I'm particularly anal about bike noises (to my detriment), and chase any noise or creak till it's solved.
As an aside, my previous LBS once told me all MTB's make some creaks due to the suspension.....just cos he couldn't be bothered to do it right...
Ok, on my roadbike I chased endless crank creaks, usually just before pedal stroke ie around 1:00 o clock, especially worse when it's cold, up a steep climb early in the ride. The creak would annoyingly move from left to right at random.
I'd religiously do a crank lube service and for a ride or 2 it would appear better, but it always came back.
Anyway, my 10 year old Lake carbon shoes needed replacing after gluing the 3 soles back together for a 3rd time.....noise gone. It was my shoes.....🤭
