OK, on the workstand, but you get the idea. The reason – a creaking noise that is driving me nuts.
Tracking these noises down is really frustrating. Bicycle frames are very good conductors of vibrations, so what you think is the source may not be the source. The creak I was trying to track down seemed to come from the bottom bracket. There is one internet source that claims Campagnolo doesn’t know how to build a bottom bracket and he’s come up with a fix for Campy’s Ultra-Torque bottom bracket creaks. If you do some additional research, you’ll find that most knowledgeable folks just ignore him and install it without any issues at all. I was pretty certain that I’d followed the directions but I disassembled it and reinstalled it just to be sure. No change, creaking like before.
OK, a little more diagnosis is needed. Does it creak when seated or when pedaling out of the saddle – both. The seat/saddle aren’t the cause. Does it creak when you are putting more weight on the left or right side of the handlebar? Yes, either way. That exonerates the handlebar, stem, and headset. Does it creak when cruising, sprinting, or coasting? A little, definitely, and a little. The last little was the big clue. If I’m not pedaling, the only moving parts are the hubs and wheels.
A little more digging found that sometimes you will get a creak because of the NDS spokes rubbing where they cross, presuming that the NDS side of the rear wheel is not laced in a radial pattern (some are). This is due to the loading and unloading of the spokes as the wheel rotates under you. I put a drop of Breakfree CLP where the NDS spokes cross and VOILA! creak cured. Not being a wheel builder (and if the truth be told, only a marginal wheel straightener), I didn’t know the huge difference in spoke tension between the drive side and the non-drive side. Maybe there is something to using a radial lacing pattern on the NDS.
Truth, or fiction?
