Joerg wrote:

In practice yes. In theory you could also
have the fork tube rubbing inside the steerer
tube but that would require one or both
steerer bearings to have completely failed
and disintegrated. In that case the whole
front end slacks back and forth in the
steering and I would not ride one more foot
on that bike.

I have not what I can remember been on a bike
with shot steerer bearings, but my imagination
tells me when this happens, you step off the
bike, not ride it all the way to your
destination, and there complain about a noise?

Assuming you guys have checked other obvious
stuff such as mud guards or other things
rubbing against the downtube. Oh, and if
studded tires are mounted lift the wheel
before doing the noise test :-)

Right - I didn't do any tests as I only gave
the answer. Most common when there is a noise
people for some reason always think it is from
the BB which most often it isn't. Because he
didn't, I thought the same thought only
backwards and assumed he was right...

How do you do the "noise test"? With a steel
pin onto the area you suspect is the origin?

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573