SRAM Red + Zipp 353 NSW creacking sound in SL8

Equipment
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Hi all,

I’m desperate here and need some advice/ideas. I just built my dream bike for my 40s—an SL8 with the new SRAM Red eTap, 50/37 chainrings, and a 10/36 cassette. The bottom bracket is a regular SRAM DUB BSA 68mm with a 3mm spacer on the right side, per the manual’s recommendation. The hub is a Cognition V2 SRAM XDR.

There’s a horrendous cracking sound at over 200w (if the chain is lubed, it starts after 1 hour) in all the gears. It happens whether I’m pedaling with one leg, seated or not, but only when I’m pedaling.

First, please check this: YouTube video

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

  1. Checked FD, is not touching the chain.
  2. Lubricating the chain.
  3. Adjusting the BB tightening.
  4. Reinstalling the BB with Teflon grease.
  5. Greasing and tightening the thru-axle.
  6. Installing a new BB.
  7. Testing on a bike trainer (the noise doesn’t seem to occur—could it be the cassette?).
  8. Reinstalling the cassette (tested on a 2-hour ride, it went perfectly, but the noise started again on the next ride).

The next thing I’m considering is adding a 1mm spacer for the cassette.

Thanks.

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What do the official instructions say about this?

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No spacers needed for the 12s red cassette :melting_face:… but I see a barely noticeable gap with the hub

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Is the cassette completely dry? You could try lubing the chain again and shifting up and down through all the gears. I had a similar sound (on 11-speed) once when I fitted a new cassette - in the end a bit more lube fixed it.

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First time was dry, then reinstalled with good quality grease… after 1-2h noise again

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did you try pulling off the driver and greasing everything?

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Yes!

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  1. Spray some water mid-ride on the squealing cassette.
  2. Borrow a back wheel from a friend and check if it’s really the cassette.
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Yeah, borrowing a wheel was my thought as well after reading through this.

Cognition hub, that’s Zipp right? I can’t keep their models straight. I’d take a look at that as well. I don’t think I’ve worked on that particular model, but like a lot of modern hubs, the Zipps I have worked on the end caps and freehubs are easy to remove/fall out :grinning: depending on your point of view. I’m not sure if it’s a feature or a bug, but I’d make sure everything there is properly and fully seated etc.

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It’s probably your rear hub.

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Head wreck!

It probably is hub issue so borrowing any wheel will rule it out, check all the pawls are installed and engaging correctly in the hub

If this is only happening under power then something is flexing into or out of alignment

  • That FD looks very close to the big ring is it aligned correctly
  • Check the chain orientation and direction and routing through the RD
  • How about the pistons in the brake caliper, can you re-align and and reset back in with the red spacer/travel clip.
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Agree with most likely hub, you can also install your cassette in the trainer to see but just try to grab a wheel to test it out

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Yes, and I remember on one of the Zipp hubs there being a seal that can be a bit tricky to seat as you try and get the pawls to drop all the way in.

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I’d bet anything it’s the hub. I just had a 454 come back from Zipp for the third time for creaking exactly like you describe. It sounds like spokes, but it’s not.

My bike is totally quiet when I throw a Roval wheel in.

Zipp replaced the rim & spokes twice (it had cracking around the spoke holes), but it still creaked badly upon return, even riding with tennis shoes on at 100 watts. (Why the heck they didn’t just test it I’ll never understand.)

They rebuilt the hub this time & I swapped out the freehub body. It’s quiet again, but I’ve only done a short test ride so far. First efforts will be today.

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Thanks all for the ideas and suggestions.
The LBS checked the sound, suggested to lube the spokes. Just did it and still similar sound. :frowning:
Very dissapointed with the wheels, Zipp 353 NSW…

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And you are sure that the shifting is setup properly? It sounds like the sound is being amplified by the wheels. I’ve ridden with enough people with exotic carbon wheels to have heard the noises they can make, and they sure can make a lot of noise and a lot of noises louder. (Is the hanger straight?) It looks like it’s happening at the bottom of your pedal stroke. :person_shrugging: Just tossing in my opinion…

I hope you can get it figured out. I hate noises. I had creaking: people swore it was the bottom bracket, nope, then seat post, nope, then cracked frame, nope. It was the stem. Trial and error…

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Register the wheels and interact with their warranty team.

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Again, had this exact issue with a 454 rear wheel. Along with 3 trips back to Zipp, including 2 rebuilds with a new rim and spokes, we also tried “that sounds like spoke rub, let’s lube them.” It’s the hub.

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I have the 353 NSWs. It’s the hub. Zipp wheels are notorious for being under lubricated or not lubricated at all.

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Brand new set of 353’s. Only happens under load but damn is it loud. Every time I pedal from a stop. Once my cadence gets up over 60ish it goes away. Driving me up the bloody wall.