Pre-Race, The Superfly is Creaking like the Titanic

Winter Park Race 2, The Cross Country Super Loop, is tomorrow. My start time is in 10 hours and 55 minutes. I should be in bed, but like the last race (The Burn), I'm a little de-railed (no pun intended). This week has been a less than ideal pre-race week. My goal was to taper throughout the week, instead I just didn't ride for 3 days, 2 in a row. When I did ride, they were fraught with problems and cut short due to time pressures. The first was cut into by a shady car dealer trying burn my new friend Jean-Paul, who also rides a Superfly. Then it was shorted when his chain ring bolts backed out, which happened to me on the Superfly's 3rd ride. The second ride didn't happen because I was rushing and forgot my shoes. Three times this has happened to me now and I am horribly embarrassed to admit it to the world, as I pride myself on being organized and not an idiot! That morning I looked in my riding bag and saw the bag my shoes go in, but as I found out later it was sans shoes. I ended up getting a short road ride in, but it was a bad day! Today, I managed a good effort and feel like I woke my legs up for tomorrow, but the Superfly was creaking so bad it sounded like the Titanic in her last moments.

Carbon resonates noises louder and at a different frequency than steel or aluminum. The Superfly has known issues with creaking, in fact my frame is going back to Trek (Gary Fisher) to have one of the issues fixed. The creaking today was so loud it was disturbing other people on the trail. I was the butt of many dirty looks today as I shattered people's serene walks in nature with a sound similar to that of a tin can being dragged under a moving vehicle. When I got home I tried to chase it down.

First I cleaned the bike and spent extra time on my chain, chain rings, and cassette.

Then I pulled both crank arms and cleaned, lubed, and inspected them. While they were out I checked my chain ring bolts, just in case they had loosened up. I cleaned the outside of the bottom bracket bearings and cups too.

Then I put it all back together and took it for a test ride. I was worse than before. With every pedal stroke it sung out like a hand saw cutting through a cello. I the hard realization hit me that through out my race tomorrow every pedal stroke shriek out with a demoralizing creak. There is nothing more demoralizing than a creaking bike during a race. Nothing! The only solution left was a less complicated, although somewhat elegant option.

Earplugs! Maybe the creak wouldn't be as demoralizing if it was muted by earplugs.

Resigned to my fate, I started cleaning up. Then it hit me! I remembered a ride I did last August shortly after building up my Santa Cruz for the 10th time. The bike felt fine at first, but as I pedaled more and more I felt play and heard an unsettling noise from below and behind. It was my cassette which had come loose from the rear wheel hub probably due to improper torquing on my part. I put the Superfly on the stand, pulled the rear wheel and torqued my cassette to the 40 Newton Meters specified on the lock nut. It let out a god awful screech, but it moved a little. I put the wheel back on and alas the creak was gone.

Victory! At least for tonight. I'm pretty much expecting the creak to come back in the middle of the race tomorrow and I'll bring ear plugs just in case. For now I'll go to bed with a little peace of mind knowing that I stopped it at least temporarily. Race start time is now T minus 10 hours and 27 minutes!