Sleuthing the Pakit creak

Pakit creak eradication strategy.

(This blog post began as a Google document, shared with Will at Bike Friday)

Use a penetrating lubricant like Boeshield. Apply a few drops as directed. If the noise goes away, you can either use the lube each time it recurs or you can dismantle, grease and reassemble the offending parts and hope for a more enduring response. Any parts of the bike that aren't welded together can make noise--they need only rub against each other a tiny bit to make enough noise to drive you crazy. Usually a thin layer of grease can kill the noise for a variable interval, though a good penetrating oil can work without having to grab tools.

** Creaks when pedaling in or out of the saddle. Usually the first suspect is the hinge around which the rear end of the bike swings down, forward and back up to bring the bike into it's folded configuration. Lube the hinge above the bottom bracket--no need to loosen the nut and bolt; apply a few drops of Boeshield. Ride the bike at least 2 miles. If that doesn't work, you might suspect friction between the shaft of the bolt and the tunnel through which the bolt passes--you'll want to remove the nut and bolt, apply grease to the shaft of the bolt, insert the bolt and clean the visible threads of the bolt very thoroughly before replacing the nut. The locknut will slip loose if the threads have any grease on them--that makes the bike wobbly.

If the bike doesn't creak when pedaling out of the saddle, I'd suspect a source including and above the joint with the sprung button behind the top end of the seat tube. Read on.

The Pakit's seat mast needs a thin layer of grease before it goes into the seat tube. The seat mast has a shim inserted in the top--a layer of grease inside and out won't hurt it. The seatpost can use a layer of grease, too. Less likely, but possibly the saddle rails, where gripped by the seatpost can creak. Some leather saddles with rivets can creak--a squeeze of the saddle in the right place can help pinpoint where to leave a few drops of Boeshield.
Quite possibly, the future of all things bike says we will hear creaks from even more sources like the pedals, the cranks, handlebars and stem, just to name a few. But I'll worry about those then. The sources discussed here are more relevant to bikes under three years old

At any time, more than one joint can contribute to a creaking noise. That's just the nature of this little game. Revel in the challenge.

If you have additional insight on the Pakit creak, feel free to comment.