Yet another creaking bottom bracket

[Thoglette]

This one with a twist.

So, the bike is fine. Then I go away for four weeks, come back, hop on and "creak, creak" on pedal downstrokes.

Fair enough, it's been a year or so and a few thousand km so I whip out the BB (old school square taper with races) and replace the grease. (ye olde Castrol HTB grease). Fine for the week I'm home. Barely 200km.

Off on another trip for another month. Jump back in the saddle today and the creak is back.

Before I tear the BB apart again, any suggestions? I struggle to believe the grease has "dried out" in a month. There's something I'm missing, surely!

[am50em]

Seat post needs greasing?

[Thoglette]

Seat post needs greasing?

I'd have said "maybe" but I can get the noise out of the saddle. I'll be checking a) crank bolts b) BB preload c) pedals d) mudguard & rack fastenings for starters.

[P!N20]

Your knees?

Stop going away. Problem solved.

[Bunged Knee]

Creaking might be a sign of getting old.
So,maybe a new bike might fix it and save a lot of work to find it but wasted the moolah for a new one.

[Thoglette]

Your knees?

Hey, I resemble that remark!

Stop going away. Problem solved.

Yup.

Creaking might be a sign of getting old.

Me or the BB?

Seriously I'd thought that but the bearings and races all looked clean when I pulled it apart a month ago. The BB is probably 30yrs old and I suspect on it's umpteen set of bearings. I think I put a fresh set in when I built the bike up half a decade (and 12Kkm) ago so they should still be OK for a while (as long as I remember their biennial regreasing)

[Discodan]

Is your wife handy with the tools and carrying a little resentment?

[Thoglette]

Is your wife handy with the tools and carrying a little resentment?

Ah, don't attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence. Mine, in this case. BB was loose, which has fixed the worst of it. Still a residual squeak on the right hand side so I'll check the crank bolt and chain ring bolts before swapping the pedals.

[Thoglette]

Still a residual squeak on the right hand side so I'll check the crank bolt and chain ring bolts before swapping the pedals.

Put about half a turn on the right hand crank bolt and that seems to have shut it up. No movement on the chainrings. Clearly I was in too much of hurry when I put it all back together again last month.

[foo on patrol]

You idiot!

Foo

[Thoglette]

You idiot!

Just what I said! Guilty as charged