Weight Weenies

Hi guys- went out on a long 140km ride today and heard for the first time interesting sounds from the Shiv. The sound- a faint "knocking" without a set beat/rhythm. Where- I can only assume its from the BB. When- only when seated, but upright on the bike**** I tried replicating the sound while in the aero position and no sounds, but once upright....the knocking starts. I've heard that some guys have "glued" something in the BB area to solve the issue but as its still a new bike, fairly disappointed this has happened already and not so keen on gluing parts on such a bike. Thanks in advance for the help if you have any guidance on this!

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If it depends on your seating position rather than power/torque output I would think it is probably from saddle/seatpost or aerobars/headset.

NiFTY wrote:If it depends on your seating position rather than power/torque output I would think it is probably from saddle/seatpost or aerobars/headset.

I will go through the bolts again today. Process of elimination.

From working at a shop that sold primarily specialized, we had to use gasket sealer on about 70% of our sworks frames to stop the bb cups from creaking. Sounds like you don't have this issue since you're describing it as a knock.

+ 1 on the Specialized bb (the new SL5 has an improved bb.). The specialized advise over time went from just grease along a kind of sealer (as mentioned) to gluing in the plastic cups with a strong 2 component glue. Basically it's a crap design that needs serious measurements to stop the noises.

Other option would be Specialized seatpost that also tend to produce ticking noises (and switching it for something better seems to be the best solution).

Ok here's an update- All bolts are good nothing is loose, or over tightened. Now I was stumped after I reached that point and sat there and stared at the bike. Wiggling cables coming from inside the frame, etc to get ideas flowing of what could be the cause for sound. So, I went to rotate my crank backwards and while doing that and the bike rolling backwards slightly...I heard the "knocking" sound again. So I rotated the cranks backwards slowly, and lone behold there was the knocking sound I could hear while riding. Im still stumped by this, but now that I can replicate the knocking by cranking the arms backwards not only worries me, but leaves me dumbfounded again as to how much more severe this could end up being. Again thanks for all the input in advance.

anyone able to help on this updated issue?? Im beginning to be afraid to ride the damn thing thinking those knocks are going to break something at some point

Nothing simple like chain on chain catcher, loose link in chain (missing link connector, etc). I've had knocking sounds front hat area due to these simple reasons in the past.

The BB shell is sealed so it's unlikely that another is 'rubbing' inside.

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First off, Shivs don't even use the plastic OSBB cups you guys are referring to, the ones that are epoxied in. It's straight BB30, as there is an aluminum sleeve for the bearings.
If you can hear it while turning the cranks backwards with your hand, it is likely either a prematurely worn bearing or a bearing that is misaligned. A misaligned bearing will drag across the crank spindle in a sinusoidal motion. You may see wear marks on the spindle where the bearing rests, two thin lines each.
I would suggest your local shop Loctite the bearings in, as Specialized BB30 tend to have a slightly loose fit (generally a good thing). The crank spindle should be well greased, ideally installed immediately after the bearings were pressed in.
Overall, Specialized BB30 and their OSBB variant are less noisy and less problematic than most others of the same type.