Help with intermittent noise - creaking and cracking

Have a charge tap, been riding for about 2 months now

Recently, it has started to make what to me sounds like a really bad creaking and cracking noise. It seems to be coming from the crank but to be honest I cant really be sure

Its not always there, and when it is there I have tried flipping the bike over to move the pedals with my hands to try and locate the noise but I cant replicate it

When it is making the noise, it sounds like the bike is ready to snap and is there whether I am going for it or just pootling along. However, it will then just seem to go and be back to normal

Im not overly mechanical, so the obvious choice is take it to a shop and I guess spend £50 or so on a service but clearly would rather find out first if this a common issue and so easily fixed myself. I can think of far better things to spend £50 on..

Any help greatly appreciated!

make sure your chain ring bolts are tight & you chain ring is seated correctly. It's generally something trivial.

Please see:
Sheldon

or try Jim's list

Thanks for those links - will have a work through them this weekend and see if it fixes it

My Charge did the same thing.
I took it back and asked them to service the BB.
Problem solved.

Try removing and refitting your cranks. Usually if they work themselves a little loose you'll get that creak/crack noise.

Getting the exact same problem with the same bicycle...

left crank...everything is tight...seems like whenever i put down pressure on the left pedal i get a wierd clicking...but like bermy ..when i turn it over and roll the pedals round..no sound..

will check the links!

lithium grease, smoooth as silk, no noise - sorted, thought the creaking was my pedals etc, rookie yes, just grease that shit up

I had a similar problem a while back. Weird intermittent cracking sound (difficult to describe or locate). Turned out to be the stem wasn't on quite right. Took it off and put it back. Problem solved.

Went through the list, and found that if i pushed the cranks inwards, I would get the creaking, so tightened up and went for a ride this morning and all silky smooth

Small hill though and when I got to the top the sound was back but only for a few minutes. Dropped in past evans as it was on the way, they had a look and there is some play in the BB, so its going in for its free service to have that stripped and re-built. Hoping that should fix it!

happened to me, turned out it was the rails on the brookes saddle. a tighten and a dab of oil in the tensioning nut shut it up...