Pedals? BB?
Santa cruz solo creaking while climbing
I've been riding the Solo for 8 months minus the winter months. Recently I noticed an annoying creak while I was climbing. It would creak on every pedal stroke. At first I thought it might have been the seat. I checked and tightened the seat. Still creaking. Greased my lower pivots. Still creaking. I had similar issues in my Blur classic and Blur LTC. I was hoping they had this issue taken care of. Do I need to have my pivots replaced like the previous bikes or is there any adjustments/maintenance that can be done?
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Grease up your cassette body
If your pivots are loose and need adjusting, just greasing them won't be enough.
Have your pivots and bearings ever been adjusted properly since you got the bike?
Tech Tuesday: Adjust the Pivot Bearings on Any Santa Cruz VPP Suspension - Pinkbike
Have your pivots and bearings ever been adjusted properly since you got the bike?
Tech Tuesday: Adjust the Pivot Bearings on Any Santa Cruz VPP Suspension - Pinkbike
Check for play in the frame, check pivots as above.
8 Months without a shock bushing change? 99% sure it is the above!!! No way do the pivot bearings wear out in 8 months. And loose pivot axles just cause frame play, not creaking (as long as the corresponding bearing is still loctited in that is). And I never grease cassette bodies as that just attracts dirt (and I've never had a creak). Trust me, the teflon is worn off your DU bushings on the rear eyelet side of the rear shock. Amazing you got it to last that long!
Have FUN!
G MAN
Check:
Seat - where rails connect to seat and were rails connect to post.
Seat post - pull out, clean, regrease, and clean down inside seat tube. Including seat collar.
BB - remove, clean it and shell, regrease.
Crank arms - same.
Chainring bolts - tight.
Pedals - check torque on crank arms. Pedal bearings.
Shock mount - DU bushings
Links as mentioned
Headset - remove, clean, regrease, adjust, ect
Stem - clean, tight, etc.
At some point I've had creaking issues from the above areas and resolved it when I cleaned and reinstalled with proper lube and/or torque. Sometimes a creak resonates though from an unlikely source. What frustrates me is finding the specific part causing the creak but can't find a way to silence it - like weird clicking in Freehub bodies.
Seat - where rails connect to seat and were rails connect to post.
Seat post - pull out, clean, regrease, and clean down inside seat tube. Including seat collar.
BB - remove, clean it and shell, regrease.
Crank arms - same.
Chainring bolts - tight.
Pedals - check torque on crank arms. Pedal bearings.
Shock mount - DU bushings
Links as mentioned
Headset - remove, clean, regrease, adjust, ect
Stem - clean, tight, etc.
At some point I've had creaking issues from the above areas and resolved it when I cleaned and reinstalled with proper lube and/or torque. Sometimes a creak resonates though from an unlikely source. What frustrates me is finding the specific part causing the creak but can't find a way to silence it - like weird clicking in Freehub bodies.
What drivetrain? Xx1 or x01 grease your hub body and tighten the cassette.
G MAN - How do you decide which inner ring to use? I have a TRc and each of the rings seems to be basically the same, so I just went with the "+" one.8 Months without a shock bushing change? 99% sure it is the above!!! No way do the pivot bearings wear out in 8 months. And loose pivot axles just cause frame play, not creaking (as long as the corresponding bearing is still loctited in that is). And I never grease cassette bodies as that just attracts dirt (and I've never had a creak). Trust me, the teflon is worn off your DU bushings on the rear eyelet side of the rear shock. Amazing you got it to last that long!
Have FUN!
G MAN
Also, if I push down on the suspension, I get a creak after pulling the rear triangle and the front triangle away from one another (even without the chain on). Any idea how to resolve this?
Thanks.
Ok. Thanks everybody for the input. I ordered the needle bearing kit. Hopefully this will get the creak out. There seems to be a lot of play now, so I hope it will fix it. I really appreciate the replies.
Hi all - I just picked up my SOLOc X01 last night after a 6-week wait and had a blast on the first ride!
