# AR1 - Creaking Frame Issues, Cant's Seem to Get a Fix



## walked (May 20, 2015)

Hey all,

I bought a 2016 AR1 Frameset from my team's sponsor shop and had them do a full build for me. The frame is mostly phenomenal!

However, right off the bat, there was an issue wherein the bike makes a pronounced ticking or creaking noise, *only when out of the saddle.

*I spent a half day troubleshooting this side-by-side with my shops mechanic (a Felt dealer), and we narrowed the issue down to the seatpost and/or seatpost interface.

_For reference, we can get the issue to completely go away by removing the seatpost assembly entirely.
_
My shop made a warranty call to Felt, they sent a "fix kit" acknowledging the issue. Unfortunately, what basically amounted to foil tape, did not fix the issue.

At this point, both my shop and I are at our wit's end. They've requested a replacement seatpost from Felt to see if that'll resolve the issue, however my confidence level is low.

At this point I just laid out for a brand new frame and build, that completely creaks/ticks noticeably when out of the saddle. It's consistent, reproducible, and very audible.

Is there anything Felt can do to help (are any Felt reps reading?)? I'm tiring of waiting 3-5 days with my primary road bike out of commission waiting on a response from Felt and an attempted fix, only to be right back where I started.

Truly a frustrating beginning to my first Felt purchase.


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## cobra_kai (Jul 22, 2014)

I've had no issues on mine. Did you use plenty of carbon assembly paste between the seatpost and frame as well as between the clamp mechanism and post?


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

The shop did the build, and did indeed use assembly paste and an ample amount.

The fact that there's no issues elsewhere is why I'm leaning towards some level of assistance from Felt. I'd truly love to have it be a quick fix though


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

I happened to run into our Felt rep while I was in the shop with my TT bike today.

They said they're going to try a new seatpost next, and then move to looking at the frame itself. Hopefully it's not a frame issue, though. I'm thrilled with the bike aside from the creak.

He said they havent run into a creak like this that's only present out of the saddle, but have seen a similar ticking before. Hopefully the seatpost does the trick, though.


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## cobra_kai (Jul 22, 2014)

Good to hear they are taking care of you. Hopefully the new post will get things working correctly so you can fully enjoy your awesome bike!


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## romrah (Mar 19, 2015)

This is just a random suggestion since you have a profession looking at the bike. But after I got my first Felt I had the same ticking/creaking sound issue out of the saddle only and I couldn't identify the exact location it was coming from. 

So, after weeks of listening taking parts off and re-installing it boiled down to the bottom bracket needed re-torqued as it worked itself loose.


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

Definitely not the BB as we can eliminate the ticking noise simply by removing the seatpost entirely.

Unfortunately Felt is balking at a replacement seatpost, so I need to leave the bike at the shop for the Felt rep to look at this.

Honestly, at this point I'm very frustrated that I dropped this much money on a brand new frame, build by a Felt dealer, and have spent equal amounts of time with the bike and the bike in the shop waiting on Felt to get this issue sorted.


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## romrah (Mar 19, 2015)

Sorry to hear they are dragging their feet on this. I totally agree with the prices of bikes these days one would hope they would be more responsive to a simple seat post issue. As much as I like Felt I always get the impression that sell bikes to regular folks as a side job. Maybe one of the professional needed a new seat post and that delayed your request. 

Hopefully whoever took SuperDave's position is watching the threads and does what they can to help out. Best of luck and keep us up to date on what happens..


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

Yeah; I reached out to SuperDave via PM and havent heard anything back. Didnt know he'd moved on, though.

I went ahead and tweeted this thread to Felt; maybe that'll get some movement, but I dont have a ton of hope.


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## cobra_kai (Jul 22, 2014)

Sucks they are giving you the runaround, it seemed like things were settled after you spoke with the Felt rep. Hopefully things don't drag on too long.

