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Loud creaking rear shock.
At the end of last ride, my Rockshox Monarch (Debonair) developed a loud creaking noise, whenever it the rear suspension compressed. It’s only been used on about 6 rides to date, being the shock for my new Bird Aeris.
I had assumed at first that it was the frame creaking, but Bird reckon it’s highly likely to be the shock instead. So I can of course send it back under the guarantee for servicing or replacement. Being impatient though, I wonder whether there is an easy fix for this. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, was it easy to sort out?
Shirley it's much more likely to be the bearings?
lower bushing does this on my transition bandit when its on its way out. A bit of lube on it quietens it down for a while.
I don't know the Aeris, but I do know Ben at Bird is a good egg and a genuinely helpful person. Have you spoken to him?
The Orange Five had a specific problem sounding like this - it was invariably a loose QR. Possibly a dim question, but have you eliminated all of the other possibilities?
Does the problem occur when riding, and if so, both out of the saddle as well as in the saddle, pedaling and coasting?
As with any mysterious creak, it may not be the first thing you suspect.
A few possible things to look at one at a time:
* Rear wheel fastening (although Maxles have pretty much solved this one)
* Seatpost / clamp / saddle
* Oh, and if it's a dropper, might want to check that too. Try cleaning and regreasing (or if a dropper, applying carbon assembly paste) to fine out if that solves the problem.
* BB
* Cranks
* Pedals
* Shock bushings
* bearings
* Cable outer end caps in stops, or hose guides
In the past, I've had the aforementioned Orange Five Creak (tm), a front mech, pedals, crankset, seatpost, seatpost clamp, saddle, you name it.
Also try letting all of the air out of the shock (note the pressure down) and see if the problem persists when you cycle the back end with the bike in a stand (obviously, don't ride it). You could also drop the shock out and see if it's a bearing problem by cycling (ie moving) the linkage.
Sorry for the length of post...
a loose QR
Tracked down the creak on my Meta to this. It only creaked while riding though, not just compressing the shock
Well it happens when standing or sitting and only when suspension compresses. So it won't be the reverb or seat collar.
Possibly frame bearings but will take shock off tonight to try and diagnose it further.
I had this with the same shock,remove shock and compress on resonant surface eg desk to confirm it is the shock not the frame
I have this same problem with mine, its something to do with the top shock fixing. I have taken the shock off several times, given it a good clean and then all ok for a while but it soon returns. I have now loosened the fixing slightly and applied some blue Loctite and so far seems ok. My shock is an RT3 by the way!
We don't generally find issues with the RT3 (Cane Creeks hardware is very tight so can be more problematic). If you give us a call we can send you a second shock to test the creak with to validate whether its a shock problem or something else. If it turns out to be the shock we'll of course replace it out for you.