Creaking BB

[Brett Eloff]

10 hours ago, Martin PJ said:

My son had a BB92, whatever we did it creaked, eventually fitted a BB which tightened in the middle. There are these designs which join at a thread in the middle. Token make them and others.

Thanks Martin!

[Brett Eloff]

9 hours ago, droo said:

Early pressfit designs creaked, newer ones very rarely. If it's  been creaking for a while it can wear out the BB shell, at which point the thread-together models solve this problem.

In the OP's case, the BB that fits a 30mm spindle into a 41mm BB shell is a horrible thing - expensive and prone to wearing out much quicker than it should. The Shimano crank transplant will definitely eliminate the BB as the source of the creak, but will involve another new BB cos it's 24mm.

OP - did they by any chance replace your chain at the same time?

Waiting for bike shop to tell me about adapting to the 24mm; no chain replacement yet - it's not yet at 0.5 wear (XTR chain with the hollow pins = $$)

[Brett Eloff]

8 hours ago, RobynE 🚵‍♀️ said:

My creak (which I would have sworn was coming from the BB/crank/seat tube area) came from the cassette (Sunrace I think) where the rivets had worked loose over time, though you couldn’t feel it by hand. Every time I pedalled it would creak. Changed to a SRAM 10-50 cassette and the creak was instantly gone. This was after much stripping and lubing and checking of a mountain of other things. 

Thanks; I'm gonna check my cassette...

[Brett Eloff]

On 2/3/2026 at 1:20 PM, Pandatron said:

Its the carbon cranks, this was a major problem, the raceface next SL.

I had mine replaced under warranty,

Btw, did you ever have additional problems with the cranks that were replaced under warranty?

I'm considering another set of Next SL cranks I've seen available (used, but apparently in 'good' condition with no sign of delimitation).

[Pandatron]

2 minutes ago, Brett Eloff said:

Btw, did you ever have additional problems with the cranks that were replaced under warranty?

I'm considering another set of Next SL cranks I've seen available (used, but apparently in 'good' condition with no sign of delimitation).

I pushed for a warranty replacement and got the new ERA Crankset which have been rock solid.

The Next SL has been a boggy, 4 of 4 in my group have had them replaced.

[Brett Eloff]

54 minutes ago, Pandatron said:

I pushed for a warranty replacement and got the new ERA Crankset which have been rock solid.

The Next SL has been a boggy, 4 of 4 in my group have had them replaced.

 

54 minutes ago, Pandatron said:

I pushed for a warranty replacement and got the new ERA Crankset which have been rock solid.

The Next SL has been a boggy, 4 of 4 in my group have had them replaced.

 

54 minutes ago, Pandatron said:

I pushed for a warranty replacement and got the new ERA Crankset which have been rock solid.

The Next SL has been a boggy, 4 of 4 in my group have had them replaced.

Oh crap! Thanks 

[Akon]

It is (almost) never the BB, as @Jbr (and my mechanic) said.

It (almost) always sounds like it comes from the BB though.

In my case (I kid you not) it was the back wheel's spokes rubbing at the lacing contact point.

A little oil/lube eliminated the creek.

(Also id'able / testable by putting a different wheel in and see if it stops creaking...)

[Brett Eloff]

2 hours ago, Akon said:

It is (almost) never the BB, as @Jbr (and my mechanic) said.

It (almost) always sounds like it comes from the BB though.

In my case (I kid you not) it was the back wheel's spokes rubbing at the lacing contact point.

A little oil/lube eliminated the creek.

(Also id'able / testable by putting a different wheel in and see if it stops creaking...)

Thanks, appreciate you sharing the info!

[Brett Eloff]

I just thought I'd let all you thoughtful contributors to this forum topic know that my creaky problem was ultimately resolved. The bike shop - Dunkeld Cycles (@Marco - you wanted to know) sorted it out after some initial difficulty. William & two mechanics at Dunkeld Cycles isolated the problem by simply switching out the rear wheel. Noise gone! Turned out to be a worn bearing seating in one end of the driver body. So although they'd previously replaced all four bearings, the worn seating meant that the new bearing was loose in the driver body. It's apparently meant to be banged in there with a mallet/hammer. That play caused the cassette to move about & perhaps even 'wobble' - resulting in that very annoying drivetrain noise. Rode a 60km race in mud & rain after it was fixed & all went well!

The bike shop did good & credited me on the bearings. The driver body sans bearings didn't break the bank. I reciprocated & bought the three of them a six pack of beers each.

I was warned about going down the rabbit hole of chasing noises. There are one or two other click noises on the bike, so will probably change all pivot bearings next. But at least I'm sorted on the drivetrain noise. Tuning other noises out & determined to enjoy the riding!

Thanks again.