Less than three months ago I got a great, lightweigh and nice road racing bike. Unfortunately, the rear wheel started to trouble me soon: It started to creak and to crack. When in service it was probably retrued, retightened and sprayed with lubricant and there was no more cracking and creaking. After a ride in the rain the creaking started again. I also felt minor grooves with my fingertips at the spoke crossings. My weight is 81 kilograms, which is not too heavy for this bike. I now fear that I will be fobbed off with the note that the rear wheel must be treated regularly with lubricant. In my opinion, this is not how it should work. Isn't it correct that state-of-the-art is a rear wheel without creaking noises?
Reply by Dirk Zedler, TOUR technology expert and bicycle expert
We don’t want creaking or cracking components on our road racing bike. Repeated creaking that can only be repaired temporarily by lubrication can therefore be regarded as a defect. If there are already grooves in the spokes which you can feel, according to your description, a possible defect in this area is quite probable to occur. Taking account of the very short period of operation (three months) and the weight of 81 kilograms indicated by you, the product is in my opinion defective. This statement, and please take this into account, is subject to a thorough test. Unfortunately, you do not give any further details as to the wheelset or the bike. We can therefore not compare your description to own experiences or the experiences of other readers. A final judgement can therefore not be given.
