[NolesOrNothing]

I have the 2013 EVO with Ultegra DI2. I bought the bike new off EBay in February. It has been successfully registered with Cannondale. Last week at about the 1,400 mile mark, the bottom bracket started making the tell-tale clickety clack sound under applied pedaling stress. Once up to cruising speed, there was no noise. My trusted LBS that handles all my mechanics has said the Press Fit 30's for a few brands have been an issue to various degrees and we agreed to swap the bearings out for a new Hawk Racing set.

The new bearings went in the beginning of this week. First I have to say, everything you may have heard about Hawk Racing Bottom brackets is true. These things are freakin smooth! Well worth the upgrade.

However, the damn BB is still doing the clickety clack under applied pedal stress. I have included a close-up photo of the non drive side, showing the New Hawk Bearings, wave washer and spacer. Can those more experienced than I, tell me if that looks assembled correctly?. To me, the bearings look too exposed. Other than the annoying as hell noise, the bike is performing very smoothly. I have not followed up with my mechanic yet, as this has been over the course of the last 3 days. I am doing so tomorrow at our shop ride.

As additional info, the cranks are Hallogram SI and peddles are SpeedPlay Zero stainless.

Any insight and/or guidance is much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[trauma-md]

It doesn't appear as if your shop mechanic installed the bearing shield. Also, are you sure you ruled out any other cause of that noise? Oftentimes it could be front QR, pedals, or even the seat post within the frame. Easy fixes that are VERY VERY common.

 

[Diopena1]

It doesn't appear as if your shop mechanic installed the bearing cover. Also, are you sure you ruled out any other cause of that noise? Oftentimes it could be front QR, pedals, or even the seat post within the frame. Easy fixes that are VERY VERY common.

I concur, look at the exploded view:

Cannondale Hollowgram BB30 104mm Road Spindle - QC612 - CannondaleExperts.com

definitely missing dust sheilds!

 

[the mayor]

So your mechanic misdiagnosed your clicking...
Then sold you a bottom bracket and then installed it wrong.
I think you need a new mechanic.
I have the same bike with a few thousand miles on it. I did get a clicking that turned out to be a slightly loose headset and/or dry stem/steerer interface...
It is very easy with a hollow carbon frame...to misdiagnose where the clicking is coming from.
You might want to check your replaceable dropout also...

 

[veloci1]

I agree with all the comments about the possible source of your noise. Mine was the seatpost. i swore it was the BB, but, my LBS mechanic proved me otherwise. i could not believe it was coming from the seatpost. Some carbon paste and the correct torque and all my worries went away.

ask your mechanic to check for all the items you got feeback on here and see what happens.
If you find out the noise is coming from somewhere else than the BB, i would as k for my money back on the BB.

 

[NolesOrNothing]

Thank you all for the input.

I had the chance to ride along with my LBS owner this past Saturday for 60 miles. He witnessed the noise as it occurred about the first 8 miles or so and then was quiet the remainder of the ride. Post ride, he addressed the pedals with fresh grease and disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the cleats. A few laps in the parking lot and all quiet.

On this morning's ride, the noise returned again for the first 5 miles and disappeared the remaining 30. Still working in determining the source.

As for being reimbursed for the Hawk Racing bearings, they are a significant improvement over stock and not going down that road with the shop. They have provided me tons of quality service over the last two years.

 

[Diopena1]

You're still missing a dust cap, and without proper shielding from dust/dirt, your bearing's lifespan decreases exponentially.
An honorable bike shop will hear you out, as I know none of the mechanics would ride their bikes without this part. My 2 cents.

 

[NolesOrNothing]

First a shout out to Diopena1. Thank You!

This morning I got my LBS mechanic to check out the provided diagram and we did find out the assembly was not in that diagram's order. The wave washer was on the non drive side as opposed to the drive side. Some good news is the dust covers where there. They are the red rings showing in my photo, as provided by Hawk Racing.

He tore the assembly down and reconfigured to the order of the diagram and now everything is good visually.

