Creaky Billie Bar

[J Edward]

I grabbed up a billie bar as soon as they went up for sale and have been riding it ever since (a year and some change, I guess?). Last winter I started hearing a little creaking when I would lean forward on them and start cranking, but I tightened the hell out of the stem and it mostly subsided.

A few weeks ago I slightly switched up my cockpit (slid my brake levers and inboard thumbies way forward and added some ESI 6.75” grips) and went on a 50+ mile ride the next day. About 30 miles in it started creaking steadily and hasn’t let up. I remembered an earlier thread about the 1st gen billies possibly rotating in their sleeves, but I haven’t noticed any rotation at all (I’m pretty sensitive to that stuff anyway). I even tried Sheldon’s loctite in the sleeve cutout + compressed air trick, but it hasn’t changed.

I’m not too worried about the bar failing, but due to the way my brain works I AM worried about losing my mind on long, quiet rides when I should be relaxing and enjoying myself. I love these bars (especially with the current setup), so any ideas on how to quiet them?

[André Pinter]

I don't have a billie bar but I do have the choco's and have had similar creaking/noise/slight movement issues with them. The way I have found to temporarily deal with the problem is to actually put some chain lube (or other penetrating oil) around all the interfaces to the sleeve, including the cut outs. I tried using low viscosity loctite, but that didn't work any better and perhaps a little worse than the chain lube.

If anyone has a more permanent solution I'd be all ears.

[Hudson Doerge]

I second this solution for sleeved handlebars. Quieted my creaky noodles a few months ago after reassembling and regreasing everything multiple times to no avail. It’s lasted for a while now and easy enough to add another drop of lube if it starts creaking down the road.

Hudson in ATX

[J Edward]

I’m doing this before I go out for a ride today. Thanks for the tip!

[André P]

How'd the fix work? I'm curious to know

[Jon Dukeman,central Colorado]

No one mentions using a torque wrench .
If the stem is a Nitto the M8 bolt has a recommended torque of 14-16 Nm or 140-160 Kgfcm.
Jon

[J Edward]

André: I didn’t get a chance to actually do it before my ride on Saturday, but last night I hit the sleeve up with some strategically-placed blasts of T-9 and let it sit overnight. They were quiet for my ride into work this morning, at least! Fingers crossed that does the trick.

Jon: I thought about that but alas, have no torque wrench. I did tighten the clamp a buttload, but I’m now sure what that converts to in actual numbers. 😁

[Jon Dukeman]

A bike shop could check your torque next time you go in. For free😃

Jon

On Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 1:19 PM J Edward <jedwar...@gmail.com> wrote:

André: I didn’t get a chance to actually do it before my ride on Saturday, but last night I hit the sleeve up with some strategically-placed blasts of T-9 and let it sit overnight. They were quiet for my ride into work this morning, at least! Fingers crossed that does the trick.

Jon: I thought about that but alas, have no torque wrench. I did tighten the clamp a buttload, but I’m now sure what that converts to in actual numbers. 😁

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