BB30 creak

G1032

Folks
I have a CAAD12. Got just over 10000km out of original BB bearings.
Replaced them very recently. Only a few weeks ago.
But now again there is a very loud creak when out of the saddle.
I've ruled out headset (serviced it and creak still there), wheels, pedals..
The thing is that there is absolutely no play in the BB. Can there still be a creak from BB if I notice no play in it?
Do the bearings need to be taken out or is it enough to clean the shell? Will cleaning the shell actually have any effect at all?
Bearings are brand new so don't want to have to take them out and potentially damage them and have to bin them.
(Got it done in lbs last time but bought the crank remover and will have a go myself this time. Was too much money in lbs for 20 minutes work and 20 euro bearings).
Thanks!

hesker

The fact you got 10000km out of the first set, presumably with no creaks, would suggest that the housing for the bearings are not an issue.

Was just looking at Hambini YouTube and website last night. On his website he goes into some detail on the bearings and claims that 90% of them sold on amazon and other stores are counterfeit. Very very difficult to tell a fake.

Maybe you got a fake set.

When fitting bearings I gather a sealant must be fitted to plug gaps between frame and bearings. Did lbs fit this current set

G1032

hesker wrote: »

The fact you got 10000km out of the first set, presumably with no creaks, would suggest that the housing for the bearings are not an issue.

Was just looking at Hambini YouTube and website last night. On his website he goes into some detail on the bearings and claims that 90% of them sold on amazon and other stores are counterfeit. Very very difficult to tell a fake.

Maybe you got a fake set.

When fitting bearings I gather a sealant must be fitted to plug gaps between frame and bearings. Did lbs fit this current set

Agreed re the housing/BB shell not being an issue. Never as much as a squeak out of it in first 10000km

I saw the bearings put in in the lbs. Rotor bearings. No sealant fit. 100% sure about that

hesker

I don’t have BB30 so can’t really provide any direct experience, only relay what the guy above has been espousing.

I suppose you need to be sure the creak is coming from the BB and that can be near impossible to tell.

If you take the chain off and spin the cranks do you feel any roughness.

Is there any play in either crank. Did the lbs torque them on properly.


This video is a good overview of BB30.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gxTmL5m9PU

From about 11:45 he talks about the retaining compound (what I referred to as sealant above) and applying it to a carbon frame.

He also talks about the bearing tolerances. Creaks can result from bearings that are either too small or too big. Slightly too small can be fixed with the retaining compound. Too big will lead to creaks and premature wear.

This might not be your issue at all but you need to start eliminating things. Did you do any other work on the bike at all. Did you remove the wheels lately. I found out that if I overtighten the rear quick release I get a creak that sounds absolutely like it's coming from BB.

G1032

Thanks for the tips.

Ya, I guess you're right. Gotta be 100% sure. Headset is all that's ever really been troublesome on the bike so I guess I can double check everything I've just done on that and make sure it's 100% free from grit. Easier do that again than go at the BB.

Tried different wheels and skewers alright and still there. I'll re-service the headset again and I'll use different grease. Got this Morgan blue Aquaproof stuff that I'll use and I'll see how that goes.

Plastik

Yes you can absolutely have a creaky BB30 without there being any play on the cranks. Seeing as you have the tools I would just bite the bullet knock those bearings back out and go again - this time with quality bearings - enduro, fag, skf. Do rotor even make bearings? It's probably just rebranded rubbish. Cleaning the shell with those bearings in situ won't make a difference. Press new bearings in using the retaining compound & activator. Can buy them online - or if anywhere s.dublin based I have some that you can use.

Before that though dig up the BB30 schematic and make sure everything is together in the order the it should be. I had PF30 issues before on a supersix and it turned out the spacers weren't in the right place/order after someone had looked at it for me.

I converted a caad10 to bsa by pressing in an threaded sleeve into the shell and with the loctite on it has never given even the slightest creak. Harder to do on the caad12 with the internal routing. It's been so long since I used the loctite I can't even remember what the # is, 641 maybe. That and good bearings are the key because if you got 10k hassle free on the original set it's highly unlikely you've got a misaligned shell.

G1032

Plastik wrote: »

Yes you can absolutely have a creaky BB30 without there being any play on the cranks. Seeing as you have the tools I would just bite the bullet knock those bearings back out and go again - this time with quality bearings - enduro, fag, skf. Do rotor even make bearings? It's probably just rebranded rubbish. Cleaning the shell with those bearings in situ won't make a difference. Press new bearings in using the retaining compound & activator. Can buy them online - or if anywhere s.dublin based I have some that you can use.

Before that though dig up the BB30 schematic and make sure everything is together in the order the it should be. I had PF30 issues before on a supersix and it turned out the spacers weren't in the right place/order after someone had looked at it for me.

I converted a caad10 to bsa by pressing in an threaded sleeve into the shell and with the loctite on it has never given even the slightest creak. Harder to do on the caad12 with the internal routing. It's been so long since I used the loctite I can't even remember what the # is, 641 maybe. That and good bearings are the key because if you got 10k hassle free on the original set it's highly unlikely you've got a misaligned shell.

Thanks a million!
I actually did that re the schematic a couple of weeks ago because when the BB was reassembled in the shop be didn't put back in the original washers etc. I got them back off him and reassembled properly myself.
Was definitely rotor bearings he used. Actually still have the bearings guard he put on the outside of the shell and it's a rotor alright.
Don't live in Dublin. I'm down the West, but thanks for the offer for the retaining compound. Much appreciated.

koutoubia

+1 on what plastik says.
Your shell alingment doesnt seem to be a issue.
In a BB30 the bearings have to be an exact fit to the shell otherwise its creaky mc creakerson.
If you had no creaks before and after you swapped the bearings you have a creak then it points to the bearings.
If the bearings have the code 61806 I have a set of skf here you can have to see if its the problem..

G1032

koutoubia wrote: »

+1 on what plastik says.
Your shell alingment doesnt seem to be a issue.
In a BB30 the bearings have to be an exact fit to the shell otherwise its creaky mc creakerson.
If you had no creaks before and after you swapped the bearings you have a creak then it points to the bearings.
If the bearings have the code 61806 I have a set of skf here you can have to see if its the problem..

Thanks! I'll have a look at this next week. Haven't the time or the will to go at it at the minute 🙈

sin_26

I would also take a look on the chainring bolts and... cleats bolts as well. Habdlebars and stem also shifters. Another suspect might be loose spoke. All this caused creaks where BB has been suspect for me.

Edit
Saddle is on the radar here as well