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I noticed the same kind of noise while climbing this morning. Although I would describe it more as "clicking" vs. creaking. Could be the same noise as you guys, but I almost wondered if the rear triangle was flexing and the chain was getting slightly out of alignment with the cassette? This is my first full suspension bike and first carbon bike, so not sure if this is normal or if perhaps the LBS didn't tighten up the pivots enough?
What do you think?
Thx!
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I noticed the same kind of noise while climbing this morning. Although I would describe it more as "clicking" vs. creaking. Could be the same noise as you guys, but I almost wondered if the rear triangle was flexing and the chain was getting slightly out of alignment with the cassette? This is my first full suspension bike and first carbon bike, so not sure if this is normal or if perhaps the LBS didn't tighten up the pivots enough?
What do you think?
Thx!
The clicking might be the type 2 derailleur. Check out the SRAM forum, including this link: http://forums.mtbr.com/sram/xx1-knocking-clunking-836175.htmlHi all - I just picked up my SOLOc X01 last night after a 6-week wait and had a blast on the first ride!
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I noticed the same kind of noise while climbing this morning. Although I would describe it more as "clicking" vs. creaking. Could be the same noise as you guys, but I almost wondered if the rear triangle was flexing and the chain was getting slightly out of alignment with the cassette? This is my first full suspension bike and first carbon bike, so not sure if this is normal or if perhaps the LBS didn't tighten up the pivots enough?
What do you think?
Thx!
I use the biggest inner ring that fits without forcing it on (even if tight it will rotate a lot easier than any DU bushing).G MAN - How do you decide which inner ring to use? I have a TRc and each of the rings seems to be basically the same, so I just went with the "+" one.
Also, if I push down on the suspension, I get a creak after pulling the rear triangle and the front triangle away from one another (even without the chain on). Any idea how to resolve this?
Thanks.
As for the creak - is that with the shock off? If so, adjust your pivot axles:
Tech Tuesday: Adjust the Pivot Bearings on Any Santa Cruz VPP Suspension - Pinkbike
If not then I think you'll find the needle bearings to do the trick!
Have FUN!
G MAN
DO NOT Torque to 100 in/lbs!!! I have snapped more than one of the outer bolts when torquing to spec. I traded emails with SC and this was their recommendation: "our torque specs are a bit on the high side and have heard of bolts snapping when going to spec. I think 85 in/lbs is much better, and works fine."I use the biggest inner ring that fits without forcing it on (even if tight it will rotate a lot easier than any DU bushing).
As for the creak - is that with the shock off? If so, adjust your pivot axles:
Tech Tuesday: Adjust the Pivot Bearings on Any Santa Cruz VPP Suspension - Pinkbike
If not then I think you'll find the needle bearings to do the trick!
Have FUN!
G MAN
Thanks! Regarding the creaking, it turned out that it was the upper axle, the one that connects to the shock. I cleaned and greased it per SC's website and it's quiet now: VPP upper axle maintenance | Santa Cruz Bicycles.I use the biggest inner ring that fits without forcing it on (even if tight it will rotate a lot easier than any DU bushing).
As for the creak - is that with the shock off? If so, adjust your pivot axles:
Tech Tuesday: Adjust the Pivot Bearings on Any Santa Cruz VPP Suspension - Pinkbike
If not then I think you'll find the needle bearings to do the trick!
Have FUN!
G MAN
I had my 5010 a couple of months and it started creaking. Thought it may have been the X01 cassette that had been mentioned in other threads. But the other day I decided to check the pivots. Clean, re-grease, lock tight and torque. Fixed the problem right away.
I finally found the source of my creaking / clicking. It's a bit embarrassing, but in the spirit of helping out... My bash guard (1x11) had a really tight tolerance against the chain. When out of the saddle on a steep climb the bottom bracket must have flexed ever so slightly so that the chain touched the bash guard and clicked as it passed by. I adjusted the guard and haven't heard it since.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Will have to take all of these into account. My Solo has been creaking like a MoFo too.
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