However .... still freakin creaking when I tested in the parking lot. What we have now discovered this morning is that this EVO frame flexes like crazy at the down tube, seat tube, chain stay junction. When my mechanic that weighs about 210 steps on the drive side pedal and applies force, the whole frame section flexes pretty significantly.

In comparison I'm 185. The frame size is a 58.

So - is this flexing common with this frame? Any other 2013 EVO (non hi mod) owners experiencing similar opportunities? Can I assume as tube lengths get longer on larger frames, flex will be more apparent? Perhaps I have become stronger in the 4 months of riding this frame that the flex is become apparent?

I have again left the bike with my LBS for further evaluation. Any additional insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[the mayor]

If your mechanic is testing frame flex by stepping on 1 pedal...
He's not a mechanic
And he's an idiot.
ANY frame will flex if you do this...
If I were you...I'd be looking for another shop.
There are plenty of advice on what the creak could be above. I'm betting a stem or seatpost.
Good luck

 

[Diopena1]

Hey no problem!
I just upgraded from my Sram Red cranks to Hollowgrams, so I had the diagram save to bookmarks

A carbon Frame will flex a bit under certain loads, and if your Mechanic is laying 215 pounds on one single pedal, doesnt mean that's the cause for your creaking... As for Himod vs. non Himod flex, I highly doubt you'd notice flexing on any carbon frame... I mean, if you look it up on Youtube, you'll see machines used to stress test for fatigue, and you will see flexing there, but, unless your mechanic puts out over 1500 watts, I doubt it would flex enough to cause a creaking sound, and, if it did creak, I'd be looking for a replacement frame asap!
Ok, so the dust shield is on in that pic.... so, it looks like the wavy washer scratched off some of the anodizing (I'm a bit picky, and would have had that replaced). Come to think of it, I have put about 50 miles on mine so far (ok, two long rides since I got the bike back on tuesday), and, my shields look intact.
Check your stem, and fork, also your quick releases, check to see if there is some play there, as it could also be the culprit.
Also what wheels are you running?... I ask because my front Mavic Ksyrium elite keeps going off true a bit, and the loose spokes could make a creaking sound. <-Took it twice to LBS for a trueing, and in the end trued it myself, after truing, I just went through each spoke one by one adding a quarter turn to each one for good measure, and, Adios spoke noise. Oh, and don't get me started on quick release noise.... replaced mine, because one of the handles had a bit of play, and it chattered along for the whole ride... slightly annoying!!!

 

[NolesOrNothing]

Diopena1 - the dust covers are all good. Went over them myself during the tear down. What you are seeing is the clear spacers skewing the image. Wheels are custom hand builds from my LBS and have been amazing. They are going over all the suspects you have listed today.

the mayor - if your going to roll with that handle - with all respect, show some tact. My mechanic was not bearing weight on the pedal to test for frame flex, he was seeing if the BB would creek as if I was standing on them in ride. The noticed flex was a byproduct of this. The gentleman is considered a friend. No need for calling someone you do not know an idiot.

 

[the mayor]

So let's recap:
You brought your bike to a guy you consider a friend....who misdiagnosed it, sold you a b/b you didn't need and then assembled it wrong.
He then misdiagnosed it and slathered grease on your pedal spindles.
And now he can magically see frame flex. ( HINT: he can't)
And your bike still has a creak.
FACE PALM
Like I said....good luck.

 

[Dan Gerous]

I'd first install the BB/crank correctly (bearing sheilds on, spacers and washers on the correct side). Make sure to clean and then lube things properly, then tighten everything to specs (pedals, chainrings bolts, spider lockring, crankarms bolts, when not tight enough can often click).

Pedal threads often click if there's dirt so just dont put more grease, clean the threads well on the pedals but on the cranks too before re-greasing them and tightening them.