SuperDave is now with 3T https://www.3tcycling.com/road/en/dave-koesel-to-head-up-new-3t-operation-in-united-states/. Big loss for Felt. I was always under the impression that he was active on the forums on his own time not as part of his official duties. I think he did a ton of good for Felt though and definitely contributed to my decision to buy one. If they're smart they will assign forum monitoring duties to someone on the payroll to fill that void.


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

Yeah; I was pretty pleased after speaking to the Felt rep, but then apparently between that conversation and yesterday, the Felt warranty department decided to follow a different path.

I've tweeted this thread to Felt, heard nothing. Emailed Felt directly, heard nothing. So for a brand new frame, I've been able to ride it about 5 times in 30 days time.


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## Jonnyn15 (May 9, 2011)

Some of the frames do have back and forth movement which the foil is supposed to fix.

I've removed a few of the DI2 battery clips that hang from the seat posts before as they can move a bit,obviously not the case if you have a battery attached to it!

Ask the shop to try a seatpost from a different bike to see if it moves between bikes, takes a few minutes and would answer the question.


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

Ultimately, Felt replaced the seatpost last week and it resolved the creaking.

Unfortunately, on the seatpost, I'm getting a saddle that sags forward now. I've re-followed the manual to spec on the seatpost clamp assembly, and still it sags.

Taking it _back_ to the shop again. I've owned so many bikes and never had such a frustrating run with a frame before.


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## cobra_kai (Jul 22, 2014)

Sags as in slips forward along the rail? Or sags as in rotates forward around the clamp mechanism? If the latter that seems very strange. I assume you have the VR seatpost which uses the 3T diff lock system of interlocking splines to set rotation. The only way for that to be rotating is if the diff lock mechanism became unbonded from the rest of the seatpost. If it is sliding along the rail make sure you are using some carbon paste and that the rails on your saddle are the correct shape (round).


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

I was on the 3T diff/lock system initially. When Felt warrantied the seatpost, they replaced it with the other clamp mechanism. So it's just rotating in place.

We've tried friction paste + re-torque to spec, but still rotates.


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## Superdave3T (May 11, 2009)

cobra_kai said:


> SuperDave is now with 3T https://www.3tcycling.com/road/en/dave-koesel-to-head-up-new-3t-operation-in-united-states/. Big loss for Felt. I was always under the impression that he was active on the forums on his own time not as part of his official duties. I think he did a ton of good for Felt though and definitely contributed to my decision to buy one. If they're smart they will assign forum monitoring duties to someone on the payroll to fill that void.


I'm afraid I'm of no help as I cannot compel my former colleagues to give your case any priority or attention. Odd that you'd have noise out of the saddle. The VM mount requires grease on the bolt and nut and on the upper saddle clamp "hook" part that grips the rails and torque paste on the rotation bits.

I also find it odd you won't ride the bike with a ticking noise if there's nothing mechanically wrong and the bike is safe.

Forum monitoring is not common in the bicycle industry and even if there were a new person assigned it took all of my 14 years of experience working for Felt to be able to offer insight and solutions. The most effective way to communicate in today's bicycle industry seems to be via their FB and social media accounts. 3T will be an exception to that however.

Good luck,
SD


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

SuperdaveFelt said:


> I also find it odd you won't ride the bike with a ticking noise if there's nothing mechanically wrong and the bike is safe.
> 
> Good luck,
> SD


The issue is not lack of willingness to ride it; but the time lost in response from Felt and coordination with the shop during diagnosis. At this point we're past the "ticking" noise and the bike is fully functional aside from the saddle sagging.

Grease and friction paste are both applied to spec (as described by you and the manual) yet it still occurs. 

Thanks for taking the time to respond, regardless.


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## walked (May 20, 2015)

Updating again: Felt is now sending out a *second* seatpost replacement now. They seem to believe that the bolt is bottoming out when torqued (my mechanic isnt totally on-board, but they are hand-waving it and just sending out a new post anyways).

Hopefully a second repalcement seatpost will do the trick.


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## cobra_kai (Jul 22, 2014)

Any luck with the new seatpost?


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