Loud Frame!!!

By Bob Jones on 8/18/2007

I have a Cannondale Phophe that is at the moment very unpleasant to ride. There is a creaking coming from the pivot point through the chanistays.
When I apply pressure to the driveline then I get a cracking/creaking sound. I can do bunny hops and ride 6 foot drops all day long without any unusual noise but as soon as I start mashin on the pedals then the frame starts creaking.
I though it was the crank. When I took the crank and BB out I pushed on the side of the frame and got the creaking noise. So my next step was to replace the pivot bolt, bearings and bushings and still no fix.
My theory is when I put tension on the chain it torques the swingarm enough to give it a little twist thus causing my creaking however I HAVE NO FREAKIN CLUE HOW TO STOP IT!!!!
Has anyone had this problem or does anyone know how to fix this??
My nearest Cannondale shop is 45 miles away and inconveniently their hours of operation are the same as my work hours.
Any info or suggestions on how to fix this problem would be greatly appreciated.

email | report

Forum: Equipment Corner

5 comments

walker says:

That is a weird one... I read these reviews and one of them mentions creaking, but nothing about fixing it really: http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Allmtn_Full_Suspension/product_124793.shtml.

Walker T

Off the road, on the mind...

by walker on August 18, 2007 - 1:44pm reply Email this comment report misconduct

Anonymous says:

Your bike may have had love, but it needs discipline! Creaking is coming from metal on metal (I know, you're about to say "Duh!") Here's an order of things to try for "creaky" mountain bikes:

In this order:

1) Grease your seat tube
(This is a common fix. Everyone overlooks it. Since you mention it creaks when mashing your pedals - assuming you're sitting - this may take care of it.)

Still creaking?
2) Take to your local bike shop and pay for their expertise to fix it. Then you can stop whining about it and just enjoy riding.

by Anonymous (not verified) on August 19, 2007 - 3:42am reply Email this comment report misconduct

Bob Jones says:

anonymous thats a good tip but it does it when i'm out of the saddle too. i did managed to get the boss to let me take some vacation this week soooo off to the shop i go. i will be sure to post diagnosis that the doc gives and hopefully the remedy as well.

by Bob Jones on August 20, 2007 - 5:13pm reply Email this comment report misconduct

Bob Jones says:

Hey Walker thought you and maybe someone else would like to know. the cause of the creaking frame is what i thought and that guy in the review was right too. As it turns out the separate pieces of aluminum are welded on the outside only (makes sence). When the swingarm is under that varying degree of pressure it causes the aluminum to flex. the creaking or cracking sound is actually the chainstays and the the pivot piece kinda grinding on each other on the inside where butted up together when under the above said pressure.
SOLUTION!!!!
the boys at RADIO ACTIV in Pegnitz Germany injected a special lube into the hollow chainstays and advised me to leave the bike hang with the front down for about 24 to 48 hours. although the noise was immediatly gone i still followed the advice and am soo much happier than i was last weekend when i was getting the lovely cracking with every pedal stroke.
I was informed it is a common problem with prophets and rushes so if anyone has the same problem go to your cannondale dealer and if the staff is as good as the one i dealt with you'll be a much happier person after a quick 30 min treatment.

by Bob Jones on August 24, 2007 - 12:28pm reply Email this comment report misconduct

FoxRacer2 says:

take it to the shop bro. haha. Thats wierd..maybe its the bottom bracket..i dunno!

by FoxRacer2 on September 6, 2007 - 1:51am reply Email this comment report misconduct

Post new comment

Your name: *

E-mail: *

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Homepage:

Comment: *

Input format

Filtered HTML

Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

Full HTML

Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <embed> <object> <param> <h1> <h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> <h6> <p> <br /> <br>

More information about formatting options

Captcha

This question is used to make sure you are a human visitor and to prevent spam submissions.

What code is in the image?: *

Copy the characters (respecting upper/lower case) from the image.