Just realized I spent 45 minutes chasing a creak that was just a loose bottle cage bolt

The sound seemed to come from the bottom bracket area, so I pulled the crankset before checking the simple stuff. Has anyone else been fooled by a noise traveling like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

foster.mary1mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that exact thing happened to me last month. I was sure my headset was shot, spent a whole evening on it. Turned out to be a reflector bracket on the seat stay, of all things. The way sound travels through metal frames is just wild, isn't it? Now I start by checking every single bolt I can find with a hex key before I touch the big parts.

gonzalez.grant1mo ago

My old steel road bike had a loose rack bolt that sounded just like bottom bracket creak.

jennyh559d ago

Last summer my gravel bike had this weird click on every pedal stroke. I spent a week convinced the bottom bracket was gone, just like @gonzalez.grant said. Finally found it was the rear axle quick release needed just a half turn more. Now I go over every bolt with a torque wrench before I panic.