My Rohloff has been for a swim...

[mickeg]

I was most certain that the clicking noise I heard was in the bottom bracket.  But when I was off of the bike, holding the bike with one hand on the saddle and one hand on the handlebar with front brake pulled, one foot on the ground, and one foot on the right side pedal, when I alternately pushed down on the pedal with my foot and released the pressure, I could hear the click but it was not coming from the bottom bracket after all.  (Sorry for the extremely long sentence.) 

The clicking sound was a rear rack bolt at a dropout that was not tight enough.  It was pretty tight, but pushing down on the pedal flexes the frame, and that frame flex allowed the bottom of the rack to slip and move due to the bolt that was somewhat tight but not really tight enough.

In my case it was a click, not a squeak.  But my point is that when you are on the bike, you really can't tell that well where odd noises are coming from.

[geocycle]

the next thing is the chain I suppose. It's new and the chainring and rear sprocket have been reversed.

Clutching at straws here but I've occasionally had a problem with reversing a chainring and/or sprocket.  In theory all should be well but depending how they have worn or if they have developed irregularities on the teeth they might not quite mesh properly with the new chain.  What size chain ring have you got, maybe one of us could lend you another ring to test before you have to go to more expense!

[rafiki]

the next thing is the chain I suppose. It's new and the chainring and rear sprocket have been reversed.

Clutching at straws here but I've occasionally had a problem with reversing a chainring and/or sprocket.  In theory all should be well but depending how they have worn or if they have developed irregularities on the teeth they might not quite mesh properly with the new chain.  What size chain ring have you got, maybe one of us could lend you another ring to test before you have to go to more expense!

The chainring is a 39T but I have had conversations here in the past about raising the gearing as I feel it is about 1 gear too low for my usual terrain. I was advised that a 44T should be my next stop.

[rafiki]

the next thing is the chain I suppose. It's new and the chainring and rear sprocket have been reversed.

Clutching at straws here but I've occasionally had a problem with reversing a chainring and/or sprocket.  In theory all should be well but depending how they have worn or if they have developed irregularities on the teeth they might not quite mesh properly with the new chain.  What size chain ring have you got, maybe one of us could lend you another ring to test before you have to go to more expense!

Point taken Mike. I shall keep an open mind.

[John Saxby]

Fishin' and flailin' a bit here, Brian, but a couple of observations from my own experience. I had a creak on my derailleur bike, audible on both sides on the power stoke. It came from two sources:

• One was from a dry seatpost. Seatpost greased, creak lessened, but didn't disappear.
• Second source was the rear derailleur cable in its bracket beneath the BB. A touch of grease cured that.

I doubt it would be your chain:  Early this past summer, I had various rattly/clackety noises from the front of my drive train.  It appears that they came from several sources (BB, chain ring, and chain) -- but there was no creak involved.

My two cents' worth -- might be relevant?

Good luck.

[jags]

Perform an oil change as soon as possible to flush out any water.

I will, Dave. Thank you.

Any thoughts on my BB creak? It's a 2009 Sterling.

you more than likely need the bb shell faced the outer bearings will sit dead flush stop any creaking.I had th e same problem hope u get that hub sorted.

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

Try backing the chain tension off more than you usually would and see if it goes away.

[rafiki]

Try backing the chain tension off more than you usually would and see if it goes away.

I will, Dave. Thank you. I'm away now for a few days but it will be done first thing on my return.

[rafiki]

Thanks again everybody for your advice and encouragement. I thought I'd post an update.

I changed the hub oil. The stuff that came out didn't look contaminated or different in any way from oil from previous changes. However, I am glad I did it, better safe than sorry.

Regarding the annoying creak I was getting, that is also resolved. You might recall I was convinced it was the BB despite changing everything down there. Following Dave's advice I slackened the chain off a bit more than usual but that wasn't the solution. The chain is new and the chainring I had just reversed. However I began to suspect that chainring. I have long wanted to install a larger chainring as I feel the 39T gives me lower gearing than necessary. Advice from members here some months ago  suggested a 44T would give me one gear higher range so I thought now would be opportune time to get one. I fitted it today and on a short ride around the village it feels more comfortable. I'll get a better feel on my ride-out tomorrow. However, the wonderful side-effect is that, no matter how hard I try, I can't reproduce that creaking noise any more. So I guess the new chain on a reversed but worn chainring was the culprit. What a relief! Thanks again everybody.

[geocycle]

Great news! Really pleased you’ve got this sorted, nothing more irritating than a creak on an otherwise silent bike.

[mickeg]

I have never heard of a chainring causing a creaking noise.  But I suppose if the bolts are a bit loose, the ring could slip and rub on the crank spider as you pedal. 

You may have invented a totally new cause of and solution for crank area noises.  Congratulations.

Around town I use a 44T chain ring and 16T sprocket.  The lowest gear is low enough for an unladen bike on the steepest hill in my neighborhood and the high gear is nice to have on a couple different shallow downhills.  But for touring, I take a few links out and put the small ring back on the bike.

When I put on a different chainring, I always backpedal the crank several times to see if the chain has a uniform amount of slack for the entire crank revolution.  Sometimes the chainring is not quite concentric with the crank, and then I loosen the chainring bolts a bit and try to shift the ring position a bit on the spider and retighten the bolts to try it again.  And when I have a reasonably consistent amount of slack, then I finish tightening the bolts.

Thanks for the update.

[rafiki]

You may have invented a totally new cause of and solution for crank area noises.  Congratulations

Hehehe! Thank you. I suppose it was more of a crackling. 

[rafiki]

Around town I use a 44T chain ring and 16T sprocket.  The lowest gear is low enough for an unladen bike on the steepest hill in my neighborhood and the high gear is nice to have on a couple different shallow downhills.  But for touring, I take a few links out and put the small ring back on the bike.

When I put on a different chainring, I always backpedal the crank several times to see if the chain has a uniform amount of slack for the entire crank revolution.  Sometimes the chainring is not quite concentric with the crank, and then I loosen the chainring bolts a bit and try to shift the ring position a bit on the spider and retighten the bolts to try it again.  And when I have a reasonably consistent amount of slack, then I finish tightening the bolts.

Thanks for the tip. I'll check that in the morning.