Square Taper BB - Best Practice to stop Creaking

[dbmtb]

RS3s creak.

I suggest you loosen all the bolts holding the spider in place off.

Take off the spider.

Luberally coat any part of the spider that is in contact with the crank in Shimano Assembly compound(this stuff is the biz) or copper grease and reassemble.

Mine stopped creaking after I did this shortly after I bought them in 97 and they haven't creaked since.

Use the same thread compound on BB threads and on the innerside of the cups (part that is in contact with the bearing).

If still no joy then it's likely as not the BB/crank interface that's the problem. If that's the case then you just have to live with it. DO NOT put grease on the BB tapers when fitting RS3s. The area round the taper on the chainset is notorious for cracking on them so do not overtighten.

 

[jonrock]

Ive found Ti axle with Ti cranks bolts can cause issues...
also check your chainring bolts..
J

 

[Xesh]

I used to run a Hope BB but it never creaked. All I did was make sure that the BB threads were greased and that the crank was tightened correctly. I didn't use any grease/anti-seize on the taper either. I did check the (steel) crank bolts once a week for tightness.

I've since not bothered with Ti BBs as the axles are too fragile for heavy use and the weight saving isn't enough to justify the sacrifice in strength, imo.