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I had a terrible creak on my road bike whilst pedalling. I'd cleaned and greased the BB shell but it didn't do anything. So the other night I dismantled it again, started with a new BB and completely cleaned the threads with clutch cleaner and a toothbrush.
I noticed then that there was a chunk of metal in one of the threads. Not sure how it got there (maybe manufacturing defect), but I gouged it out with a knife. Then greased up everything (including the BB shell face) with copperslip and hey presto, creak gone. The side with the chunk of metal in the thread had been extremely hard to screw in, but now it's really easy.
Moral of the story - check your threads for chunks of metal.
Chase n face....
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🙂
Why not re-use the old bb?
Well I had a new BB lying around not doing anything; the BB bearings MIGHT've been the cause or a contributor; and the thing was all mashed up where I'd strained to undo and redo it because the threads were so tight.
Furry muff.
I am a campagner in terms: "most creaks are from dry threads", I bet it would have been fine, albeit mashed.
It was greased previously, and still creaked. It was the metal chunk, I firmly believe.