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Figured out why my bottom bracket was creaking after 2 years of noise
Turns out it was just a tiny bit of grit caught between the frame and the bearing cup on my commuter bike that I built up last March. Took it apart at my shop in Portland last night and a quick clean with a rag and some fresh grease fixed everything. Has anyone else had a creak that drove them crazy for months only to find a super simple fix?
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richardharris5mo ago
Did you actually check yours under load before you posted, or are you just guessing based on your buddy's story?
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paul3305mo ago
Hang on, I gotta disagree with you there. A simple clean and grease fixed it this time, but that's not always the story. Most of the time when something's been creaking for two years, you've worn a little groove or dent into the frame or the cup itself. Once the metal starts to move a bit from that grit, it can get a tiny burr or edge that won't just wipe away. A thorough clean might quiet it down for a week or two, but you'll probably be chasing that same noise all over again before long, unless you really take your time to inspect everything close.
Actually, I had a friend with an old road bike that did the exact same thing. He cleaned and greased it three times over six months, and it kept coming back. Finally, he took it to a real shop and they found the bearing cup had a hairline crack that only showed up under a little pressure. So sometimes a "simple fix" is just hiding the real problem for a while. You might have gotten lucky, but I wouldn't bet on it holding up past a few more thousand miles.
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