That one week where every bike had the same weird creak

Last week at the shop, we had five bikes in a row with a bottom bracket creak that sounded like a rusty hinge. The first two took forever to find, but by the third, I figured out the pattern. They were all older aluminum frames with press-fit BBs, and the noise was coming from the frame interfaces, not the bearings. A thin layer of green Loctite 609 on the bearing cups fixed every single one after that. It was one of those rare times where the problem was exactly the same each time, which made the fix feel like a real win. Has anyone else had a run of identical, weird noises that turned out to have a simple common fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lisa1mo ago

Green Loctite 609 is the magic fix for that. We see it all the time on older carbon frames with press fit too, that same exact creak. It's always the interface between the bearing cup and the frame shell, never the bearing itself. A quick clean and that retaining compound makes it dead quiet. Saves so much time once you know the trick.

linda1141mo ago

Wait, it's never the bearing itself? That's wild, @the_lisa, you just saved me so much future headache lol.

lilya761mo ago

Remember when I thought it was always the bearing?