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View Full Version : Creaky Seat Post

ridethewomble
February 9th, 2007, 05:38 PM
DANG IT! :mad: After about 18 months of chasing around a creak in my frame, rebuilding my pivots, replacing my bottom bracket, etc., I have discovered the real cause. I just had it up on the stand, and was yanking around on the front end, thus isolating my:

CREAKY SEATPOST!

What should I do to lessen the creakiness?

P.S. - All the stuff I rebuilt or replaced was shot anyway, but feigning outrage makes for a more dramatic post. :D
Brizn
February 9th, 2007, 05:42 PM
grease the post in the frame, the rails where they're clamped, and while you're at it, lightly grease your palm and everything else where the post/clamp/seat interface under there. sometimes the seat itself will make a little noise..

Hey, at least you found it!! I've known fellers to die without finding creaks.
ridethewomble
February 9th, 2007, 05:45 PM
White Lithium?
deansidr
February 9th, 2007, 05:48 PM
When in doubt ALWAYS check the seatpost first. :)
Brizn
February 9th, 2007, 06:06 PM
White Lithium?
would certainly work, yep. i prefer the more bike specific greases tho.. but yea, definitely! easy greasy.
punga
February 9th, 2007, 06:27 PM
One way you could have found it sooner was to see if the creak went away while standing and pedaling out on the trail. I found a creaky seat that way.

Any sort synthetic grease will do. Just wipe everything down, inside and out.

punga
allencb
February 9th, 2007, 07:11 PM
Before you go greasing up stuff, check the clamp interface, the part where the sliding part of the clamp meets the body of the seatpost. This should be a textured or ridged area. My old seatpost wore out in this area and started creaking.

Chris
CRAIG2
February 9th, 2007, 07:43 PM
grease the post in the frame, the rails where they're clamped, and while you're at it, lightly grease your palm and everything else where the post/clamp/seat interface under there. sometimes the seat itself will make a little noise..

Hey, at least you found it!! I've known fellers to die without finding creaks.

Uhhh... huh huh huh... grease the post... huh huh huh huh... :D

Sorry - couldn't resist! :p
ridethewomble
February 9th, 2007, 09:04 PM
Thank you, oh wise and wonderful MORE board, for your near instantaneous information.
ThatHurt
February 9th, 2007, 09:19 PM
Let me add one more, the juntion where the seat rails enter the seat itself (metal going into the plastic). On my hardtail, that is the only sounds it makes.
yueq
February 9th, 2007, 09:55 PM
I use wheelbearing grease, good and cheap. :)
BikerMiker
February 10th, 2007, 10:00 AM
Any place that two pieces of metal come together, clamp, screw (heh, screw), or are otherwise joined, you should grease. Under fork crown races, crank bolts, chainring bolts, stem clamp screws, seat rails, clamps, cassette bodies, brake fixing bolts, EVERYTHING! ESPECIALLY CLEAT SCREWS!

Boat trailer bearing grease is the best, cheapest grease out there. Blue (usually), super-sticky and available for guns or in tubs. Designed to be underwater in boat trailer bearings then driven really fast on the highway... that's pretty much the toughest test you can design. $5 a pound or so...

Keep grease away from carbon.

mike
allencb
February 10th, 2007, 02:04 PM
Boat trailer bearing grease is the best, cheapest grease out there. Blue (usually), super-sticky and available for guns or in tubs. Designed to be underwater in boat trailer bearings then driven really fast on the highway... that's pretty much the toughest test you can design. $5 a pound or so...


Yup, good stuff. I've been using it for years. In fact, I still have the same tub I bought 10 years ago. Sealed BBs, cartridge bearing hubs/headsets, etc have lessened my need for grease. :)

Chris