Creak5.original2
Cy Whitling Comic

Creaking Joints

After a long winter of soggy shredding there's nothing more frustrating than a wayward creak.

Good luck troubleshooting all your mysterious noises!

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andy-eunson
+7 taprider 4Runner1 Cam McRae Karl Fitzpatrick Mike Ferrentino capnron Grant Blankenship

Many years ago I entered a cyclocross race when I wasn’t really fit enough. First lap I can hear some knucklehead has forgotten to lube his chain. Eek eek eek eek. Next lap in a thinned out pack I hear it again. Eek eek eeek. Third lap I’m alone and yeh, it’s me. But it’s a squeak from my lungs. I shit you not, my lungs.

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gubbinalia
+6 Cr4w mrbrett Andrew Major Mammal Tremeer023 Blofeld

This is amazing, as always. If NSMB ran a weekly Whitling feature I'd be thrilled.

Also, can we get a Whitling / Major collab on "Buy the Bike You've Already Drawn: A Spring Service Story" ?!

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AndrewMajor
+6 gubbinalia Cy Whitling Lu Kz DanL vantanclub imnotdanny

Hahaha, I have no idea what that would look like, but I love it. 

Cy’s stuff is my favourite mountain bike media… but you know this is the bike industry so he better keep innovating, someone is out there right now investing their R&D (ripoff & duplicate) budget into “Paint Sprightly, Ride Moderately.”

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jt
+5 Andrew Major Cam McRae Karl Fitzpatrick Andy Eunson Pete Roggeman

Attacked.

However, the echo of a room full of knees cracking in a yoga class told me I am far and away not alone. Misery loves company in a misery symphony.

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AndrewMajor
+2 Andy Eunson Velocipedestrian

You’re not a middle-aged mountain biker if you haven’t compared your knee clicking to another rider’s?

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andy-eunson
+1 imnotdanny

You ever felt my left knee? As smooth as five year old pair of plastic test ride flat pedals.

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TristanC
+1 Andy Eunson

I used to have silent, smooth knees, then I smashed one of 'em into a big rock. Now there's ten minutes of clicking and popping and the occasional crunch when I get out of bed in the morning.

The doc says it's not a problem, but it's definitely different than it used to be.

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rigidjunkie
+5 taprider Metacomet bishopsmike dhr999 capnron

OMG I am disappointed the frame in the pictures isn't an old FSR Specialized.  I had a roommate with one and our other roommate was a bike mechanic.  One week the mechanic pulled it apart replaced the pivots, greased everything and fiddled for literal hours to get it perfect.  The owner did the parking lot test and after the second bounce it let out the loudest creak I have ever heard.  The mechanic threatened to destroy the bike.  

Thanks for the article stirring up fond memories :)

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denomerdano
+2 bishopsmike capnron

Just did a I9 hydra hub overhaul, and 4 other tired bearings on the bike this morning all before 9am... Gonna be a good day....

aaarghhhh my back...

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GiveitsomeWelly
+1 capnron

My SS is creaking like a mofo but SSs are low maintenance so I can't bring myself to look into it. 

My knees though. They're past repairable. 

My don't click, they make more of a clock as though they've been dislocated but actually aren't.

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AndrewMajor
+2 Karl Fitzpatrick capnron

You know it's your bottom bracket. 

I mean, sometimes it's my direct mount chainring interface. And sometimes I'm overdue to change my chain. A couple of times it's been a rear hub bearing where the inner race is floating relative to the outer. And I always check my pedals first. But usually, it's the BB.

I heard a joke once at a #1FG ride that single-speeders don't need to grease their bottom brackets because they always pull them out and replace them before they seize.

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GiveitsomeWelly
+1 capnron

Oh no doubt. However as I'm such a miserly skinflint, I don't like replacing my BB UNTIL it it seizes up and it's spinning so damn well despite the family of mouses in there I'll just keep wearing headphones in the meantime haha.

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velocipedestrian
+1 capnron

I went halves with a buddy on a RWC puller/press. A set of nice bearings costs as much as a new Deore BB, but lasts a lot longer, and it's so satisfying

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AndrewMajor
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GiveitsomeWelly
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