For the last couple of days I have had a creaking sound coming from my Coker when I pedaled it hard. This was, of course, infrequent for me. Usually the Coker is very stealthy, much more so than a bicycle, because there is no chain or derailleur noise. I thought at first that it might be spoke tension but I tested that and it was OK. The pedals are new and I didn’t check them. The bearings turn freely and noiselessly. I ride curbs on my daily commute and hop off frequently (I, of course, mean to do that) but didn’t think that I stressed the cranks enough to loosen them. My cranks have been on for a couple thousand miles and, after the first few days of pedaling and retightening, they have given me no audible problems. I broke down and checked them last night. Sure enough, there was some play when I really pushed hard on the cranks by hand. I retightened them with a 14mm socket and both sides advanced more than a half turn. Today the Coker was its old stealthy self again. I spent my commute today sneaking up on pedestrians and more advanced wildlife and scaring the bejeesus out of them. I’d forgotten how fun that was.
Moral: It could be anything but it’s always the last thing you check.
Same thing today only about two months later. I was gone most of July. I would say I only have another 100-200 miles on the Coker since I posted about this problem June 22nd.
It’s been the cranks both times. The symptoms and cure were the same in June and just now. The cranks were loose and the bolts could be turned more than half a revolution.
