaking noise that only happens when out of the saddle, it is by far most likely the front QR and/or the dropout-axle interface.
> 
> 2nd guess would be the bars, fork, stem, brake hoods, etc. It could be something about to catastrophically break, so it's a good idea to figure it out asap.



Ruff, thanks for the reply. I'll be sure to look over all that you mention as well as the QR. I hope it's the spokes.


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## rruff

Most likely it is just something that needs lube. Start with the easy stuff... like the QR... first. Try standing in front of the bike and torquing on the bars. If you can't replicate the noise, it's probably farther back. 

It can take a lot of time to nail down a squeak.


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## BigPoser

Okay, so I checked everything out. Made sure it was all tight, lubed where the spoke and the nipple meet, where the nipple meets the rim, and where the spokes cross on the rear wheel. Also checked out the skewers as well. Still creaks. 

I can stand on the pedals and bounce a little and I can still hear the same sound. It is definitely the spokes. Mostly from the front, but some from the rear as well.


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## rruff

How can you tell it's the spokes?


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## mikerp

BigPoser said:


> Thanks Kerry, I'll try the lube option and see if that helps. It ONLY happens when I'm out of the saddle and really powering down. I supposed it could be in the crank or BB perhaps, but I'm almost positive that it's the spokes. I'll work on this tomorrow and see what happens.


This could be a lot of things, I had this creak the other day (thought it was the BB as I had recently done some work on it).
I wound up:
Lubing front skewer
Adjusting front hub
Drop of lube on chainring bolts
Lubing Speedplay Zero (I have a metal shim under the cleat as I run Sid's with Speadplay soles)
I'm almost certain that it was the cleats at this point.

Had a great ride this am, at some point there was zero wind noise and the bike made as close zero noise at 90+ cadence, all I heard was a smooth chain and the cranks spinning. It was a magical moment.


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## BigPoser

rruff said:


> How can you tell it's the spokes?


I spend a little over two hours, lubing, tweaking, pushing, pulling, cleaning, bouncing, flipping, knocking, you name it, I did it. I am 98% sure that it's the spokes. I tried to duplicate the sound by "messing with" certain parts. When I did that this to the spokes, it made the exact same sound. The bike is new and only has about 500 miles on it. I did everything that I could think of, and from my testing, have concluded that it's the spokes.


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## Andreas_Illesch

Are there washers in the rim beneath the nipples heads? They might have corroded when made from unfit material.


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## 9W9W

Are these new Mavic wheels by any chance? Aksiums perhaps? Are you 180lbs+?


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## smokie496

I'm with 9W9W. My Mavic Ksyrium Elites made a lot of noise. I hated them! Took my shop a good few hours to pin the noise to the spokes. They called Mavic and were told the wheels would have to be completely disassembled to properly lube the spokes at the hub every couple months. 

They were spot on too. Not a huge deal, but still a bit annoying. And I am not pushing 180 either. 165 if I am soaking wet.


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## 9W9W

smokie496 said:


> I'm with 9W9W. My Mavic Ksyrium Elites made a lot of noise. I hated them! Took my shop a good few hours to pin the noise to the spokes. They called Mavic and were told the wheels would have to be completely disassembled to properly lube the spokes at the hub every couple months.
> 
> They were spot on too. Not a huge deal, but still a bit annoying. And I am not pushing 180 either. 165 if I am soaking wet.


My Aksium's behaved similarly. A lot of creaking when I got out of the saddle, which while understandable at 20 spokes under a 200+ guy was not very reassuring. Despite flexing break pad to break pad on steep climbs, the rear stayed true for the 1,000+ miles that I had them. The front was a different story, going out of true every 100 miles despite two different shops working on it. For 2013, I decided I'd like more of my power being put down into the ground and I'm having a wheel upgrade built at the moment. I'll post a review when I get them in 1-2 weeks.


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## BigPoser

9W9W said:


> Are these new Mavic wheels by any chance? Aksiums perhaps? Are you 180lbs+?


No they are Ritchey DS Pro wheels. 20 spokes up front and 24 in the rear, and I weigh in at 178. Could the low spoke count and my weight be the problem?


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