Then I'd clean the headset and re-adjust it (another common source of clicking if not setup well), then the seatpost (if it clicks when pedaling out of the saddle, it's probably not it. Check/clean/lube the seatpost/frame interface, seatpost clamp but also the head where it clamps the saddle)... Those are very easy and quick to clean and re-assemble. Cranks need specific tools though but your shop should have them.

Also, it may sound stupid but make sure your wheels are installed correctly and their quick release tight enough.

Then, less likely to be the issue but if the above doesn't work, derailleur hanger. Even more rare but sometimes, the cable housing ferrules can click/creak in the frame stops...

But I do agree that your mechanic, as nice a guy as he is, doesn't seem to be the best mechanic...

 

[NolesOrNothing]

Problem has been solved. After additional review of assembly, which was in diagrammed spec, and some applied tension to the crank, the origin was determined to be from the crank drive side. Pulled the crank, installed a substitute to confirm and it did. Further inspection of the lock ring that holds the interchangeable spider and chain rings to the crank arm showed it was a hair loose. Tightened it up, reassembled, problem solved. I'll also add that the seat post was pulled as well to remove it from the equation.

And for you "the mayor" I'll take you ***** like FACE PALM and raise you a healthy, large middle finger. Re-read my posts. No slathering of grease on the pedals. They're SpeedPlays with a grease port specifically for purging old grease and inserting new. A non issue as what was purged showed that it was a good thing to do. I'll gladly accept the Hawk BB as it is a worthy upgrade, as i stated above. And yes, I am now aware that carbon frames flex in this manor. Nothing "magically' seen, I saw it, along with others too. Before you say it, I guess we are all "idiots". Well sense i have another hand, here is the other healthy, large middle finger.

Thank you all again for the input.

 

[Diopena1]

Happy to hear you found the source of your woes.
Keep me posted on how those ceramic bearings last, since I may be looking to do that later on.

 

[repairtec]

I've got a 2012 Ultegra CAAD10 that's covered around 2000 km that was creaking loudly all the time, I checked everything listed in earlier postings including chainwheel bolts, rings, crank and pedal fittings, saddle and seat post but to no avail, in desperation I poured about 20ml of WD40 down the seat tube and left it overnight. Next day I rode the bike for about 5km up the local mountain and it creaked much less then I didn't go out for several days and when I did it had stopped. It's now been about 1 month and its not creaked at all. I weigh 80kg and push big gears on the climbs...so far so good. My theory is that the WD40 which is slightly lubricated has penetrated in between the bottom bracket shells and the tubing of the bottom bracket. Hope this helps as I can't see how a bike with such low mileage could have the BB30 bearings all ready knackered

 

[Diopena1]

WD40 could adversely affect your bearing's lubrication after a while.... I'd suggest eventually taking the bottom bracket apart, cleaning all old lube, grease, oils, re-lubing everything, doing a visual check of all seals, and spacers, and torquing it to spec.

I only say this, because I did what you did exactly once to my old MTB, and messed up a bearing, because the WD40 made whatever grease was left in the bearing come out, and a few of the bearing balls had hot spot marks..... talk about a pain in the A$$!

 

[Wicked2006]

WD40 could adversely affect your bearing's lubrication after a while.... I'd suggest eventually taking the bottom bracket apart, cleaning all old lube, grease, oils, re-lubing everything, doing a visual check of all seals, and spacers, and torquing it to spec.

I only say this, because I did what you did exactly once to my old MTB, and messed up a bearing, because the WD40 made whatever grease was left in the bearing come out, and a few of the bearing balls had hot spot marks..... talk about a pain in the A$$!

Thanks for the thread on this. I'm not having any troubles as of now but this will be my future reference. And here's a my middle finger for the Mayor who doesn't know jack. That dude is the idiot!

 

[NolesOrNothing]

As an update on my Hawk Racing BB30 bearings, these things are amazing! Over 10,000 miles in Central Florida which gets a fair share of rain and still going strong. Cranks get pulled every 1,500 or so miles for cleaning and retorqued for maintenance. Recommend the upgrade.

 

[kps88]

what happened to the mayor?