Creo Rattle

[RobertOK]

Do any of you Creo owners experience any rattling on your bike that would be unusual on an analog bike? It sounds like there is some play in the gears in the motor. It makes no difference if the motor is on or off or if I’m pedaling or not. I own a Levo SL and other than the whirring motor sounds it makes no more noise than an analog bike. The rattle isn’t that loud, but annoying and I’m wondering if my expectations are too high?

My SWorks Creo will soon be out of its one year warranty (I think only the motor has an extended warranty). The bike has produced this sound since day one. It often occurs on rough pavement but not exclusively. Sometimes happens even when pushing the bike. It’s been to the dealer several times and had the frame, crank and cables checked to no avail. For the latest effort Specialized replaced the motor again to no avail.

(I saw the earlier thread about the splitter cable rattling, I don't think that's it)

 

[John.JCAT]

I'm sure the you must have tried this, but I have had a rattle when the small locking ring on the tire tube stem is loose.

 

[RobertOK]

Thanks I didn't try that, one was loose. Will ride the bike later today and see if it helps, but am skeptical because the sound is a different cadence than the rotating wheel.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I thought all Specialized e-bikes had 2 year warranty.

 

[RobertOK]

So I just looked it up and looks like most of their stuff does have a 2 year warranty. That's good news, I wonder if rattles are covered and if that may be a local dealer problem/solution?

 

[kahn]

So I just looked it up and looks like most of their stuff does have a 2 year warranty. That's good news, I wonder if rattles are covered and if that may be a local dealer problem/solution?

Have you tried putting it up on a rack and tapped around various areas of the frame and crank area? Finding a rattle while riding is not easy as it can sound like it is emanating from almost anywhere. Good luck

 

[RobertOK]

I just went on a short ride trying John.JCAT's suggestion. The tube stem lock wasn't it, but I'm beginning to believe it is the Future Shock. Will have to do some more tests as it's not consistent. At this point it's kind of halfway between a rattle and a click. The pre-engine change was more of a rattle.

 

[DJRib]

Bike rattles can be notoriously difficult to diagnose. Good Luck.

Also I thought they had a 2-year warranty on everything but the frame carried a limited lifetime warranty to the original owner (only)

 

[e-levity]

Details here -

Global Warranty Policy

support.specialized.com

 

[abercrombie]

Sorry, but this may not help much. I had some weird rattling for several months on my Creo Comp SL that sounded like it came from the mid-drive motor. It would rattle near the motor area every time I went over any road imperfections or bumps making it very annoying to ride. Was more pronounced in the lower gears and less noticable in high gear if that helps. Really decreased my enjoyment of the bike knowing I paid $7k for something that sounds like a broken Fisher-Price toy.

Fast forward to last month, I finally brought it into a 3rd party shop (not the dealer) to replace a bent derailleur hanger that happened more recently. I like this 3rd party shop because the mechanic is fast, cheap, and very personable. After the minor fix, the noise went away. Never followed-up as to what exactly was done for the noise to disappear.

 

[RobertOK]

Sorry, but this may not help much. I had some weird rattling for several months on my Creo Comp SL that sounded like it came from the mid-drive motor. It would rattle near the motor area every time I went over any road imperfections or bumps making it very annoying to ride. Was more pronounced in the lower gears and less noticable in high gear if that helps. Really decreased my enjoyment of the bike knowing I paid $7k for something that sounds like a broken Fisher-Price toy.

Fast forward to last month, I finally brought it into a 3rd party shop (not the dealer) to replace a bent derailleur hanger that happened more recently. I like this 3rd party shop because the mechanic is fast, cheap, and very personable. After the minor fix, the noise went away. Never followed-up as to what exactly was done for the noise to disappear.

Too bad you never figured it out. If you ever find out please let us know. Thanks for the info.

 

[Calcoaster]

I think I saw another creo rattle fix thread somewhere that used the same solution as mine. I’ll add mine here to help others looking for a fix. My carbon comp creo started making an annoying rattle on bumps that sounded like it was coming from the front of the bike. On a ride, I tried holding cables, different pressure on the handlebars and stem, locking out the future shock, etc. Then I squeezed the top tube to see if the sound changed and it did muffle it slightly.

So when I got home I took the TCU out (size 10 Torx) and found a wiring connector for the remotes looking like the culprit. It has a self-stick tape attached but the peel off protector was still on. It’s meant to stick to the inside of the top tube to keep from rattling. Instead of sticking it, I wrapped it in a small piece of foam and stuffed it back inside. That seemed to pin it against some other wiring and connectors and solve the rattle problem. Thin walled carbon tubes are great sound conductors.