Do saddles creak... and when should you replace it?

[Headshot]

I'm busy trying to eliminate an irritating creak on my enduro bike. It sounds seat/post related but I've done the ant-seize grease thing on the post/frame and the seat post clamp/rails and still get the irritating creak while seated and pedaling. I've started greasing the pivot bolts to eliminate these as a source but I have my doubts its the problem...

 

My questions are the following:

 

1. Do saddles themselves creak eg where the rails meet the saddle upper at the front or rear?

2. Is there a lifespan on a saddle - in my case a Venge comp which is about 3.5 years old. Its in near perfect condition to the eye but there is a little rust on the rails. Is the creak trying to tell me to upgrade? 🙂 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Headshot

[olmec]

mine also creaks. drives me nuts… 

[HowardSteele]

I thought i bad a cracked frame on one ride ...turns out i had cleaned and lubed the chain with the bike upside down and lube had got onto the saddle rails...cleaned and creak gone...so yes saddles creak and lube isnt always the answer 😁

[Kameel]

24 minutes ago, copperhead said:

Throw some Q20 on the meeting points and see if it shuts up. 

I did exactly that on an old(ish) Ryder Force saddle. It did the job perfectly. Had to do it every 6 months or so then it would shut up again.

[Eugene]

Turn your bike upside down and check the saddle from below and look for cracks in the main body. 

A cracked saddle creaks. 

[Grease_Monkey]

Yes they creak, yes they have a lifespan. 
 

Before replacing it though, try greasing all the bolts holding the rails to the seat post as well as the rails themselves. Just a small amount of grease should do the trick. I’ve had a very annoying creak recently that turned out to be the rail and seat post interface. 

[madmarc]

I had 2 Spez power saddles replaced under warranty they both started creaking after 3 months on a MTB.

Check where the rails mount into the seat frame, there should not be any movement or play - If there is you can try injecting some silicone into the joints.

[droo]

2 hours ago, Headshot said:

I'm busy trying to eliminate an irritating creak on my enduro bike. It sounds seat/post related but I've done the ant-seize grease thing on the post/frame and the seat post clamp/rails and still get the irritating creak while seated and pedaling. I've started greasing the pivot bolts to eliminate these as a source but I have my doubts its the problem...

 

My questions are the following:

 

1. Do saddles themselves creak eg where the rails meet the saddle upper at the front or rear?

2. Is there a lifespan on a saddle - in my case a Venge comp which is about 3.5 years old. Its in near perfect condition to the eye but there is a little rust on the rails. Is the creak trying to tell me to upgrade? 🙂 

1. Yes. Mine's doing it. Lubing the creaky bit lasts about 3 rides or 1 wash, so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for potential solutions. I like my saddle so I'm not keen to replace.

2 hours ago, olmec said:

mine also creaks. drives me nuts… 

I always thought it was the little steering wheel in my trousers that was driving me nuts...

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, Grease_Monkey said:

Yes they creak, yes they have a lifespan. 
 

Before replacing it though, try greasing all the bolts holding the rails to the seat post as well as the rails themselves. Just a small amount of grease should do the trick. I’ve had a very annoying creak recently that turned out to be the rail and seat post interface. 

 

What would be a realistic life span for a saddle .... in terms of distance ?

[madmarc]

3 minutes ago, copperhead said:

Did you have to pay in? Really gone off Spez stuff. Their quality and service these days (in my opinion) is about the worst you can get.

Well they first tried to tell me they would send it in and see what the importer says blah blah blah I gave them a hard time then they said i would need to pay in blah blah blah when i asked how much they couldn't tell me, they eventually gave me a new one to get me out the shop cause i was starting to cause a scene in front of other customers

the 2nd time they were happy to just replace it - maybe the remembered me from the 1st time.

I recently wanted a power saddle for my IDT and got the Ryder one for 800 ronds, think the Spez is now over 2K. I found the Ryder quality same if not better and it is far more comfortable. 

[Grease_Monkey]

29 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

What would be a realistic life span for a saddle .... in terms of distance ?

Sho, hard to say. I am gonna go with the old it depends in the saddle. I’ve only ever held on to one saddle (Spez Henge, which is no longer made) long enough for it to be considered used up. And that was I would guess around 10,000km.

[Steady Spin]

Sure it isn’t your hip 🤫

[MORNE]

Another thought…

Do you use a shim in your seatpost/frame? I thought i used to have a saddle creak on my mtb, i swear I could feel it in the seat, and it turned out it was some grit from the friction paste that i used to not overclamp the dropper. It got in there where the shim is split, and when i sat on it and it flexed just right, i felt/it sounded like a creak or when you bite down on a grain of sand almost. Took it out, wiped it all down, removed the paste…and it was gone.

Edited January 26, 2022 by MORNE

[PhilipV]

7 hours ago, Headshot said:

I'm busy trying to eliminate an irritating creak on my enduro bike. It sounds seat/post related but I've done the ant-seize grease thing on the post/frame and the seat post clamp/rails and still get the irritating creak while seated and pedaling. I've started greasing the pivot bolts to eliminate these as a source but I have my doubts its the problem...

 

My questions are the following:

 

1. Do saddles themselves creak eg where the rails meet the saddle upper at the front or rear?

2. Is there a lifespan on a saddle - in my case a Venge comp which is about 3.5 years old. Its in near perfect condition to the eye but there is a little rust on the rails. Is the creak trying to tell me to upgrade? 🙂 

All three Spez saddles I've had developed a rail squeak. 

I'm now on a Syncros saddle on my main squeeze, and the last spez is on my SS. 

 

The spez saddles are nice, but the squeak is irritating enough that I now give them a skip pass.

[Kom]

I’ve used the Specialized power saddles for a number of years and never had any creeks. I’d only say you shouldn’t buy used saddles (or tyres for that matter), you never know when someone’s had a knock which could damage the frame rails.

I use carbon grease on my seat post and seat rails at least once a year when I’m checking seat heights or doing a deep clean, Carbon grease serves as a gripper and ensure you don’t end up with seized contacts.

[_David_]

Do bike seats have weight limits?