[mikevw]

Although I've read some similar posts on creaks, I'm nearly at my wit's end. I have a stock 2009 Masi Fixie Speciale that has developed an creak. It sounds like it's coming from the seat post, but I realize that it could originate from anywhere and resonate throughout the frame. It only creaks when I'm in the saddle. I've tried the following in the order listed:
Greased and tightened pedals. Greased the saddle rails and clamp. Greased the seatpost and seatpost collar. Repositioned the seatpost collar relative to the sawcut in the seat tube. Removed bottom bracket and greased the threads before re-installing. Greased bolt threads and tightened crank arms. Verified that the wheel bearings were tightened without any play. I also swapped the seatpost & saddle from my Trek 1000 - it seemed just a little better, but not by much. Finally, I bought a Thomson seatpost collar and installed it using the recommended 25 in lbs torque - again, it seems better, but still creaks.

The next thing that I was thinking of trying was to buy a Thomson or good quality seatpost. Does anyone have any other ideas? I love the bike, but it sure takes away some of the enjoyment when riding. Thanks much!

 

[SilverStar]

What about chainring bolts...did you check those?

 

[David Kirk]

You say it sounds like the noise comes from the post. Does it make the noise when you stand? Or better yet - under what conditions does it make noise?

Dave

 

[Mike Prince]

Try a drop or two of oil where the seat rails go into the shell. I had a similar creak many years ago and this was the fix after many attempts to fix stuff that was not causing the creak.

 

[andym]

I had a creak on a bike that I traced to being a cracked weld on a bottle cage. It also was barely touching the front derailleur. I remounted it using thing rubber washers and the creak went away. I discovered this after I had stripped the frame and was checking for cracks.

 

[Slim Again Soon]

What M-P said is where I would look ... all the creaks on my bikes have been from the seat.

Creaks ... they sound like they are coming from anywhere and everywhere. Good luck tracking it down.

 

[onlineflyer]

Is it constant or intermittent? When you hit a bump, accelerating, etc. Tell us more.

 

[dombey19]

I did have a Regal saddle that got wet--soaked--on Ragbrai. The creak was "inside" it somehow and no amount of lubrication ever got it to stop. I finally replaced it and my bike was instantly quiet.

 

[heffergm]

Both my bikes were creaking when new...

Here's everything I greased:

- bars where they attach to stem
- entire headset
- quick release skewers and the dropouts
- spokes where they crossed (with wax lube). Not necessary if your spokes don't touch one another obviously

One or more things in there did the trick in my case.

 

[dolomoto]

I had a similar problem. The creak was incorrectly torqued handlebar mounting bolts (one was loose) which caused it to creak intermittently as I pulled/pushed on the bars.

Good luck!

 

[mikevw]

Thanks for all of the suggestions...much appreciated! In reply...

*Yes, I did check the chainring bolts, but didn't apply any grease?
*It doesn't creak at all when I'm out of the saddle. When I'm in the saddle it seems to coincide with the weight of my body in the saddle. It does creak more when I'm accelarating and if I slowly take my weight off the saddle it goes away.
*I'm pretty sure that I've eliminated the saddle or rails since I swapped the seatpost and saddle from my Trek roadbike. I got the same creak in the Masi with the Trek seatpost & saddle and when I put the Masi seatpost and saddle in the Trek, it doesn't creak.
*It's not coming from my handlebars since it creaks when I take my hands off.
*I guess that I could try greasing some more contact points like heffergm suggested.

Thanks again all - I'll keep you posted. Let me know if someone has any more suggestions.

 

[mikevw]

Just an update here...I've tried everything that I could think of, plus suggestions from others and nothing seems to make the creak better or worse. However, as a last resort before buying a different seatpost, I cut some .003" brass shim stock about 3/4" wide and wrapped it around the inside the top of the seat tube. This eliminated about 90% of the creaks, which I'm able to live with. FYI I did check the size of the 27.2mm seatpost and it was right on the money, so it must something with the seat tube being slightly oversized?

-Mike

 

[martinrjensen]

How long is your seat post? Leonard Zinn wrote an article that I just read a few days ago about excess seat tubes causing a creak. You need to have certain minimum length in the frame but any extra can cause a creak. Check this and if you have a lot of extra seat post, cut it off so the you have just what you need. If you are not comfortable doing this, it shouldn't cost too much at a bike shop.

Just an update here...I've tried everything that I could think of, plus suggestions from others and nothing seems to make the creak better or worse. However, as a last resort before buying a different seatpost, I cut some .003" brass shim stock about 3/4" wide and wrapped it around the inside the top of the seat tube. This eliminated about 90% of the creaks, which I'm able to live with. FYI I did check the size of the 27.2mm seatpost and it was right on the money, so it must something with the seat tube being slightly oversized?

-Mike

 

[Cygnus]

sounds like you're getting there with the seatpost. one of my bikes has a fairly long seatpost and i have to keep it lubed. i need to trim it down some.

i just fixed one of my creaks which was my pedal needing some lube. not sure why it creaked more when seated v standing, but it did.

another creak took me over a year to find. my bars have an alum sleeve where the stem bolts on. the creak was from the sleeve and the bars coming a little loose. replaced the bars.

nothing like a ride on a quiet bike.

 

[Grinder63]

my 2009 Giant Defy Advanced had the same problem. Fixed it by removing the pedals, applied 2 layers of pipe thread tape to each pedal and reinstalled them. No more creaking. Try this if you haven't yet, it's inexpensive and quick.

 

[Grinder63]

well, scratch the pipe thread tape idea. It worked for about 75 miles then slowly started creaking again. It seems the pedals move slightly inside the crank so they rub a hole in the tape causing the creaking again. I'll try grease this time and report back after 100 miles or so. Sure liked the quiet!

 

[Grinder63]

Grease did the trick. My rides have been quiet for the past 200 miles.

 

[mikevw]

Finally fixed it...hooray!

Well, I finally got to the bottom of my problem. Thanks to Martin (martinrjensen) and his suggestion of cutting off the excess length of the seat post. I only had to cut about 2" from the end (there's 8-7/8" remaining) and the creak vanished. I have just under 100 miles and it's all good. Thanks again everyone!
-Mike