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09 Trance X1 uuurrrrrrgggghhhhhhhh

3746 Views 43 Replies 22 Participants Last post by  evilWagon
I love my Trance, however I have a creak/squeak that I can't get rid of! Sounds like a cheap motel bed. I rode yesterday and tried to blast my i-pod so I could not hear this noise. It's actually very embarrassing to ride by people with this noise coming from my bike. I have tried to tighten everything, crank bolts, linkage, cleaned seat clamps/post/clamp, regreased, etc.. linkage seems good and tight. Changed pedals, checked head-set I have over 1500 miles on her so maybe time for a complete overhull? Any ideas? I could only imagine riding a quite bike. :madman: :madman: :madman: Help anyone, pointers, tips, tricks. Maybe sell it and get a new bike thats quite, any suggestions. Maybe I got a lemon?
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Try changing the bottom bracket maybe? That solved the problem with my Yukon when i had it. And i understand your pain about the humiliation :madman:
hmmm does it make the sound no matter how you ride the bike? standing? uphill steep? flat? rolling/no pedaling?

sometimes cables/cable rub makes sounds too.
Biohazard74 said:
Try changing the bottom bracket maybe? That solved the problem with my Yukon when i had it. And i understand your pain about the humiliation :madman:
Bottom bracket would be my suggestion too. I hate a noisy bike.
NoBalance said:
hmmm does it make the sound no matter how you ride the bike? standing? uphill steep? flat? rolling/no pedaling?

sometimes cables/cable rub makes sounds too.
Sound is when pedaling, standing pedaling, sitting pedaling, pedaling on dirt, on the road. I think it's something other than linkage. I'll check cables but I don't think it's cables. I had the LBS pull apart the BB but they said it was fine, although that was last year. Has anyone else had problems with this BB Giant puts on these bikes?
My TranceX2 developed a really annoying creak after about 500 miles and by process of elimination I discovered it was the BB. I removed the crank, removed & regreased the BB, put them back on the bike, tightened to spec and that was the end of the creak...
Also check the chainring bolts. Mine was making a little noise also, checked and serviced the BB and still heard the noise out on the trail. Two of the chainring bolts were kind of loose. After tightening them up the noise went away...
my pedals seem to make an annoying creak like that, but I wonder if it's actually the bb.

I've never tried to get rid of it. just tune it out.
My 09 Reign had a bad creak, and that was fixed when I switched out the bottom bracket.
Hi

i have a trance 1 which also developed a creak that no one could diagnose. In my desperation i cleaned and lightly greased the area where the rear derailleur dropout mounts onto the frame. Next time i rode the noise had gone! Just make sure you do the bolt up tight when reassembling.

hope this helps
Loose spokes can creak. Have you checked them?
Tip: It's no good just tightening bolts to stop a creak. Take them out, clean them up (and the holes they go into), dab some grease on the threads and under the head*, put them back in and tighten to the correct torque. So often I've seen bikes with squeaks that have been cured by cleaning bolts. Same goes for BB threads, stem clamp areas, seatposts and clamps, mech hangers, basically anywhere there's metal-on-metal contact.

And if you have Hollowtech 2-type cranks, clean the areas between the arms and the bearings, dirt can get in hear and grind away forever.

*Some manufacturers like Thomson say not to grease under the head as you can over-torque the bolt, so check first or reduced torque wrench settings.
Update! First I want to thank everyone who responed to my post, all great ideas which LBS and I have done now. I finally broke down and took it to the guru at the LBS. They said no problem we will find the creak and fix. So today I got a call from my good friend who works at the best LBS here, he said the techs are scratching there heads. They have tried different wheel sets, seats, seat posts, BB, etc.... still have not found the source of this creak, my friend said the tech is now taking everything off the bike, cleaning, greasing, and maybe thinks the frame could have a fracture somewhere, hope not, but if it does I think Giant will gaurentee, I hope. I'll keep you all updated.
Dropout...

Mine had a creek as you describe. It turned out to be the dropout. It had come loose and gotten some grime between it and the frame. I simple clean, a little grease and reinstall and the noise has been gone for 500 miles.

I recently had a new creek that showed its location pretty quickly. It appeared that my raceface seat post had a crack in one of the clamping ears. I say it showed pretty quickly because it broke after 2 weeks of creaking. A new post and that noise is now gone.

Good luck on finding the source.

Ben
Ok Update from the LBS, they took my whole bike apart, every part. Took a brand new Trance out of the box and put all it's parts on my bike, still creaking and squeeking:confused: So then the LBS took all bearings out of pivots and found that three were completly locked up! :eek: So now i'm in a holding pattern waiting for Giant to send new bearings. Hopefully this was the problem:D
Upgrade to Enduro Bearings while they are already out.
the_gooch said:
Upgrade to Enduro Bearings while they are already out.
Check this page.

Giant kits supply every nut, bolt, and washer needed, so this will probably fix it. Enduro's are more durable though. Good luck, and make sure they check the shock rocker as I've heard of noise coming from between the two halves... ;)
Ok update, LBS installed all new bearings and put bike together, STILL creaking and squeeking!!!!! They were on the phone with Giant last I heard. It's possible LBS thinks there could be a micro fracture in the frame thats causing this horrible noise. They have never come across something like this before they told me. So I guess i'll continue to wait. :madman: :madman: It has been over 3 weeks! Starting to get restless, hope Giant or LBS can figure this out together and make this right! I'm ok if they want to give me a new frame:D
G
Take your crank arms off; put a light coating of grease on the spindles and put the crank arms back on. Put a drop of oil on the crank arm bolts before you put them back in.
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